An article on timesofmalta.com cheerfully reads: “Like other news organisations, we were sent the video of what looks like a severely disturbed woman jumping naked into a rubbish truck and resisting the police in Paceville. While the video is perfect fodder for clickbait we decided not to publish it.”

It haughtily continues to state: “As responsible news providers we should refuse the temptation from jumping on the bandwagon to continue fuelling the voyeurism which clogs the social media.”

So, by the columnist’s logic, the way to divert attention away from this raucous and embarrassing event is… by talking about how you’re not going to talk about it.

Never mind the grandiloquent and sanctimonious; this is textbook definition hubris and probably the most sure-fire way of getting people to go online and dig out the video for themselves. If the Times of Malta did not know the reasons for this person’s shenanigans and if it did not want to ruin her reputation any further, why comment about her actions at all?

Samuel Taylor Coleridge has the answer: “And the devil did grin, for his darling sin, is pride that apes humility.”

If you have ever wondered how to appear holier than thou while still weighing in on the hot topic of the day, the Times of Malta has got you covered. It is proud of its humility: proud that it is not proud.

Editorial note:

The correspondent evidently missed the point of the opinion piece. The clip of the distressed woman went viral from early morning and, as a news organisation, timesofmalta.com had a duty to discuss the repercussions of media outlets sharing such a clip. It did not, as the reader incorrectly states, “comment about her actions”. Ultimately, all media outlets make mistakes and that is “humility”, not “hubris”.