Enjoy the lull Moscow, the circus is returning soon.
Next month for a hearing, then again just after the fall semester starts, international and national journalists will set up shop here getting ready for the Bryan Kohberger trial. Along with bona fide journalists will be a score of internet sleuths/freelance “reporters.”
As a journalist, it is the last group that bothers me the most. Internet sleuths/reporters are rarely well versed in ethical investigative journalism techniques. That is a problem because they may offer rumor and speculation instead of facts when they report their stories on whatever channel they use, normally TikTok or YouTube.
Why does this bother me? Why should I care? I do care deeply about truth and accuracy. I am a big fan of justice, but not justice at the cost of truth. There must be measured research and investigation for all the facts, not rumor and supposition.
In addition, I know how damaging journalism as a profession can be to people. Just the scope of certain news stories damage people’s lives – especially people being charged with crimes. The damage often goes beyond the individual involved to the families, many of whom are innocent but still get tainted with a broad brush.
Cases like the Moscow student murders also bring attention to the families of the victims as well as the accused. Such intrusion at a time of great grief is at best insensitive, at worse a complete nightmare on top of the unimaginable.
Beyond the immediate circle of the victims, the suspect, the police and the families there are the other people damaged by irresponsible reporting or sleuthing. Case in point is that of Rebecca Scofield, the University of Idaho history professor accused of masterminding the murders by Ashley Guillard of Texas, who claims to be a psychic internet sleuth. Scofield is not the only one; others have had similar accusations, and all false accusations before an arrest are harmful.
After asking Guillard to please stop making the allegations, the internet sleuth doubled down and continues to claim Scofield is behind the deaths. Scofield has filed a defamation lawsuit against Guillard, but the costs — financially and emotionally — are significant on the Idaho native.
Recently, friends of Scofield created a GoFundMe account (https://gofund.me/45249e16) to help defray costs of a case that could last another year or more as she tries to clear her name from the false charges. See the account link for more information about the case.
If this could happen to a local resident, it could happen to anyone. Scofield does not have unlimited resources and each month is a struggle to pay her attorneys as the case drags on.
This is the real harm with social media and online internet sleuths. They can grab onto an idea or a supposition and run with it, not understanding how damaging they can be to innocent people. It is a complete destruction of a person’s reputation based on nothing but a whim, without facts or a shred of truth.
Yes, they can be entertaining, but does that justify destroying people’s lives?
Major cases such as the Moscow student murders and the upcoming trial will again bring a lot of attention to Moscow and the people who live here. We as residents must realize there are some good quality journalists out there who simply want to tell the truth, but there are others who are only looking for the sensational.
How to tell the difference? Take a moment to look them up if you are contacted. Find out who they are and who they represent. They could be a reputable documentary filmmaker here for an in-depth story; if so, they should at least give the name of their production company. A quick search through a good web browser should show who they are, their published works and their interests.
Also, almost all legitimate journalists abide by the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics (hpps://spj.org/ethicscode.asp), and it is always worth asking if the reporter calling is acquainted with and follows the code. If they don’t, you may want to avoid them.
Tallent was a journalism faculty member at the University of Idaho for 13 years before her retirement in 2019. She is of Cherokee descent and is a member of both the Native American Journalists Association and the Society of Professional Journalists. She also writes for Faith and Values News (spokanefavs.com).
