A question about tabloid newspapers and how they report big stories,

[BiscoffAddict]

Something I’ve always wondered about the tabloid press when they report a big scandalous story, like say the Hancock stuff they always talk about ‘friends have said this’ and ‘ close friends say that’. Are they really talking to friends of the people involved or are they just making it up? If one of my good friends or a family member was caught up in something like that I can’t ever I imagine agreeing to talk to say The Sun (especially not The Sun!) about them, even if they’d offered to pay me. So who are all these people.

A lot of the people involved in this story seem to have ‘friends’ talking to the press, but are they really?

They're talking about people who are talking to them - they're not necessarily friends - they might be neighbours, colleagues, the man in the corner shop. There's always someone who's prepared to talk, which is why so many things printed in the newspapers are wrong!

@HollowTalk

They're talking about people who are talking to them - they're not necessarily friends - they might be neighbours, colleagues, the man in the corner shop. There's always someone who's prepared to talk, which is why so many things printed in the newspapers are wrong!

They wouldn’t print it if it was wrong though, would they? Am I just being naive? The press seemed to know that he’d left his wife immediately. That’s really private, so who on Earth leaked it? I can’t imagine family or close friends did?

The removal company? Estate agents?

It isn't that they print it if they know it's wrong, but think about it - they will be asking absolutely everyone (and paying them too, often.) It only takes one person to say "My sister's neighbour's cousin saw a taxi outside their house" and they have a story.

They can't actually make it up, that's libel. They do often print without full disclosure or with a right to reply though. Mostly they know they'll get a slap on the wrist and have to publish an apology, which they'll bury on page 57

You’re being extremely naive. They make shit up all the time and deliberately twist barely useful information to create a narrative.

Didn’t some of them admit to the leveson inquiry that the made this stuff up? The DM might have gone as far as admitting they made whole stories up, knowing what their readers wanted,

They would have to be very bold to commit outright libel. Because they can be sued. The onus would be on them to prove what they have written is true - rather than the person they've written about to prove it's a lie.

Look at who's writing the story, or their team. What's in their interest? Why might they write what they're writing? It's not beyond the realms of possibility they're being fed lines to spin.

You don't have to delve too deep or Google much to find out.

I don't trust any media completely. Any.

No I don’t trust media outlets either. I’ve just always wondered about then they refer to ‘friends’ who they mean? I guess this gives my answer.