On Monday 2 October, local media outlet, CMR posted misinformation on social media claiming that two men involved in the murder that occurred on Friday, 29 September had been arrested.
RCIPS contacted CMR and advised that they remove the post immediately and provide a correction to their audience. CMR removed the post, but did not provide any explanation or correction. Publishing a correction is not only standard practice by media entities, but also the responsible thing to do to ensure the audience is set right.
As such, the RCIPS is informing the public that no arrests have yet been made in regards to the murder. A press releasehttps://www.rcips.ky/rcips-investigate-murder-in-george-town-29-september that explains the current state of the case can be found on the RCIPS website, and is also published on the RCIPS Facebook page.
RCIPS understand the importance of the media in providing information to the public, and has protocols in place for the media to fact check any information they receive with the RCIPS Media and Communications Unit.
The publishing of misinformation of this nature is not only damaging to the community but will undoubtedly have a severe impact on the family of the victim and is unhelpful with investigation efforts.
RCIPS encourages the community to exercise caution and choose wisely when selecting their news sources.
Comments (0)
We appreciate your feedback. You can comment here with your pseudonym or real name. You can leave a comment with or without entering an email address. All comments will be reviewed before they are published.