Social network; is it a safe and reliable media tool?

The introduction of various social networks has made the dissemination of information much easier for public consumptions. Journalists, media organization and the public treated this as an alternative media tool to disseminate information at any time and any place. It also provides an avenue for easy interaction between people, share information and build more friendship among people. Social network is easily accessible and unregulated; you can post or share whatever information, photos music or videos at your own choice and at a reasonable cost. Twitter and Facebook, for example, are providing easy and accessible platform for public to manage, interact and share information. However, the question is, is social networking really safe and the information conveyed reliable? Social networks are personally regulated and any information provides can be miss-leading or sometimes not meet public expectation and interest. It also sometimes leads to conflict between friends, government and public at large because of its unregulated and uncensored characteristic.

Just recently, a Vanuatu journalist was arrested for publishing a seditious statement about the government on the internet.  According to the Radio Australia, Gratien Tiona a journalist working for the Vanuatu Independent newspaper was allegedly making a comment on a Facebook forum praying for an aircraft to crash that transporting Vanuatu's Council of Ministers including the Prime Minister Moana Carcasses Kalosil. Mr.Tiona was eventually facing charges of terrorist activity, seditious publication, and making threats. In his apologizing response, Tiona stated that he only discussed on the original post initiated by one Facebook forum user discussing about the Vanuatu government cabinet travelling back from their meeting.

"I wasn’t trying to make a crash happen; I’d like to say my comment has not got anything to do with terrorism. My original comment had been misconstrued."

Journalist released.
Picture: Vanuatu Daily Post.

However, the Vanuatu government was concerned and promptly acted on the issue stated that they will stand to their decision. Tiona then was detained in police cell for 30 hours and released later because of no formal complain made against his comment. 

The act of the journalist might depict some hidden agendas or if not disagreement to the Vanuatu government's trip which is questionable. After all its about freedom of expression.

However, this case has questionable to the safety of either professional journalists or any ordinary person when posting or sending information on social media. It warned us that though there is freedom of media which allowed people to freely express their views on any issue, still there are risks that suppressed that freedom. This means that we must be responsible for our actions or be responsible on what we are reporting and expressing.