It pays to be alert

While the furore rages over the devastating Amazon fires, something queer also grabbed headlines a few days ago. In fact Trump would have been right, for once, on his fake news tirade, should he have tweeted on the dramatic images that flooded social media, as being untrue. From Leo DiCaprio to Cristiano Ronaldo to Indian actors Anushka Sharma and Alia Bhatt to Emmanuel Macro, all had got their photos on the fires, wrong  (“DiCaprio questions lack of media interest in Amazon rainforest fire”, Aug. 22, Gulf Today).

I am in no way trying to trivialize the issue. But, the point I am making is that in times of disturbances whether environmental or otherwise we need to be alert on what goes viral through social media. The consequences at times can be more fatal than the issue itself. India is a case in question. We have seen multiple deaths as a result of mob lynching primarily because of false news spread via social networking sites.

Though in the current case only the images were out of date, but the issue was of critical significance. “Our house is on fire. Literally. The Amazon, the lung of our planet which produces 20 percent of our oxygen is burning” said Macron said on Twitter. But the photograph was not of the recent incident.

DiCaprio shared the Macron photo while adding another. That too was a wrong. It was a 2016 photo shot in the Peruvian city of Puerto Maldonado. No grouse there, because when you have high-profile figures raising their voice, it always evokes a response, and in this case it got the Bolsonaro government to act.

Madeline S

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