Many print media and news stations are making use of images to support their news articles and stories. A good number of people are of the opinion that images are not a reliable source of information, while others consider images as a concrete and factual source of information. This essay will discuss both sides of this argument and give an opinion on the matter.
The use of photographs by many news outlet have been considered more modern and attractive. Hence it’s recent popularity amongst media outlets. However, some people think that images are not a reliable source of news because they can be doctored or altered, and used to publish false information about a person or organisation. For instance, in my home country, a certain politician was caught stuffing large amount of dollars into his big traditional attire, he denied that the image was false and that it was weaponized by his opponents to print damaging things about him.
On the flip side, some other group of people believe that the use of photographs provide more factual and concrete evidence, because it contains time stamps, which makes news more believable and authentic. For instance, during the elections in Niger, no one believes the election results, without photo evidence of handwritten numbers, signed and stamped by polling unit officers. In my opinion, photographs remain irrefutable and indispensable in modern day reporting, of both newspapers and news channels, because they provide supportive evidence to back information.
To conclude, it is important, that we – the receivers of reported news and the reporting organizations, fact-check information containing photographs, to determine when fake news may be backed by images, this will help to reduce doubts and strengthen the media.