In the case of the missing California baby, citizen journalists broke news but also spread misinformation
Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco isn t a fan of so-called keyboard warriors at least when it comes to the event against the parents of Cabazon infant Emmanuel Haro Those self-styled reporters were spreading false information he says Related Articles Brother of missing California man says sibling had longtime ties to cult-like religious group San Jose Silver alert issued for missing -year-old man Mysterious death of -year-old California boy re-examined after clues emerge in missing-persons cases Murder suspect arrested in Peru after wife s body was determined dumped in California forest DA says missing -month-old California baby died from suspected ongoing physical abuse The sheriff at times critical of the mainstream press paused during a modern press conference to castigate the online sleuths and citizen journalists I just want to thank all of you especially the normal mainstream media for your attention to this Bianco disclosed Not so much for social media and for keyboard warriors who quite honestly sometimes hamper and prevent us from a good analysis The episode of missing -month-old Emmanuel drew national attention after his mother Rebecca Haro initially claimed the boy was kidnapped in a violent assault But law enforcement discovered inconsistencies in Rebecca and husband Jake Haro s story they have both been charged with murder While investigators worked behind the scenes online commentators hurriedly speculated about law enforcement sessions who could be involved in the baby s disappearance and whether the remains of the baby had been ascertained Citizen journalists and others strain to photograph Deputy Masses Defender Brian Cosgrove as he speaks after a hearing for baby murder defendants Jake Haro and Rebecca Haro outside the Riverside County Hall of Justice in Riverside on Aug Photo by Brian Rokos The Press-Enterprise SCNG Rumors did spread that Emmanuel s remains had been discovered in Lake Perris prompting a post on the recreation area s Facebook page to assure the general that it was entirely false unsubstantiated and not supported by any credible evidence or official reports When Emmanuel s father was seen in jail clothes with law enforcement in the Moreno Valley Badlands rumors without delay swirled that Emmanuel s remains had been detected No functionaries commented they had not Reports that a jailed Jake Haro had confessed to killing his son to a planted inmate circulated online another claim officers debunked That s not true Riverside County District attorney Mike Hestrin announced during that Aug press conference There s no confession made in jail This is what happens when you ve got all these folks out there online and these keyboard warriors the district attorney stated You get a lot of misinformation Officials stressed that due to the ongoing nature of the inquiry Emmanuel s remains have not been detected and his parents trial is still ahead there is information and evidence that cannot be publicly discussed I m not allowed to prove my circumstance in the court of society opinion so there s a lot we can t say in terms of the facts and the evidence Hestrin disclosed For that you will have to come to the court San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus acknowledged the role the media overall played in assisting with the scrutiny I want to thank all of you in the media for covering this specifically the parents initial statements to the constituents while we were trying to find Emmanuel he mentioned They became critical as we continued through this scrutiny While executives lamented the role non-traditional news sources played in the media fervor surrounding the Haro family scenario there are benefits to an expanded and equalized media even if it comes with various mistakes declared Daniela Gerson a journalist and journalism professor at California State University Northridge It used to be that you needed a printing press to publish or you needed a broadcast or a way to get words out Gerson announced Now anyone can broadcast and that has been incredible in democratizing media and making access available to people getting stories out covering marginalized communities that are often not covered While immediacy can be a positive aspect of online and social-media reporting the nature of livestreaming and not filtering information through other people or channels can lead to mistakes Gerson stated Citizen media is fantastic at doing that and then sometimes something shouldn t be livestreamed and there isn t somebody to say this shouldn t be happening and there isn t a rule of ethics that determines what is of quality that should be put out there Gerson declared Content can be posted without going through any editing or verification process that traditional media organizations have in place In a landscape where shocking coverage generates clicks figuring out the truth in a sea of information can be intricate for the citizens There s been fantastic elements of the advent of what s often called citizen journalism but with it has also come challenges and the biggest challenge is in authentication and lacking a gatekeeper who determines whether or not something is ready to reach a broader audience Gerson noted Citizen journalists certainly had a scoop or two A TikTok page with the username russsjademedia was the first to break news of the arrest of Rebecca and Jake Haro via livestream The people running the page camped out near the Haro residence when government arrived The page has since been made private When online journalist Ahmed Bellozo made the trip to Yucaipa where Emmanuel Haro had been broadcasted missing and began reporting on the episode for his followers the story was just that the episode of a missing child But as the circumstance evolved Bellozo s coverage became more complex His work on the Haro circumstance is an example of citizen journalism news informed by members of the residents rather than traditionally trained journalists Bellozo has been involved with searches for Emmanuel He attended court proceedings He interviewed people who demonstrated up at the Haros residence to demand answers in the situation He reports on information he receives from his sources Bellozo runs a news page focused on the Inland Empire called On the Tira From the start of the Emmanuel Haro analysis Bellozo has been updating his followers on Instagram and on TikTok they frequently thank him for his updates At the Aug press conference Bellozo sought executives if they knew the location of Emmanuel s body expressing his interest in joining searches saying that it would help him get certain rest Get particular rest there should be no one out there looking for baby Emmanuel except for us because all you re going to do is complicate things in the future Bianco announced Bellozo noted that he and other online news creators are in a new wave of journalism that functionaries should embrace instead of alienating us He says he will continue his live reporting He feels a responsibility to Emmanuel and wants to statement on the court proceedings He understands the frustrations surrounding misinformation and says he has worked to combat that I totally wholeheartedly agree with that because they ve frustrated even me when people are out there putting false information about heads and dumpsters and Perris Lake and places that have nothing to do with the actual research Bellozo commented Bellozo is in his own words journal-tainment combining information with humor and relatability as he talks to and interacts with his audience He differentiates his work for On the Tira from general social-media content creation citing his dedication to live reporting going to scenes and working to verify information I coined that phrase there because I am a journalist and I am entertainment at the same time he stated And sometimes there s a fine line for me but I try to treat each circumstance accordingly The locality knows that if it comes from my page it s been vetted verified at least to the best of my intent and if not if something comes up then I would retract my comment as I did this past weekend when I got one vital piece of information very very wrong regarding the Emmanuel Haro matter when I stated that we had ascertained the body he declared He commented he does not want to post rumors or misinformation Bulk thought we determined him and so I jumped the gun a little bit without genuinely knowing and since then I ve learned that the very very seriousness and the quick repercussions of stating false information and I directly retracted my report within minutes Bellozo declared But with his large audience a great number of had already discussed and reposted the claim Kim Govea and Mike Lira Sr of Redlands announced on Friday Aug that they have been outside the Haros home demanding answers for four days Photo by Beau Yarbrough SCNG
