At this age and time, it does pay to be more vigilent and the utmost care must be taken when sharing information. The Internet has made it easier and quicker; therein lies the beauty and the curse of this phenomena. Spread a rumour; slander someone and depending on its nature and appeal; it can reach the massive millions in seconds. Reach a friend, talk to loved ones at the click of a button and in the comfort of your home or office is of course the beauty of the Internet.
In the Pacific Islands; the Internet is slowly but surely taking a firm grip on our lives. Education and competition in the telecommunication sector is allowing the Internet to become cheaper and more accessible to the mass public. But at what cost?
Once a student of Internet Governance with DiploFoundation; I wrote a final paper on Human Rights focusing on the Article 19 – Freedom of Expression. I paid a great deal of attention to the underlying principle of ‘responsibility’ that resonates within the finer prints of Article 19. That while it is a right to express yourself; one must do it with responsibility, with care that your right to express does not impinge the rights of our other fellow human beings.
Let me indulge you with two very recent examples of journalistic gaffes, about the Solomon Islands, which have the potential to misinform unsuspecting readers the world over.
From Creditcards.com comes the story of the world’s 10 weirdest currencies.
The world’s 10 weirdest currencies
Cultures reveal themselves in the odd ways they create money
By Jay MacDonald
1. Rai stone
On the island of Yap in the Solomon Islands, you’ll find the world’s largest and strangest form of currency: the rai stone. Forget pocket change: these limestone disks with the hole in the center can run 12 feet in diameter and weight up to eight tons.
Because Yap lacks the proper limestone for rei stones, the villagers would risk their lives to paddle their ocean-going canoes to Palau, where they would carve these behemoths from a mountainside and row them back to the island.
Stop Press: Sad to say, the island of Yap is non-existent in the Solomon Islands but this article will impress on the reader that the people of Yap in the Solomon Islands will bear the treacherous journey to Palau to get this stone. While it does add drama and intrigue; it is an unfortunate misrepresentation of the truth. Yap is actually part of the Federated States of Micronesia.
Closer to home, the Fiji Daily Post reports on James Naka’s exceptional football skills which allowed Navua to successfully defend its FACT soccer title a few weeks back.
NAKA pays
16-Jun-2009 11:01 AM
By Anand Singh
Southern Forest Navua boss Anil Sharma’s investment in buying Ni-Vanuatu player James Naka (PICTURED) paid off in style at the 17th Vodafone Fiji FACT yesterday.
Stop Press: James Naka is a Solomon Islander who starred for the Bilikiki Boys at 3 FIFA Beach World Cups. Naka has now been appointed captain and remains an integral part of the Beach Squad who will defend their title and aim for an unprecedented fourth World Cup appearance as Oceania representatives.
I have no doubt, there are many of such misinformation out there and sometimes people can dismiss them with little thought of its impact. However, at this time and age; a little lie, a little misinformation can have greater ramifications and it will be sad to think that smaller countries like the Solomon Islands will have less to say about how they are perceived on the World Wide Web. Furthermore, with access to information now made much easier; I find it rather hard to believe that anyone could miss the opportunity to verify facts before broadcasting themselves on the Internet.
The Internet, in my opinion, is the greatest advancement since man first stepped on the moon but it is also a double edged sword that must be overseen with great care and responsibility.