The news item that dominated the headlines last week was the tragic report about the one-year-old girl who fell the height of two storeys from a balcony in her home in Pembroke.

At the time of writing, the toddler is still in a critical condition. Quite naturally, people are concerned about her plight and that of her family, hoping and praying that she will recover fully. In these kind of situations, it is also to be ex­pected that people speculate about the cause of the accident.

This is not just ghoulish curiosity but people’s natural tendency to want to know what could have resulted in the accident, to be able to avoid something similar happening to them. In circumstances such as these, it is important for the media to report the incident by sticking to the bare facts without any adornment that could lead to unecessary finger-pointing and judgmental behaviour.

Speculation and unverified allegations have no place in any news reports – more so in situations such as the ones which the victim’s family find them­selves in, being propelled into the spotlight by circumstances beyond their control.

I noted that in an early report about the incident, an online news portal claimed that the drug enforcement unit were investi­gating, as objects related to drug abuse had been found in the girl’s home. For the average reader, the implication was clear – drug abuse or carelessness because of the abuse could have led to the toddler being un­attended and her eventual fall.

Some time later, an update was published, in which the police were quoted as flatly denying that any objects related to drug use had been found on site or that any drug-related investigation of any sort had taken place.

Speculation and unverified allegations have no place in any news reports

And that was that – no apology was issued for the totally in­correct report that set a thousand tongues wagging and people passing judgment on the parents who are currently facing a harrowing tragedy. There was no retraction of the original baseless report either, the update being couched solely in terms of an additional piece of information emanating from police sources, instead of show­ing up the original report for what it was – a horrendously shoddy piece of non-journalism.

I find this kind of ‘reporting’ absolutely appalling. Not only has there been no basic fact-checking or confir­mation of sources, but there isn’t even the decency to acknowledge the mistake.

It always reminds me of the fact that when tragedy strikes, the victims are hit twice – first by the original event and then by the unwarranted media invasion of privacy which follows. At a time when they are distraught and at their lowest ebb and cannot fight back, the media gets away with publishing distorted or fabricated stories.

To some extent, this episode brings to mind the hounding of Madeleine McCann’s parents by the press. Immediately after the three-year-old girl’s disappearance, the British press was supportive, but after some time the relationship with the press turned sour.

Gerry McCann testified about this before the Leveson Press Inquiry. He recalled front-page stories that appeared entirely made up, including disgusting press accusations that he and his wife killed their daughter and hid her body in a freezer or that they had sold Madeleine into white slavery. He concluded: “Information is being written and lives are being harmed by these stories”.

This holds true even for the local scenario, where people were already jumping to conclusions about the un­salutary home environment in which the toddler was brought up – basing themselves on the incorrect information published by the media.

The fictitious drug angle was grist to the mill of the armchair critics who pontificate about how children should be kep safe and sound. From their hugely annoying (to me at least) comments, it would appear that they would be able to foresee their child’s every move and keep permanent watch on their children, so preventing the possibility of anything calamity befalling them.

Any parent who is actively involved in bringing up his children, instead of clicking away judgementally online, will know that is impossible. Children can slip away in a matter of seconds despite the best intentions of their parents.

Of course, this has not occurred to the pontificators relying on their dose of fictitious news, and ‘tsk- tsking’ away at the rest of us.

cl.bon@nextgen.net.mt