The modern world is flooded with social networks, digital media, and a thousand ways to send data and information to the community.
The lightness and lack of analysis of these materials are producing confusion and an inability of citizens to really understand what is going on.
But not only this, but with an impressive ease, with a disastrous lightness, lies are told, or reality is distorted; harm is done to people and institutions, and then no care is taken to clarify or apologize, and generally the apology is always of lesser caliber and much less powerful than the initial damage of the biased or false news.
Recently, a Spanish digital media accused an extraordinary pastor such as the Archbishop of Quito, Monsignor Alfredo Espinoza, of having protected and not having acted correctly with an abuser priest.
Moreover, really with malice, said media indicated that in a spiritual retreat with the priests of the diocese, Monsignor Espinoza would have said to his priests: “If you do foolish things, do them well so that no one finds out”. Such an alleged phrase is an insult to the intelligence and integrity of the primate bishop of Ecuador.
The Diocese of Quito responded and explained to the media why everything said was not true, that all the respective canonical procedures had been followed, and that furthermore there had never been the alleged meeting in which the archbishop had said such nonsense, as the Spanish media attributed to him.
The said media never called the archbishop before the publication of its biased and incorrect news to ask for his version. It never verified with the archbishop if there was a meeting with the clergy of the diocese. He gave the news with a version that someone with clear intentions to defame provided to the media, and the media failed to comply with the obligation to look for the other version.
The media published the clarification of the Archbishop of Quito, but never asked for an apology. Today it is believed that “giving the same space for the offended or offended person to publish his version” is enough; but it is not. The damage is done and if there is no acknowledgment by the media of its mistake, and/or of its bad intention, the space given to the offended to explain is not a remedy for the evil caused, it is simply not enough.
The modern world is full of such episodes. And in an incredible number of cases, social networks even hide the true originator of the lies, or distortions, or half-truths, which hidden in anonymity do terrible damage.
If all offended parties decided to take legal recourse against abuse by digital media or social network users, there would not be enough judges on the planet to hear these claims.
Decent citizens are therefore at a terrible disadvantage in the face of the infamy, defamation, lies and manipulation that the digital world imposes on society today. (O)
Source: eluniverse.com
