digg this!The other night, two journalists reported on their Facebook pages that Mr. Mousavi had been arrested. Following their lead, the rumor promptly shot up to the top of news stories on Balatarin.com. I don’t know and cannot fathom why some fellow journalist are so quick to report on such rumors that are instantly debunked. What is all this hurry for?
Let us suppose that good intentions lay behind such decisions; that the person is extremely worried and chooses to publish the news in order to compel the public to act. Yet, unfortunately, this action leads to exactly to the opposite result.
First, reporting the rumor and having it repeatedly refuted desensitizes the public and reduces the issue to a mundane news item.
Second, this action can end up benefiting the Sultanist regime in Iran. If they want to arrest Mr. Mousavi, then they would also think about the implications of such an action ahead of time and plan for it accordingly. A possible way for them to gauge the public reaction to such an action is to publish false rumors and see how it is received by the public.
Third, a journalist who would publish false rumors as news would soon lose his/her credibility.
Fourth, modernity, through the social division of labor, has led to increasing specialization in most professions. Journalists must be capable of distinguishing between false rumors and real, credible news. The long history of brutal and unmerciful actions of the Sultanist regime has made it clear to all that they would resort to any sordid measure. But one cannot conclude from this that they will be able to achieve their aims under any conditions.
If it is within our means, then we must do something. We must act collectively to alleviate the repression and the crackdown in order to lessen the pain and burden on the people of Iran. We must come together and coordinate our actions so that those who have been unjustly arrested by the regime, and who are under physical, emotional, and psychological pressure to give out false confessions, can no longer be dealt with in a Stalinist manner. This is the task that requires our prompt action, and we need committed men and women to carry it out. If we roll up our sleeves, many great tasks can be accomplished.
Akbar Ganji
