Reflection No. 1 - Tan Jian Hui

1. Facts are true, verified and can be backed up by evidence. However, opinions can be deceiving and can mislead people who read without thinking. Online news report are fast and can be updated easily, but fast does not mean the news is accurate. Sometimes online news reporters spread news too quickly, without waiting for it to be verified. These news reports often consists of many opinionated facts, and may be inaccurate. Therefore we should read discreetly and think before believing in these online news report. This is important to the journalists or reporters in the world of online news reporting as they make their readers believe in the wrong information, causing confusion. This brings us back to the basis of news reporting. What is news reporting all about? News reporting is inform the citizenry about the latest news report that should be accurate and should not contain any opinions and it should be purely facts. Hence, online news reporters should pay attention to what they report and carry the responsibilities and consequences. 
2. Some problems raised in the articles include linking the readers to inappropriate or inaccurate websites. This problem can be solved by informing the readers the website they are redirected to is not part of the news website and does not represent their organisation. 
3. The readers should read discreetly and read with wisdom. Sometimes readers must be skeptical and read more about the matter other than just relying on a single source as the source may not always be correct. Readers should also judge if a piece of information is credible and think before believing in them. Readers should also be able to view the news report from different perspectives and determine if the news report is implying something. 

Something to add for example: Once myPaper posted a report about our school, SST. They wrote a minister claimed that SST was not for the academically inclined. Our school principal, Mr Chua, immediately wrote a letter to them informing them of the mistake. Of course myPaper did make corrections in the following reports, but many readers who read that inaccurate report probably did not read the correction, causing them to have a misconception that SST is not for the academically inclined. This spoils our school’s reputation. Therefore my point is that we should not fully believe all reports and hold some thoughts on the matter before triangulating on the matter.