This week took Iltalehti removed 33 articles after uncertainties surrounding the work of a Ukraine-based writer. Several of the texts contained images from other places and times than indicated.
“As a result of this, there is reason to doubt the veracity of the other articles,” writes the newspaper.
The employee was hired as a “fixer” and translator on site in Ukraine. When the war broke out, he started writing his own texts.
“He had a good network and managed to successfully bring our journalists to the front”, writes Iltalehti’s editor-in-chief.
Why not own journalists?
According to journalism professor Gunnar Nygren, who researched source criticism and the Ukraine war, a trend is visible with fewer own reporters and more purchased material. Media dare not send people to war. Instead, they transfer the risk to freelancers. But there is also a risk that journalism will suffer.
– Those who sell material have a greater interest in dramatizing and improving than an employee who is not dependent on selling.
But it is also an economic issue.
– Foreign reporting is expensive. It is cheaper to buy in from freelancers, although you may not know what the freelancer really stands for.
Information warfare and journalism
Gunnar Nygren believes that the war for information is becoming increasingly important for all parties. You want to spread information that benefits your own page, and editors have to deal with that.
– It also speaks for having its own employees with knowledge and experience who can balance this.
In his research, he sees that newsrooms rely heavily on news agencies to verify the information they receive. But it is difficult even for them, especially when the information comes from social media.
– The most important thing is that you build up your own knowledge and let reporters specialize. Then the chance of finding warning bells increases.
SVT has applied for Iltalehti’s editor-in-chief.