Fantasy or reality?

#Journalism #MediaManipulation #Mass #Masses #Truth #Rumor #Information #Soccer

These days social media have been 'scandalized' by an alleged fight between members of the Brazilian national soccer team, Richarlison and Vinicius Jr. during training for the friendly match they held against Japan.

This 'brawl' spread very quickly among readers. When it comes to events like these and involving recognized people (artists, athletes, singers and others) the networks literally explode. Comments instantly began to appear criticizing such behavior; others were more humorous, mocking the physical condition of Neymar Jr. for example.

The problem itself does not lie in what happened on the Tokyo field. Rather, it is the repercussion of this news in the digital sports press and its rapid difussion. Without even taking the time to investigate what happened in Japan or look for sources close to the Verdeamarelha, or at least to some of those involved, journalists instantly discovered the vein and started the ball rolling downhill.

The first two frames are a sequence of the "alleged" brawl between Vinicius Jr. and his teammate Richarlison (photos taken from the twitter profile ResetFutbol). The third snapshot was published on the social networks of Spanish sports daily As.

... anything that can be sold as news - even if it is not - is profitable.

In the business of mass media communications, and due to the advantages offered by social media to reach as soon as possible the largest number of people and in the shortest possible time, everything that can be sold as news -even without being news- is profitable. And as each like means monetary income, this FAKE NEWS began to circulate instantly.

However, a video posted on the social media themselves, leaves in question each and every one of the editors who filled their sports pages or digital profiles with this information. Not only did they lie to their audiences and/or followers, but they also deceived themselves. The footage of just a few seconds proves that the much hyped fight between Vini Jr. and the Everton striker never existed.

So how does one image trigger a whole phenomenon called media manipulation? Simple. Its authors selected a frame that supported the discourse they wanted to sell, and discarded the rest. The Spanish sports daily As even invited its followers on social media to caption the photo in question, to act as journalists and manipulators like them.

This is not the only existing case in this regard, but it is the most recent. Once again, the press ignores its purpose of informing and chooses to manipulate or tell half-truths. Where is the credibility of these journalists or of the media itself? Is common sense corrupted by a handful of coins? Doesn't it seem shameful to publish a counter-response to accept the mistake?

With each new 'lie', readers -analog or digital- lose faith in these media and their journalists. The sports press went a long time ago from being a profession to become -for some- a lucrative business. It is up to us then to get better informed, to look for more than one source on the same event and to contrast them. Only then will we be able to discern whether it is fantasy or reality.