Media Constraints Present in Arnold Clavio’s Instagram Expose

The Message posted by Arnold Clavio on Instagram is as follows:

Mga ‘iGan, ang impormasyon na ito ay hindi para manakot o lumikha ng situwasyon para mag-panic ang publiko. Pero may Karapatan tayo na malaman ang katotohanan mula sa gobyerno — Department of Health at mga local na pamahalaan. At may Karapatan din ako na iparating ito sa kinauukulan.

Sa isang ospital sa Metro Manila, may utos na huwag nang magbilang ng namamatay dahil sa covid19. Ayos sa isang frontliner, nakakatakot ang situwasyon dahil nagkalat sa hallway ng ospital ang mga bangkay. Sa isang ward, puno ng PUI (Person Under Investigation). Sa loob ng isang araw, 10 ang namamatay. Kaya nanawagan na ang ospital sa supplier ng mga body bags para paglagyan ng mga namatay. Maging ang ilang frontliner ay nahahawa na rin. Seryoso at nakakabahala ang impormasyong ito at kailangan ng mabilis na pagtugon ng pamahalaan.

Sa China, kaya lumala ang krisis dahil hindi nagsabi ng totoo sa nangyari ang kanilang gobyerno. Kaya ang tanging panlaban lang ng publiko ay manatili sa loob ng bahay, magsuot ng mask at maghugas ng kamay, mag-ehersisyo at kumain ng masusustansyang pagkain para mapanatiling malakas ang ating immune system.

Maging tapat para di na kumalat. Naghihintay kami @secduque. Ano ang totoong sitwasyon sa Pilipinas? Bakit kailangan na hindi na i-census o bilangin ang mga namatay sa Covid-19? Maraming Salamat po. #magingtapat #covid19

Diversity (Media Type)

Among all media types, Mr. Clavio chose to upload his message on Instagram. Instagram is a social media but less popular than Facebook. Instagram’s site is usually for photos and art interests. In analyzing this, let us consider that Mr. Clavio is also a radio host in DZBB, GMA’s radio station. Of course, this type of message is not allowed to be aired on the radio. Choosing Instagram as the channel is also wise; it can only reach a few numbers of audiences. Why not Facebook? Facebook, in recent years, has been criticized for a lot of “fake news” circulating on newsfeeds. Assuming Mr. Clavio uploaded it on Facebook, many people would quickly think that this is just one of “fake news” circulating the web.

Watchdogs

The message by Mr. Clavio stirred issues, and the public bombarded the PH Department of Health with questions. However, there is also an issue becoming a watchdog of society at this time of crisis. Not everyone who read Mr. Clavio’s post is critical in thinking, and the message may cause other people anxiety or panic. Even though Mr. Clavio’s foreword is about not causing panic, the total of his message did stir panic. It became the talk on other social media platforms, and he may not be the one to stir anxiety, but other people’s words implied so.

PH Department of Help discussed this issue and clarified there is no truth in Mr. Clavio’s accusations and that the Philippines is doing its best to be transparent.

Skepticism

According to the PowerPoint in the discussion, in an attempt to balance their role as watchdogs, journalists may feel a professional obligation to adopt a critical and skeptical stance regarding government and industry activities. This attitude, however, is often less pronounced during an emergency. It supports the fact that Mr. Clavio’s Instagram message is dispensable. There are other ways to promote transparency and avoid using questions that may imply visuals to the readers that cause anxiety.

Information flow and Source dependency

This expose of Mr. Clavio could put risk on his credibility as a journalist. Others say that Mr. Clavio’s source could make it all up. Hence, there is no way to know his source’s credentials because in the journalism principles; journalists may give the source protection to gather and reveal information in the public interest from confidential sources. Such sources may require anonymity to protect them from physical, economic, or professional reprisals in response to their revelations.

Source Selection

In classic journalism, rumors had to be double-sourced before, say, a newspaper would run with them. It is advisable to find another person or source that have the same statement to avoid prejudice. In this case, Mr. Clavio did not specify the source and it has probability for it to be considered as a groundless testimony.