Two big errors this last week pointed out the problems of relying on tweets as a legitimate news source such as the Associated Press or Reuters. Last week, someone hacked into the NBC News Twitter account and sent out a tweet about a terror attack and plane crash at Ground Zero. Of course, with the 10th anniversary of the attack on the United States, everyone's sensitivity was set on skittish to begin with.
"What's Trending" host and creator Shira Lazar
That was followed up by a report on CBS News' "What's Trending". The web show reports on trends happening on the internet and passed along a report on Friday that read, "Reports say that Steve Jobs has passed away. Stay tuned for more updates." To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of Jobs' demise were greatly exaggerated. The false report came from "What's Trending" and while CBS did pass it on during the show, the network has no news partnership with them. To make matters worse, other news agencies reporting on the story were attributing the report to a CBS News Twitter account.
CBS cut its ties with the 28 year old creator of "What's Trending", Shira Lazar, immediately after Friday's show. Apologies were sent out on all fronts and the offending tweet was removed, although thanks to re-tweeting, it does live on. As does Steve Jobs. "What's Trending" has been removed from the CBS web site and the network has removed all connections with Lazar.
Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.
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