Less than 24 hours after Stuff Circuit’s Life + Limb documentary revealed 17 deaths and injuries connected to New Zealand firing ranges in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ordered the Defence Force to urgently clean up our unexploded ordnance. The documentary had exposed devastating stories of loss and asked the question, why have those accountable not taken responsibility for their actions? Thanks to this piece of investigative journalism, they have.
New Zealand went to Afghanistan in 2003 on a ‘hearts and minds’ mission. So when we came across information suggesting civilian deaths for which our country might be responsible, it was important to investigate.
We travelled to Afghanistan to film the facts: were there deaths and injuries of civilians? How many? Were they connected with our firing ranges? Were New Zealand authorities aware? Had they done anything about it?
We knew there was a UN database which detailed nine separate incidents, but before we even arrived in Afghanistan, we got hold of documentation in which the New Zealand Defence Force stated that none of the incidents had been directly linked to its activities, and that it had cleared the main firing range in question.
How could that be so at odds with what we’d been told by others?
We wanted to track down injured survivors and the families of those who’d been killed – to put faces to names so our audience could connect on a human level: that these are not just unnamed people in a faraway land; they are mothers and brothers and sons who’d suffered great loss.
We wanted to speak to the UN in Afghanistan, to local investigators, de-miners, and elders, and to track down documentation to get as full a picture as possible, to establish whether what the Defence Force claimed, was right.
Our resulting video investigation, Life + Limb, revealed 17 Afghan civilians had been killed or injured on New Zealand firing ranges.
The documentary unfolded the story of exactly what had happened, to whom, and where: and the facts were in stark contrast to what the New Zealand Defence Force had told us.
We structured and edited the video in a way which we hoped would pull the viewer in and keep them. These were important revelations so we chose opening and closing shots of three mothers grieving their seven children, killed in one explosion, because we wanted to provide an instant way for people to connect.
When we sat down to interview them, they told us they hadn’t heard from any New Zealand authorities since the incident – in fact, anyone at all from New Zealand.
“You are the first”, one of them told us, five years on from the deaths of her children.
But the mothers didn’t really care whose unexploded ammunition was responsible for killing their children.
They just wanted the firing ranges cleaned up so nobody else would be killed.
Within 24 hours of our documentary being published, the New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, summoned Defence Force chiefs to Parliament, and ordered them to urgently clean up the New Zealand firing ranges in Afghanistan of unexploded ordnance.
In an interview with Stuff Circuit, the PM had a message to the families: “We have a responsibility to clear our sites and we will – it’s taken too long in my view.”
Stuff Circuit’s Life + Limb documentary, revealed 17 Afghan civilians had been killed or injured on New Zealand firing ranges.KABUL, AFGHANISTAN: Patients at the clinic rest between exercise sessions. CREDIT: PHIL JOHNSON/STUFF CIRCUIT
VANCOUVER — The call came in on an afternoon in March: a patient at a medical clinic in Vancouver complained of chest pains.
Paramedic Jeff Booton watched the details flash across the screen as he and his partner made their way to the clinic.
It was his first potential case of COVID-19 and he felt both trepidation and a sense of duty.
“I see this job as working in the service of people. And getting to do so in the context of a pandemic is obviously wrought with fear and apprehension some days, but it’s work that still resonates with me,” he said.
B.C. Ambulance paramedic Jeff Booton cleans his ambulance at station 233 in Lions Bay, B.C. Wednesday, April 22, 2020. Booton was among the people who cared for a COVID-19 patient. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
When Booton arrived, he put on protective gloves, a fluid-repellent gown, N-95 mask and face shield.
After a physical exam, they got back in the ambulance and Booton did what he always tries to do: comfort the patient. Paramedics see people during what can be pivotal personal moments and Booton felt the weight of the patient’s worry. As they travelled together towards St. Paul’s Hospital, he told the patient what he could expect in the emergency department and what types of tests he might undergo.
“I can only imagine what he was feeling in that moment, but it must have felt like a true sense of vulnerability to what uncertainty lay ahead,” Booton said.
Booton was one of at least 125 health workers, ranging from dispatchers and nurses to hospital housekeepers, who cared for the patient.
On that day, the patient was among 55 identified by dispatchers as possible COVID-19 cases in Vancouver.
Since the pandemic began, more than 50,000 people in Canada have tested positive for the new coronavirus, and federal government figures say at least 2,900 people have been hospitalized.
This is the story of those who cared for a single case at St. Paul’s.
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
Dr. Shannon O’Donnell knew she had only a few minutes to prepare after paramedics phoned the hospital to warn that a suspected COVID-19 case was on the way.
“I was a little anxious,” she said. “We don’t know what we’re getting, how much distress a patient is going to be in or how sick they’ll be. And you know, you’re worried also about being exposed to infection.”
The department had been eerily quiet after beds were vacated and the workflow was overhauled to make room for a possible surge in COVID-19 cases, O’Donnell said. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry recently announced the province has been able to control the spread of the virus, but the caseload was still growing when the patient arrived.
The paramedics brought the patient directly into a negative pressure room set up for high-risk cases. Glass walls allow for filtration changes to reduce the risk of the virus spreading by air.
Like everyone the patient would interact with, O’Donnell examined him through a heavy armour of personal protective equipment. He was one of the sicker patients she’d seen.
“What was most striking to me was that he did require oxygen, but he also had a very high respiratory rate. He was breathing 30 breaths per minute, whereas you or I would breathe 15 or 16 breaths per minute,” she said.
COVID-19 has transformed not only the hospital but O’Donnell’s home life, too. She and her husband, also an emergency doctor, juggle the full-time care of their three children at home since schools closed.
Together, they decided that if there were a major outbreak, one would work at the hospital and self-isolate from the family, while the other would care for the kids.
“My husband likened it to both of us running into a burning building at the same time.”
O’Donnell ordered blood work, chest X-rays and an electrocardiogram scan, and conducted a chest ultrasound with the help of registered nurse Rachel Mrdeza.
For Mrdeza, some of the hardest cases have been the older patients who arrive incredibly short of breath, with a fever and chest tightness. Emergency department workers don’t typically learn if patients have COVID-19 because the test results come back after they move on from their care, but there can be strong evidence of the virus.
Registered nurse Rachel Mrdeza is photographed at St. Paul’s hospital in downtown Vancouver B.C. Thursday, April 2, 2020. The doctors and nurses who care for the critically ill already understand death is a reality. But COVID-19 has added an emotional burden to their work. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Under normal circumstances, the emergency doctor would work with several nurses but only one is allowed in the isolation room at a time to protect against contagion.
By the time QianQian Wu began her night shift, she was only the third nurse to see the patient.
Despite the promising case numbers in B.C., Wu said staff don’t feel like they can relax. St. Paul’s Hospital is the main treatment centre for vulnerable residents on the city’s Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood that faces another public health emergency from the overdose crisis.
Wu began her shift by putting on the uncomfortable protective gear that she would wear all night. She tries to stay hydrated before work because she knows she can’t drink water with the mask on.
“It’s a little hard to breath sometimes,” she said. “And sometimes you get sleepy with it on for a long time, it’s very warm.”
Wu took the patient’s vitals and talked to him about his family and friends. She also noticed his laboured breathing.
TESTING
While the patient waited in the emergency department, blood samples and swabs were sent to the hospital’s laboratory.
Dr. Marc Romney, medical director of medical microbiology and virology, said manual molecular testing for COVID-19 typically requires five to 10 lab staff.
“It’s not like a pregnancy test you get from London Drugs, it’s much more complicated,” Romney said.
A porter transports the specimen, a technologist reviews whether it was ordered and labelled properly, then two or three technologists conduct a multistep process involving the extraction, purification, amplification and detection of the virus’s genetic material. A senior technologist and one or two physicians review the results before they are sent back to the attending physician and infection control team.
But the virology lab was transformed by the arrival of a machine in March that automates part of the process.
The Roche cobas 6800 system was adapted from HIV testing and lifted the lab’s theoretical capacity up to 2,000 tests per day, in combination with manual testing.
Romney excitedly talks about the changes and ideas they’ve come up with to deal with the pandemic.
“One of the machines that’s called an extractor, we had to be creative to bring it into the lab because we didn’t have a lot of capital dollars to do it, so we basically bought it off the internet second hand,” he said.
“We’re under tremendous pressure to deliver, it’s been a challenging time. But we’re pleased.”
It has also come at personal cost.
One technologist was basically living in the lab and sleeping only five hours a night.
Romney went weeks without a day off and didn’t see anyone in person beyond his immediate family and colleagues.
When 19 positive tests came back in a single day, another doctor “basically ran from her home” to the hospital to start communicating the results to doctors, public health officials and others who required the information, Romney said.
“The front-line workers are amazing, and we are here to support them but I think it’s good for people to know there are also a lot of people behind the scenes working on this too,” he said.
“It’s not just machines that are being plugged into walls, it’s very human what we do here.”
Romney said the lab staff are mindful that time is critical in fighting the virus.
“It’s a sacrifice but we understand the importance of what we’re doing and there’s kind of a window of opportunity to try and contain the virus. Part of that is testing.”
THE TRANSITION TEAM
More severe suspected COVID-19 cases are sent to the intensive care unit for isolation. Back in the emergency department, Dr. O’Donnell called Dr. Mathieu Surprenant for an assessment while they awaited test results.
The 29-year-old clinical associate put plans to move back to Montreal on hold when the pandemic struck. Moving in with other doctors seemed too risky, so Surprenant remained in his nearly empty apartment in B.C. on an extended lease.
“I’m sleeping on my inflatable mattress and I’m trying not see anybody,” he said, laughing.
“It’s been very lonely because when I’m not working, I’m not doing anything.”
Emergency doctor Mathieu Surprenant is photographed at St. Paul’s hospital in downtown Vancouver B.C. Thursday, April 2, 2020. The doctors and nurses who care for the critically ill already understand death is a reality. But COVID-19 has added an emotional burden to their work. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
When he got the call from emergency, Surprenant headed downstairs with resident Dr. Charles Yang.
This wasn’t the hospital’s first suspected COVID-19 case and Yang found himself wondering if it would follow the same trajectory as others.
“In my mind I was wondering, OK what are the precautions I need to take in order to protect myself and other patients while maintaining the level of care I would typically provide for a patient,” Yang said.
He thought of his fiancee at home and whether he would be putting her at risk.
The team examined the patient to develop his care plan. They looked at his oxygen levels and also at the patient himself. Did he look comfortable? Was he struggling?
“What we’re sort of afraid of is that they reach a certain point where they’re able to compensate with their own physiology and eventually just tucker out and decline at a rapid pace,” Yang said.
A crash intubation would be risky for staff because of the time it takes to put on protective equipment, and a chaotic rush into an isolation room could spread the infection. A care plan puts everything in place for a controlled intubation, if a patient appears likely to decline.
The team talked it over and the patient was transferred to the ICU for monitoring overnight.
But it wasn’t long before his oxygen levels began to concern Surprenant.
Best practices change rapidly as new information becomes available about the new coronavirus, the doctor said.
Initially, for example, the idea was to intubate as soon as possible because if a patient gets too ill, his chance of dying on a ventilator increases. But intubation is also more invasive than other procedures and risky for health workers because it pushes droplets of the virus into the air.
Since the pandemic began, recommendations have relaxed to allow for other treatments first but it’s a constantly moving target, Surprenant said.
He believed the patient had reached the stage where intubation was his best chance at survival.
Making that call meant calling in a group dubbed the COVID airway team. Early in the pandemic, the experts in both airway management and donning and doffing specialized protective gear waited on call in a hotel across the street.
“Just dressing takes between five and 10 minutes,” Surprenant said. “They look like astronauts with all the layers.”
THE COVID AIRWAY TEAM
Anesthesiologist Dr. Shannon Lockhart was part of the planning group that conceived of the COVID airway team.
The cancellation of elective surgeries meant the traditional workload for Lockhart and her colleagues would be lighter. Their idea was to form teams with respiratory therapists to perform intubations so that emergency and ICU doctors wouldn’t expose themselves to the high-risk procedure.
Anesthesiologists self-selected into one of three groups: The first wave was ready to start serving on the COVID airway team immediately. The second would step in if the first wave got sick. And the third would not participate because they or their loved ones were at risk of serious illness if exposed to the virus.
For Lockhart, the decision to be part of the first group, known as the “green team,” was easy. The hard part was creating a plan that would call on others to face the same risk.
“I’m 35 years old, I’m young and healthy. I have a family who is young and healthy, so the personal risk was pretty low for me,” she said.
“More challenging for me was identifying this was a useful model for our group, who are my colleagues and friends, and thereby potentially offering the services of people and putting them at higher risk.”
The uptake was good, however. She was among 16 who volunteered for the green team, making it viable.
When Lockhart was called to intubate the patient, she was ready.
“He fit the story of what you hear about COVID patients who look really well from the bedside, but their numbers don’t look that great,” she said.
Putting a breathing tube down a patient’s throat under normal circumstances takes between five and six minutes, she said.
That time frame has ballooned to between 60 and 90 minutes dealing with the extra protective gear, preparing every possible material you could need in isolation, and the cleaning or disposal of everything in the room.
Dressing feels like a race when someone is struggling to breathe. Once inside, the urgency to clear the airway is intensified by the heat the suit produces.
“The longer we’re in the room, the hotter we get and the foggier our eye protection becomes,” Lockhart said.
Lockhart and a respiratory therapist gave the patient a sedative and paralytic, and inserted the breathing tube while another anesthesiologist waited outside as backup.
Working with different colleagues in an unfamiliar setting wearing cumbersome new equipment is stressful, Lockhart said. But she’s been heartened to watch hospital staff quickly respond and break down silos in which they typically operate.
After intubating the patient, the riskiest part of Lockhart’s new job is doffing her gear.
As the patient relies on strangers for care, Lockhart too relies on someone she barely knows for her own protection. She and the respiratory therapist watch one another carefully as they remove the equipment piece by piece, monitoring for any slip that would allow contamination.
“It’s kind of an interesting position to be in when you’re trusting this person with this very important task but you may never have met them before.”
THE ICU
When Dr. Gavin Tansley met the patient, he was already sedated and breathing through a ventilator.
Tansley had given the OK for intubation when Surprenant woke him up with a phone call. He was already familiar with the patient’s case.
Where possible, ICU staff keep an eye on patients they might inherit from other departments, said Tansley, a general surgeon training in critical care. They ask themselves, if things get worse, what would we do?
In the ICU, the acute focus on ventilation shifts to the more holistic care of all the patient’s major organ systems.
“Critical illness is a bit of a funny thing where you really do recognize how intertwined all of these organ systems are,” Tansley said.
“With COVID in particular we see very familiar patterns where often times the kidneys won’t be working 100 per cent, sometimes the heart won’t be working 100 per cent. So, we need to support those organs with other medications or sometimes we need to add dialysis or additional interventions to optimize things as best we can while the body tries to deal with that virus.”
When Tansley decided to become a doctor, he wanted to help people heal. He didn’t realize then that in the ICU, he wouldn’t get to know his patients very well.
“Very often by the time I meet patients, they’re already sedated or on a ventilator or so sick that they can’t talk to you. So, your relationship becomes with the family, and you develop amazing relationships,” he said.
Reflecting on the case, Tansley said it reinforced some recent thoughts he’s had about critical illness that don’t get discussed. So much focus is on the patients, but their families are often experiencing trauma.
“Conversations we’ve had with this particular family reinforced that he was very, very cared for within this family and they were very much struggling with the fact that he was unwell.”
Being unable to visit their loved ones during the pandemic has added an extra layer of grief, he said.
It has been hard for staff to keep families from their loved ones, but they are finding ways to help them connect. Tansley sets aside time to phone them with updates. Nurses hold iPads up to patients so their families can at least see them on video.
Whatever they try, it’s not the same as being able to hold a loved one or even sit with them. The grief can add an extra layer of emotional stress for health workers as well.
“It’s just one of the many ways the coronavirus has changed the way we have to practise medicine.”
RECOVERY
By the time the patient reached the ICU, about 25 health workers had already played a role in his case. Some interacted with him directly, while others played important but indirect roles in his care, ranging from hospital housekeepers to X-ray technologists.
About 90 intensive care staff saw him, and from there, he would be turned over to a general medicine team.
Recovery is a long road involving a wide network of specialists from dieticians to speech pathologists and social workers. Behind the scenes, hospital administrators, education and outreach teams also do their part.
Kevin Novakowski is a respiratory therapist and in his 28 years of work, he’s never felt an illness create such a constant psychological burden.
“It’s changed me in a way,” he said. “It’s kind of always on my mind.”
In recovery, a patient begins physiotherapy to build his strength. Novakowski is there monitoring how it affects his breathing.
It can take weeks to months, and some never fully recover. Between 30 and 60 per cent of survivors of critical illness have ongoing medical or mental health issues, said Dr. Del Dorscheid, who oversees the ICU as an attending physician. That can mean residual lung disease for COVID-19 survivors, whom he said may receive intensive care for a week or more than a month.
But the first major step toward independence is weaning a patient off the ventilator.
As Novakowski monitored the patient, he began reducing the ventilator’s power and gave him short trials without it.
“You’re looking at their breathing and watching them and focusing on how their muscles look. Are they struggling for air, are they taking deep breaths, are they breathing fast, are they breathing shallow?” he said.
Weaning is a gradual process, like an ebbing tide. Off the ventilator, a patient’s breath rattles.
“They cough and they sputter,” he said.
The rattle may disappear then return when they stand for the first time, or when they start walking.
It’s a stressful process for patients. If they don’t keep coughing to clear their airway, infections can return.
During those first trials, Novakowski waits and listens.
“You listen to them breathing,” he said. “And then all of a sudden, it’s just kind of really quiet and their breathing just sounds like our breathing, normal.
“And you think, OK. That’s good.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 30, 2020.
SINGAPORE — Since she was five, Ms Kelly Kanaga, 30, and her family moved from one place to another for a roof over their heads before they got a rental flat of their own a year ago.
When she heard about the plight of Malaysian workers sleeping rough near Kranji MRT Station after a nationwide lockdown in their country in March, she did not think twice about opening her home to strangers even though it was already cramped.
Ms Kanaga was among many Singaporeans who offered their homes for free as temporary shelters.
“For many years, after my family lost our home, we would stay at people’s homes, so I know how it feels to be in their position,” said the full-time content creator, who lives with her mother and two siblings in a three-room Housing and Development Board flat in Marsiling.
TODAY reported on the Malaysian workers sleeping rough near Kranji MRT Station after the Malaysian border closure — which took effect on March 18 to tackle the Covid-19 outbreak — left them scrambling for shelter. These workers usually commute daily.
The report garnered more than 116,000 shares and an outpouring of support from Singaporeans, who offered to house Malaysian workers in their homes, or provide them with food and blankets.
Ms Kanaga said she took in two workers who work as cleaners at her sister’s office, providing them with mattresses in her living room for two months.
One of them, Ms Kasturi Karpanan, 48, was at her wits’ end trying to find a place before the offer from Ms Kanaga and her sister.
The mother of four children aged 13 to 23 was away from her family in Kulai, Johor, for the first time, so she could keep working in Singapore.
Alone here, Ms Karpanan said she never expected such hospitality from Ms Kanaga’s family. They went grocery shopping occasionally and she even appeared in an episode of a show Ms Kanaga has on YouTube.
“They spent a lot of money on me over the two months. They bought me a pillow and clothes, and refused to take a single cent.
“I didn’t feel like I was living in a stranger’s house at all… It was like living with family,” she said.
After a tip-off by activist Gilbert Goh, TODAY went to Kranji MRT Station on March 19 at about 9.30pm.
The first sign of the homeless Malaysians was warehouse storekeeper Armel Sharil, who was leaning on the station’s metal gates, his face buried between his legs.
Mr Armel had only his wallet, a phone with no internet access, a portable charger, a small tub of hair wax and mouthwash with him. He had no time to pack more belongings before the lockdown.
He was hesitant to share his story at first, but when he did, many followed suit as they wanted their stories told.
TODAY’s reporter and photographer stayed at the station till almost 2am approaching worker after worker, although some refused to talk and many were already snoring.
IMPACT ON COMMUNITY
The Ministry of Manpower said 14 workers were picked up from the station later in the night and taken to a temporary relief centre in Jurong East managed by the Ministry of Social and Family Development.
A check at the station by TODAY the next evening found no Malaysian workers looking to spend the night there.
Instead, this reporter was met by groups of volunteers carrying boxes of sleeping bags, bread and blankets. Officers from the High Commission of Malaysia and the Malaysian Association in Singapore also turned up at the station after reading TODAY’s report.
Within a week, property portal 99.co started an initiative matching homeowners to workers in need.
To date, 99.co has worked with 40 homeowners and residential firm MetroResidences to match workers with temporary housing. Nine workers have been matched.
Mr Darius Cheng, its chief executive officer, told TODAY: “99.co salutes Malaysians working in Singapore for their sacrifice and dedication in earning a living for their loved ones back home, especially in challenging conditions imposed by the lockdown.”
One of its sign-ups was Ms Michelle Loi, 48, who had a vacant flat she wanted to rent out.
Instead, she used it to house two workers for free — one stayed a month before returning to Malaysia and the other moved in with his colleague after two months.
Ms Loi is still in touch with one of them, who kept her updated when he changed his job and moved into his new accommodation.
Bonds flourished between homeowners and the workers they housed.
For outdoor instructor Ruby Tan, who housed two workers for two months, the workers made co-living easy, as they were respectful of the space and kept it clean.
“I’m happy to be able to help, and at the same time, make new friends. It was bittersweet when they left,” said the 32-year-old, who lives in a three-room flat with her husband.
“I felt like we hadn’t built enough of a connection and they were gone.”
The workers left in May when they found a place to stay.
Similarly, human resource executive Joy Choo, 32, who opened her home to a worker, said the pair keeps in touch.
“She still has a plush toy in the room… She told me that she would come back for it before she returns to Malaysia,” said Ms Choo.
She recalled having to make adjustments when sharing her home with the Muslim worker, such as ordering in Halal food.
TODAY did not speak to the workers involved, as they did not wish their employers to know of their circumstances.
Ms Kanaga said she would open up her home to anyone who needs a place to stay, no matter the circumstances.
Ms Karpanan said she tries to visit Ms Kanaga’s family whenever she has time as she misses them.
“When I am alone, I think about the things we did together or I will watch Kelly’s shows (on YouTube).”
This article was written in conjunction with World News Day, which raises awareness of journalism’s role in helping people to make sense of and improve the world around them. The campaign, on Sept 28, will showcase the best work from newsrooms around the globe and how they have brought about positive change in the community.
At 18 years old, I never expected to be writing news in the middle of a pandemic.
For the last six weeks, I’ve been a summer student journalist for Torstar, as part of an internship that started this year with the aim of introducing more diverse applicants into the newsroom.
In many ways, I’m an atypical applicant in an atypical time: I’m not in journalism school, and my reporting happens largely over the phone. The newsroom that I’m part of is hosted on Zoom, and I’ve only met a handful of my colleagues in person. Sometimes, calling a source in my childhood bedroom sends me into a self-aware spiral: How is this my job?
I got into journalism as a lonely math student who had just moved 600 kilometres away from her Ontario hometown. I traipsed around Montreal to cover stories for my student newspaper, drawn to the prospect of writing and understanding the city itself.
Reporting was the best kind of orientation. I walked alongside the protesters I interviewed at marches, and learned to navigate the Byzantine bureaucracy of student government by writing about it. Journalism became a balm for me, a kind of compass. When I was confused, I wanted to find–and write about–something that approximated truth. It felt like contributing to something physical, something published, something necessary.
It wasn’t easy work. Unlike the precise mathematical truths I studied in my classes, the chronology of real-world events was often fractured and confusing. Sometimes it was difficult to determine causality.
Narrative is what drives stories, but it’s also seductive: It’s easy enough to tell a good story and get the why wrong, even when the what is right. I learned how to fact-check the hard way, although I still make the occasional mistake. It’s a difficult job when every error made is public.
Yet that accountability to the truth is what makes journalism so important. Accurate reporting is more relevant than ever–how could I believe otherwise, at this time in history? I was born four months after 9/11. The global financial crisis happened when I was 6 years old. Like many of us, I can precisely pinpoint where I was the day I learned Donald Trump was elected–in my grade 10 math class, writing a unit test with a pit in my stomach. And of course, in my first year of university, the COVID-19 pandemic halted my life.
It’s journalism which has kept me informed through all this–because good reporting isn’t just business. The work journalists do is a service to society, as critical and as shared as our roads and highways. It’s also why it’s difficult to see the revenue model of something so necessary so deeply disrupted. Journalism is clearly not ‘dead’, whatever the latest pundit says–but in many ways it’s had to make substantive changes.
It feels especially ironic to know that my generation takes a share in the blame. We’re more informed than ever, but rather than reading physical papers, we share op-eds, infographics, Tweets, video clips. Some of us don’t read news sources at all; instead, we wait for stories to percolate through social media. Almost none of my friends subscribe to a newspaper. Our mode of consumption is digital, constant, and largely for free.
Yet how can the news survive if everyone wants to read it and nobody wants to pay for it? I’ve seen how hard people work in this profession. It especially breaks my heart to see less and less attention paid to local journalism. Without journalists reporting on your city, who will tell you about the issues with your children’s school board? Who will reveal to you the pollution in your water? Who will tell the story of your city or your family?
As I write this, my six weeks are wrapping up–but I’ll take my perspective on journalism with me. Soon enough, my Zoom newsroom will be replaced by a Zoom classroom, yet I’ll keep paying for the reporting that my colleagues do here. Life continues to happen, and it’s a gift to have been able to record a few weeks of it.
Tasmin Chu lives in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She worked as an intern reporter during the summer of 2020 for the Waterloo Region Record, a daily newspaper and website in Kitchener, Ontario.
This story was originally published by the Fiji Sun on April 30, 2020.
Temalesi Tauga, 42, just wanted tamarind so she could kickstart a little business of her own to support her five children and 72-year-old mother.
Now she has an almost new stove, a full cylinder of gas and later this week, she will get ingredients to start a baking business.
Her plea for help on a social media page designed to encourage barter system, showed the acts of kindness Fijians are known for.
Ms Tauga is not alone, the Barter for Better Fiji page on Facebook has seen many people assisted. Above anything, it has shown how people have come together during a pandemic which has not spared the greatest superpowers.
Ms Tauga is a single mother and lives in a four by two metres shack at Kalekana in Lami, a suburb in Fiji’s capital, Suva.
The tin, wood and other materials used to build her home have been sourced from the area – discarded imaterials make up some part of her home.
Ms Tauga works as a house-girl. But since the COVID-19 pandemic struck, there are not many opportunities.
“You can imagine my surprise when people started helping me. I was given groceries, one person gave me empty bottles for my tamarind chutney, but above all, I have been given a chance to help my children,” she said.
Mafi Mataika was going through Barter for Better Fiji when he came across Ms Tauga’s request.
“I had an old oven and I decided to give it to her. Mr and Mrs Khan from Khalsa Road had a gas cylinder, so I picked it up and delivered it to her. We will be going back to her with baking ingredients and some more items,” he said.
Mr Mataika said an anonymous donor gave money for groceries for the single mum.
Ms Tauga said she was grateful to God and all those who had helped.
But, this is just one heartwarming example that the Barter for Better FijiFacebook page has created.
LEN’S STORY
In Nadi, the hub of what was once a thriving tourism industry in the Western part of Fiji, Len Yusuf from sold cakes and pastries despite the effects from COVID-19.
On Tuesday, she was looking for an empty gas cylinder. She posted her request on the Barter page. Little did she know that she would get two empty gas cylinders, a few fish and coconuts.
She was surprised to see Alice Fong who travelled for more than one and a half hours from Ba to visit her.
On Monday she managed to exchange her chocolate and custard pies with Mere Namalualevu for more fresh fish, coconuts and a brand new pair of shoes.
GOOD SAMARITAN
Former resort worker, Teresa Naivaluvou, traded in her University of the South Pacific textbooks for a tin of infant formula and two packs of diapers.
She was desperate.
The chief executive officer of Fiji’s biggest language school, FreeBird Institute made contact and arrived at her home with baby stuff.
Mereseini Baleilevuka did not take the textbooks.
She simply saw a need and wanted to help.
MARLENE DUTTA
The Barter for Better Fiji Facebook page was set up by Marlene Dutta. Ms Dutta is no stranger to business in Fiji.
The page aimed to help people who faced financial constraints to barter. It was a natural solution as money became tight and hard to come by.
“In the spirit of the giving nature of members on this page – we ask that if you are asking for donations or to help people in dire need, to also offer something/anything in return to ensure that the rules of barter apply.
“If commenter’s offer to donate for nothing in return, that is awesome – but we must be true to our purpose. We ask for your understanding in this,” Ms Dutta said.
BEHIND THE STORY:
Out of the depths of despair from the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe, acts of courage, resilience, kindness and selflessness emerged across Fiji.
By harnessing modern technology to connect people, the Barter for Better Fiji Facebook page started on April 21, 2020.
Today its membership is over 190,000 – more than 20 percent of Fiji’s population.
Items being bartered include goats, mobile phones, taxi service, pot plants for building materials, – but the most commonly requested items have been groceries and food.
In July, Government confirmed that at least 150,000 Fijians have lost their jobs or have had their hours reduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But in the midst of it all – hope came to the fore.
This was the spirit the Fiji Sun captured.
After the front-page story by Shalveen Chand was published, the Fiji Sun editorial team decided that we would highlight Fijians who went above and beyond to assist another.
The series which continues today is aptly titled: Amazing Fijians.
This story was originally published in El Litoral.
Around 50 families live in the Los Alisos beach area in precarious conditions and problems with neighbours are commonplace. The municipality plans to resolve social fragmentations and find a definitive solution together with social organizations, the Provincial government and other State agencies.
Resolving the precarious habitat conditions of hundreds of families in the city of Santa Fe, Argentina, is a pending matter that the municipal and provincial governments cannot yet “approve”, either because the policies applied are wrong or due to the simple fact that the percentage of poverty and homelessness in the country is growing rapidly and the need to have a place to live is urgent.
Faced with this lack of “decent housing”, Santa Fe families that do not have a roof to live in mobilize in groups and settle in different free lands found on the outskirts of Santa Fe. These settlements generate conflictive situations among neighbors, and returns a daily friction. A clear example is what happens in El Pozo. There, some 49 families (according to a 2019 survey) are settled on the shores of the Setúbal lagoon, on Los Alisos beach, a space occupied more than a decade ago.
“The city of Santa Fe presents socio-urban fragmentations that show social vulnerability and the discontinuity of the urban fabric. These sectors of the city represent the highest rates of overcrowding and insecurity. If we add to this inequality in access to land, generates irregular occupations, as is the case of Los Alisos, an area with water risk “, analyzed Paola Pallero, executive director of the Autárquico Santa Fe Habitat Entity, in an interview with El Litoral, and added:” As a first instance we want to face a survey news of the families and update it to today. This is done through a coordinated effort with the Province and the MPA (Public Prosecutor’s Office) “
The sectors that show these irregular situations, for Pallero are located, for the most part, “on the western edge of the city, in the north and in the district of La Costa.” When asked about the comparative analysis with previous years and the demographic growth of the usurped land, the official highlighted: “Yes, they have sustained growth. In the case of El Pozo, from 2009 to today.”
Integration plan
How can the problem be addressed?
From the municipality we are going to bet on a relocation project that is sustained over time and that is comprehensive, that is, that not only addresses home improvements in a safe place, but also that includes public space, social integration urban and the necessary infrastructure, so as not to replicate this situation in another part of the city.
Let us remember that Los Alisos is one of the popular neighborhoods registered by the Renabap (National Registry of Popular Neighborhoods) for socio-urban integration. For us it is a priority to intervene in the socio-urban integration project, but when they constitute a risk for its inhabitants such as Los Alisos, as it is a water risk area, the projects must be approached in a comprehensive manner from all levels of the State, together with social organizations. That is why we are doing it with the residents of the El Pozo neighborhood, social and self-convened organizations, to convey to them the priority of the municipality to work on this socio-urban integration.
Do the neighbors share this idea?
Yes, when we were together we shared our vision with them and that is why we will continue working together.
How long will this integration take?
It will depend on the financing and resources that we can get, but the project is already well advanced.
It is a problem that has been around for a long time, different provincial and local governments have passed. What is reality today?
For us it is a priority due to the social vulnerability that was generated, not only at the insecurity level but also in relation to the habitat and quality of life of these inhabitants. Plus the problem that can be transferred with the residents of El Pozo.
When you became municipal government, did you expect to find this habitat situation or were you surprised by the numbers?
We were surprised by the numbers, especially the fragmentation of the city, there is a very large gap between the formal and informal urban ejido. That is why we are prioritizing all socio-urban integration works in the northwest and on the western edge, not only to aim at the construction of new homes but also to provide alternatives for improvements that can generate a decent place.
On the other side of the defense
El Litoral toured the place and spoke with the neighbors to find out their positions on the controversial situation generated by the issue of settlements.
María del Rosario Alarcón, a neighbor of El Pozo, gave her point of view to the problem of the settlement on Los Alisos beach, but before that she reviewed the years that gave rise to the popular neighborhood. “Before the construction of the shopping center began (formerly Paseo del Sol, located in front of El Pozo) there was a villa sitting on the entrance of the shopping mall, next to Route 168 and they called it Villa Corpiño. Suddenly they removed the villa because it was on private land and there they built the service station, when they were run they came to settle on the shores of the lagoon, behind the El Pozo neighborhood, “recalled the neighbor.
What is the biggest problem that it generates for you?
Here the problem is the absence of the State, which has been absent in the last 13 years. The biggest problem is the insecurity, not because the people of the settlement are bad but in the last time people have come who occupy land and sell houses, here crime has become common.
Who should regulate these illegal land sales?
The regulation has to come from the State. There are both provincial and national laws that prohibit building on the banks of rivers and we do not have a building, we have a complete neighborhood.
Did you have recent responses from the State?
Yes, the last call was made by the mayor Jatón in the Municipality with all the neighborhood institutions, which were well received and presented their problems.
What do you want: to be removed or to be given a place to live?
One thing leads to another. The people who live there are citizens who have their rights. Here it is not a question of a struggle of the poor against the poor, a fight that happens when the State is absent. These people deserve to live differently. They do not have drinking water and we are in the middle of a pandemic, one part has electricity because the EPE installed a community connection, but in the other part the cables come down from the public lighting and it is a danger. They live in absolute misery and it cannot be that they live like this.
Inland
Neighbor Jimena Romero commented, referring to the settlement in Los Alisos, that “there are many needs in this small neighborhood. I would like there to be a work plan so that those living in the settlement do jobs in the El Pozo neighborhood and also we hope a housing plan so that they can live with water and electricity, because that is a right. “
How do people get to this place? In what situation?
There are people from the outskirts of the city, but there are also people who came from Chaco, from Santiago del Estero. Here they have many basic needs (for essential services), there are differences between the neighbors.
How was your arrival in the neighborhood? Did you ask permission to install?
Through a letter that I sent to the Municipal Council and they told me that I could be two meters from the defense but that you could not build a house and that is why I built my little ranch.
Is it difficult to live with the neighbor who is on the other side of the defense?
It is not difficult, you have to learn to live together. In 15 years I never saw what happened recently (in reference to the shootings in July).
“I bought a little ranch”
Facundo lived in Alto Verde, but decided to move to the Los Alisos settlement after buying, clearly irregularly, a space to live. “I came because I bought a little ranch. My mother got it for me,” he said. When asked who his seller was, Facundo limited himself to saying: “I have no idea who they were. There were people here who sold the land, nor were they the owners, but they sold them anyway.”
“Here you live quietly, better than in other neighborhoods,” said the young man who searches for them as a bricklayer, adding: “I would like to live here and able that one day we can have a house of material.”
What do you feel when there are people who think of getting them out of here?
Wrong. We have no other place to be and where to go. There are many people here who have young children, they have to give them something.
María del Rosario, Jimena y Facundo, vecinos. Foto: Captura de video.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted that all were not merely fighting an epidemic but an infodemic, pointing to fake news spreading more swiftly and easily than the virus and being just as harmful.
“We’re not just fighting an epidemic, we’re fighting an infodemic,” Ghebreyesus noted in his speech at Munich Security, February 15, while citing that “fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous.”
The WHO chief remarked that an infodemic could be more perilous than the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic rattling the global health system.
However, what is an infodemic? It is an abbreviation for information and pandemic. David J. Rothkopf first coined the term “infodemic” in his news feature “When the Buzz Bites Back” at The Washington Post in 2003 when hundreds of people died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
In his article, Rothkopf, a political scientist-cum-journalist, defined infodemic as “few facts, mixed with fear, speculation, and rumor, amplified and relayed swiftly worldwide by modern information technologies, have affected national and international economies, politics, and even security in ways that are utterly disproportionate with the root realities”.
Rothkopf expounded that an infodemic is not merely false news or misperception to information, as “it is a complex phenomenon caused by the interaction of mainstream media, specialist media, and internet sites; and ‘informal’ media, which is to say wireless phones, text messaging, pagers, faxes and e-mail, all transmitting some combination of fact, rumor, interpretation and propaganda”.
When a series of virulent false news, misinformation, disinformation, and myth contaminate people’s sources of information, Rothkopf warned it may trigger confusion and chaos, as the public then doubts scientific-based evidences, evidence-based news, as well as statements from experts, medical practitioners, scientists, as well as authorities.
Since Internet and social media platforms have been one of the major sources of information, people have dealt with the infodemic reality that has peaked during the pandemic.
Amira Hasna Ruzuar, a West Java-based active social media user, expressed greater concern over the fact that the threat could also corrupt reports published by news outlets, as they tend to create click-bait headlines to draw more readers.
“There were also occasions where news outlets or key opinion leaders drew inaccurate conclusions while reporting or referring to research findings or claims,” Ruzuar emphasized.
Ruzuar, 26, an active Twitter user and frequently browsing news online, said she had sometimes come across information uploaded by news outlets that was less critical, while the people expected them to be the most trusted source of information.
There is rising distrust to statements made by officials and self-proclaimed scientists widely cited by news outlets, she pointed out. Hence, she believes journalists should be more critical to cite certain statements.
“I do not believe that the government should be the sole source of (reliable) information because it has been opting to paint rather positive images on how it responds to COVID-19 when there has been an increasing surge of criticism from known medical, public health, and also public policy experts following the first outbreak,” she highlighted.
Ruzuar expects those in newsrooms, including journalists, to be more critical while citing statements and analyses from certain sources.
“I honestly would only trust several outlets that I know or that experts have claimed to have a good track record in reporting factual or credible information. I do not think that all information told by news outlets are reliable, especially when it is reported on online platforms, as online or digital news outlets tend to produce a plethora of news content, thereby consequently leaving little room for thorough fact-checking,” she remarked.
Ruzuar could be the only person or reader cited here, though her views were amplified by several social media users, both on Twitter and/or Facebook, who were dissatisfied with the inaccuracy in some media reports.
Meanwhile, among state actors, the Indonesian COVID-19 Handling Task Force offers the latest information — new cases, recoveries, and deaths — on COVID-19 in the country.
The Task Force diligently updates the public with the current information of COVID-19 by holding weekly press briefings and involving national media platforms, which constitutes an effort for transparency, particularly in terms of showing data.
“We are working with the data being collecting from all parts of the country, and all reports have been transparent and monitored by the public and the local and national media,” Task Force’s spokesman, Professor Wiku Adisasmito, stated.
Since its formation, the Task Force has been actively engaging the mass media to regularly update the public on the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, distrust or doubts still linger over the information that the public receives and also those offered to the people by mass media platforms.
Despite doubts expressed by some elements of the public, the Task Force has ensured transparency in the data it provided, both to the public and media. It has also urged the media and journalists to reflect such transparency in their reporting.
It seeks friendly relations with the media wherein the two parties work together to disseminate COVID-19 data and updates in order to keep the public informed.
“We are striving towards data transparency, and the media is our friend to really work together, not only in Indonesia but also for this region and the world,” Adisasmito affirmed.
The Task Force’s efforts to ensure media involvement reaffirm the significance of the media’s role in disseminating information during pandemic.
Media and journalist
Pertaining to this important role, the media and journalists must be sentient of their position and quality in covering and reporting news on the pandemic since the information provided through the news will certainly affect the public.
Mainstream media and its journalists have undoubtedly encountered numerous challenges in fulfilling duties and tasks amid the explosion of information on COVID-19, ranging from good quality to inconsequential.
In connection with the Indonesian media and journalists, news reporting on the COVID-19 issue by conventional mass media and online media in the country is generally quite informative and educative, Irwan Julianto, a health communication specialist as well as former senior journalist at Kompas daily, remarked.
However, Julianto remarked that disinformation and news framing based on unbalanced opinions and also manipulative information were still observed in some news on the COVID-19 issue in Indonesia.
For instance, he said, Tempo.co online media made a news title “Ikatan Dokter Indonesia Ancam Mogok Tangani Pasien Corona” (Indonesian Doctors Association threatens to strike and stop handling corona patients), when, in fact, the association along with four other health worker organizations actually gave a joint statement urging their members not to serve COVID-19 patients without adequate personal protective equipment.
“The online news title was never corrected by Tempo.co, although the content later contained a rebuttal from the association,” Julianto revealed.
Another issue pertaining to COVID-19 reporting is the “room for error” in picking credible sources that cannot be separated from the competence of journalists and the credibility of the concerned mass media, he stated.
Julianto further affirmed that some inaccuracy was observed in news reporting on the COVID-19 issue in Indonesia due to several online media in the country, particularly news and opinion portals, not being verified by the Indonesia Press Council.
Of the 40,000 news/opinion portals, only some 200 news portals had been verified by the council.
“Several fake news portals still exist that only look to stir a sensation of sorts. In fact, some verified news portals have also pursued views for their news with the so-called click-bait titles,” he stated.
Another point worth highlighting on the COVID-19 news reporting during the early days of the novel coronavirus disease entering Indonesia from January to February 2020 is that only a few mainstream media remind the government to be prompt and proactive in responding to a possible pandemic and to prioritize preparedness.
“It was only on the second of March when the first two cases of COVID-19 were announced. There was a stir in Indonesia. In fact, the central government, local governments, and journalists failed to safeguard the privacy of the first two Indonesians that contracted COVID-19,” Julianto pointed out.
In response to developments on COVID-19 news reporting by the mainstream media and its journalists, the Indonesian Press Council argued that the people should not judge the mass media in a generalized manner that all news coverage on COVID-19 are of poor quality as some committed errors.
Without ignoring the fact that some weaknesses were still found on the COVID-19 news reporting by media and journalists, the national press has always positively contributed to handling the pandemic, especially in terms of disseminating information, Chief of the Media Sustainability Task Force of the Indonesian Press Council Agus Sudibjo stated.
“When the government-health authorities call the press to make some public service announcement as well as to broadcast a conference and press release, press colleagues carry it out in a helpful manner. I think they make a significant contribution. However, we certainly need to evaluate some weaknesses,” Sudibjo pointed out.
He emphasized that weaknesses in news reporting by media and journalists do not only emerge specifically during this pandemic and had existed long before the pandemic struck.
For instance, using the so-called “click bait” titles and producing unsettling news are some problems that have existed in any other situation.
Nevertheless, he further called to curtail such weaknesses in news reporting and the tendency of mass media to manipulate the audience amid the pandemic, as it triggers distress and concerns among the people. Moreover, the mass media and the journalists might eventually lose their credibility.
“Thus, the general ideal conduct will be: reckless journalism — which ignores the accuracy of information, inconsiderate about the news impact on the public, making room for speculation — shall not be allowed in any kind of situation,” Sudibjo stressed.
Tackling misinformation
Perhaps the biggest mistake committed by the mass media nowadays is following the conduct of “the new kind of media” — the social media — that has its formula of rapidity and sensational information, with no expertise, but anybody can be an “expert”.
“Mass media shall not be following this (conduct) because if anyone is an ‘expert’, there must be a distrust in mass media since there is no difference between mass media and social media,” he stated.
“The social media tends to use click bait, misinformation, and disinformation. Social media … (is) our real enemy or maybe ‘frenemy’ (friend yet enemy) since both mass media and social media pursue the exact same thing, which is pursuing public attention and advertisement,” he affirmed.
Hence, the mass media should compete with social media in which the mass media should conduct itself differently by not producing and providing something that the public can easily obtain from social media.
“The only way that mass media could conduct itself to survive during this era of disruption — whether we want it or not — is good journalism. The global development trend has shown us that there is no space for mass media that defies the law of good journalism,” Sudibjo remarked.
Furthermore, not only competing with social media, conventional mass media should also conduct its function as the mainstream media by acting as a “clearing house” to help ward off misinformation, disinformation, and hoaxes related to COVID-19 that are milling about on social media.
“The conventional mass media and journalists should ideally act as the “clearing house”, which is a provider of truth and accurate information to tackle false information through accurate reporting,” Irwan Julianto, a former senior health journalist for Kompas daily, stated.
Julianto pointed out that more importantly, the duty of professional journalists and mass media is to edify and exercise social control. He also emphasized that public literacy is an important factor for people to gain accurate information.
“In the times of the global pandemic, it’ll be better if we all become more skeptical and critical of the various types of information we receive,” Julianto stated.
The COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the world can, in fact, be the time for the mass media and its journalists to assess the quality of information delivery and news reporting.
It is time for the mainstream media and journalists to engage in self-reflection and contemplation on whether they have practiced good journalism.
Muhammad Adimaja, a photojournalist working for ANTARA news agency, in Jakarta, Thursday (June 18, 2020) wore a custom face mask with a stencil writing: "Pager Virus" — loosely translated as "a virus protector". (ANTARA/Genta Tenri Mawangi)
Health workers wearing full protective gear lower a casket of a COVID-19 deceased at a private cemetery in Padang, West Sumatra Province, Saturday (March 28, 2020). The provincial government of West Sumatra reported seven positive cases, 16 suspected patients, and one fatality. (ANTARA FOTO/Iggoy el Fitra/hp/gtm)
Health workers wearing full protective gears take out the body of a COVID-19 deceased from an ambulance at a Macanda cemetery in Somba Opu, Gowa, Makassar, South Sulawesi Province, Sunday (April 5, 2020). The local authority reported 80 confirmed positive cases, with six deaths and nine patients having recovered. (ANTARA FOTO/Abriawan Abhe/aww/gtm)
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted that all were not merely fighting an epidemic but an infodemic, pointing to fake news spreading more swiftly and easily than the virus and being just as harmful.
“We’re not just fighting an epidemic, we’re fighting an infodemic,” Ghebreyesus noted in his speech at Munich Security, February 15, while citing that “fake news spreads faster and more easily than this virus, and is just as dangerous.”
The WHO chief remarked that an infodemic could be more perilous than the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic rattling the global health system.
However, what is an infodemic? It is an abbreviation for information and pandemic. David J. Rothkopf first coined the term “infodemic” in his news feature “When the Buzz Bites Back” at The Washington Post in 2003 when hundreds of people died of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
In his article, Rothkopf, a political scientist-cum-journalist, defined infodemic as “few facts, mixed with fear, speculation, and rumor, amplified and relayed swiftly worldwide by modern information technologies, have affected national and international economies, politics, and even security in ways that are utterly disproportionate with the root realities”.
Rothkopf expounded that an infodemic is not merely false news or misperception to information, as “it is a complex phenomenon caused by the interaction of mainstream media, specialist media, and internet sites; and ‘informal’ media, which is to say wireless phones, text messaging, pagers, faxes and e-mail, all transmitting some combination of fact, rumor, interpretation and propaganda”.
When a series of virulent false news, misinformation, disinformation, and myth contaminate people’s sources of information, Rothkopf warned it may trigger confusion and chaos, as the public then doubts scientific-based evidences, evidence-based news, as well as statements from experts, medical practitioners, scientists, as well as authorities.
Since Internet and social media platforms have been one of the major sources of information, people have dealt with the infodemic reality that has peaked during the pandemic.
Amira Hasna Ruzuar, a West Java-based active social media user, expressed greater concern over the fact that the threat could also corrupt reports published by news outlets, as they tend to create click-bait headlines to draw more readers.
“There were also occasions where news outlets or key opinion leaders drew inaccurate conclusions while reporting or referring to research findings or claims,” Ruzuar emphasized.
Ruzuar, 26, an active Twitter user and frequently browsing news online, said she had sometimes come across information uploaded by news outlets that was less critical, while the people expected them to be the most trusted source of information.
There is rising distrust to statements made by officials and self-proclaimed scientists widely cited by news outlets, she pointed out. Hence, she believes journalists should be more critical to cite certain statements.
“I do not believe that the government should be the sole source of (reliable) information because it has been opting to paint rather positive images on how it responds to COVID-19 when there has been an increasing surge of criticism from known medical, public health, and also public policy experts following the first outbreak,” she highlighted.
Ruzuar expects those in newsrooms, including journalists, to be more critical while citing statements and analyses from certain sources.
“I honestly would only trust several outlets that I know or that experts have claimed to have a good track record in reporting factual or credible information. I do not think that all information told by news outlets are reliable, especially when it is reported on online platforms, as online or digital news outlets tend to produce a plethora of news content, thereby consequently leaving little room for thorough fact-checking,” she remarked.
Ruzuar could be the only person or reader cited here, though her views were amplified by several social media users, both on Twitter and/or Facebook, who were dissatisfied with the inaccuracy in some media reports.
Meanwhile, among state actors, the Indonesian COVID-19 Handling Task Force offers the latest information — new cases, recoveries, and deaths — on COVID-19 in the country.
The Task Force diligently updates the public with the current information of COVID-19 by holding weekly press briefings and involving national media platforms, which constitutes an effort for transparency, particularly in terms of showing data.
“We are working with the data being collecting from all parts of the country, and all reports have been transparent and monitored by the public and the local and national media,” Task Force’s spokesman, Professor Wiku Adisasmito, stated.
Since its formation, the Task Force has been actively engaging the mass media to regularly update the public on the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, distrust or doubts still linger over the information that the public receives and also those offered to the people by mass media platforms.
Despite doubts expressed by some elements of the public, the Task Force has ensured transparency in the data it provided, both to the public and media. It has also urged the media and journalists to reflect such transparency in their reporting.
It seeks friendly relations with the media wherein the two parties work together to disseminate COVID-19 data and updates in order to keep the public informed.
“We are striving towards data transparency, and the media is our friend to really work together, not only in Indonesia but also for this region and the world,” Adisasmito affirmed.
The Task Force’s efforts to ensure media involvement reaffirm the significance of the media’s role in disseminating information during pandemic.
Media and journalist
Pertaining to this important role, the media and journalists must be sentient of their position and quality in covering and reporting news on the pandemic since the information provided through the news will certainly affect the public.
Mainstream media and its journalists have undoubtedly encountered numerous challenges in fulfilling duties and tasks amid the explosion of information on COVID-19, ranging from good quality to inconsequential.
In connection with the Indonesian media and journalists, news reporting on the COVID-19 issue by conventional mass media and online media in the country is generally quite informative and educative, Irwan Julianto, a health communication specialist as well as former senior journalist at Kompas daily, remarked.
However, Julianto remarked that disinformation and news framing based on unbalanced opinions and also manipulative information were still observed in some news on the COVID-19 issue in Indonesia.
For instance, he said, Tempo.co online media made a news title “Ikatan Dokter Indonesia Ancam Mogok Tangani Pasien Corona” (Indonesian Doctors Association threatens to strike and stop handling corona patients), when, in fact, the association along with four other health worker organizations actually gave a joint statement urging their members not to serve COVID-19 patients without adequate personal protective equipment.
“The online news title was never corrected by Tempo.co, although the content later contained a rebuttal from the association,” Julianto revealed.
Another issue pertaining to COVID-19 reporting is the “room for error” in picking credible sources that cannot be separated from the competence of journalists and the credibility of the concerned mass media, he stated.
Julianto further affirmed that some inaccuracy was observed in news reporting on the COVID-19 issue in Indonesia due to several online media in the country, particularly news and opinion portals, not being verified by the Indonesia Press Council.
Of the 40,000 news/opinion portals, only some 200 news portals had been verified by the council.
“Several fake news portals still exist that only look to stir a sensation of sorts. In fact, some verified news portals have also pursued views for their news with the so-called click-bait titles,” he stated.
Another point worth highlighting on the COVID-19 news reporting during the early days of the novel coronavirus disease entering Indonesia from January to February 2020 is that only a few mainstream media remind the government to be prompt and proactive in responding to a possible pandemic and to prioritize preparedness.
“It was only on the second of March when the first two cases of COVID-19 were announced. There was a stir in Indonesia. In fact, the central government, local governments, and journalists failed to safeguard the privacy of the first two Indonesians that contracted COVID-19,” Julianto pointed out.
In response to developments on COVID-19 news reporting by the mainstream media and its journalists, the Indonesian Press Council argued that the people should not judge the mass media in a generalized manner that all news coverage on COVID-19 are of poor quality as some committed errors.
Without ignoring the fact that some weaknesses were still found on the COVID-19 news reporting by media and journalists, the national press has always positively contributed to handling the pandemic, especially in terms of disseminating information, Chief of the Media Sustainability Task Force of the Indonesian Press Council Agus Sudibjo stated.
“When the government-health authorities call the press to make some public service announcement as well as to broadcast a conference and press release, press colleagues carry it out in a helpful manner. I think they make a significant contribution. However, we certainly need to evaluate some weaknesses,” Sudibjo pointed out.
He emphasized that weaknesses in news reporting by media and journalists do not only emerge specifically during this pandemic and had existed long before the pandemic struck.
For instance, using the so-called “click bait” titles and producing unsettling news are some problems that have existed in any other situation.
Nevertheless, he further called to curtail such weaknesses in news reporting and the tendency of mass media to manipulate the audience amid the pandemic, as it triggers distress and concerns among the people. Moreover, the mass media and the journalists might eventually lose their credibility.
“Thus, the general ideal conduct will be: reckless journalism — which ignores the accuracy of information, inconsiderate about the news impact on the public, making room for speculation — shall not be allowed in any kind of situation,” Sudibjo stressed.
Tackling misinformation
Perhaps the biggest mistake committed by the mass media nowadays is following the conduct of “the new kind of media” — the social media — that has its formula of rapidity and sensational information, with no expertise, but anybody can be an “expert”.
“Mass media shall not be following this (conduct) because if anyone is an ‘expert’, there must be a distrust in mass media since there is no difference between mass media and social media,” he stated.
“The social media tends to use click bait, misinformation, and disinformation. Social media … (is) our real enemy or maybe ‘frenemy’ (friend yet enemy) since both mass media and social media pursue the exact same thing, which is pursuing public attention and advertisement,” he affirmed.
Hence, the mass media should compete with social media in which the mass media should conduct itself differently by not producing and providing something that the public can easily obtain from social media.
“The only way that mass media could conduct itself to survive during this era of disruption — whether we want it or not — is good journalism. The global development trend has shown us that there is no space for mass media that defies the law of good journalism,” Sudibjo remarked.
Furthermore, not only competing with social media, conventional mass media should also conduct its function as the mainstream media by acting as a “clearing house” to help ward off misinformation, disinformation, and hoaxes related to COVID-19 that are milling about on social media.
“The conventional mass media and journalists should ideally act as the “clearing house”, which is a provider of truth and accurate information to tackle false information through accurate reporting,” Irwan Julianto, a former senior health journalist for Kompas daily, stated.
Julianto pointed out that more importantly, the duty of professional journalists and mass media is to edify and exercise social control. He also emphasized that public literacy is an important factor for people to gain accurate information.
“In the times of the global pandemic, it’ll be better if we all become more skeptical and critical of the various types of information we receive,” Julianto stated.
The COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the world can, in fact, be the time for the mass media and its journalists to assess the quality of information delivery and news reporting.
It is time for the mainstream media and journalists to engage in self-reflection and contemplation on whether they have practiced good journalism.
First published in Zero Hora. Click here and here to read the original stories.
Summary and impact of the content on the community
The reporters were sought by the Rio Grande do Sul townsfolk with tips on wealthy people who had withdrawn emergency aid meant for the needy. The journalists accessed the government website and confirmed that the names given were listed as beneficiaries. The next step was to find signs of wealth about these people (properties, vehicles, trips) on their social media, as well as to check whether they were civil servants (and thus forbidden from getting benefits). After this verification, the final step was to find these people’s phone numbers and contact them. In some cases, the journalists were threatened. The material which was published served as a basis for investigations that have reached over 600 suspects in Rio Grande do Sul.
FULL STORY:
Misuse of emergency financial aid spread across Rio Grande do Sul
Cases of people with good purchasing power receiving the R$ 600 meant to soften the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis abound.
How about marrying in a heavenly beach in the Caribbean, along the shoreline, and spending your honeymoon in a luxury resort? The ceremony’s even got a set date. A website was specifically created to tell the couple’s story. There, you have all the information so guests can arrive at the destination. Ana Paula Brocco, the bride, is among those who have received R$ 600 in financial aid from the government, a policy created for freelancers, informal workers, small business owners and unemployed people hit by the pandemic.
In social media, Ana Paula, who is from the northwestern town of Espumoso, shows she’s been to the Caribbean and to Paris. When questioned via telephone about receiving financial aid, she confirms having done so and then becomes silent.
Ana Paula’s lawyer, Nicole Frohlich Soares, says her client fits the aid program’s criteria and that the honeymoon will be funded by a reward her fiancé received from a bank. Ana Paula managed to prevent, in court, the news story about her case from being published, but the injunction was overturned (read more below).
Reports such as this one reached the RBS Investigation Group (IG) through citizens who are outraged at what they perceive to be injustices. On one side, people without computers (or who are unable to access the overwhelmed Caixa Econômica Federal website) spend nights before banks, trying to become eligible for the program.
On the other end, people with a good standard of living, people who are educated and able to access high-speed internet, get to swiftly obtain financial aid, despite being far from bereft. This disparity has become recurring in Rio Grande do Sul, as witnessed by reporters. Among the 53.9 million Brazilians eligible for government support, many have their own homes, their own cars, and a constant economic activity.
Among those pinpointed by the IG as aid beneficiaries (receiving between R$ 600 and R$ 1,200, depending on the case), we find a renowned architect and a real estate business partner in Veranópolis. A dentist, some business owners and some politicians (plus some of their family members) in Nova Roma do Sul. A civil servant in Nova Pádua. A businessman in Encantado. And also this woman from Espumoso who leads this news story, whose wedding is scheduled to happen in Punta Cana (Dominican Republic).
In the northern town of Tapejara, nutritionist Letícia Roman Guzzo shows up as a R$ 600 beneficiary. This amount equals six consultations at the town clinic she belongs to. We called that place:
Reporter — How much does a consultation cost?
Receptionist — R$ 110 through a private plan.
In social media, Letícia appears in pictures in Paris and Barcelona. She’s gone on cruises. When asked about the financial aid, she did not respond to any messages, nor did she pick up the phone.
Many citizens are outraged that government aid is received by people with good purchasing power. So much so, that the town of Veranópolis, in the Serra region, woke up on June 10 to a banner displayed beside the local soccer stadium, bearing the words:
“I’m a fat cat and I got six hundred…Welcome to Veranópolis! Here we have over 2,500 welfare receivers, many of them irregular. Almost 2 million in public money for the first installment. Corruption begins within each person.”
The man who put up the banner did not wish to be identified. A similar banner appeared in Garibaldi three days later.
Rio Grande do Sul Federal Police superintendent José Dornelles promises to take action against fraudsters, using data cross-checking and cybernetic tools to do so.
“Generally speaking, the crimes being done are computer device invasion, theft by means of fraud, unauthorized alteration of an information system, major larceny and insertion of false data into an information system, in accordance with each case’s specifications”, Dornelles summarizes.
Are the emergency aid irregularities a result of fraud, opportunism or a mistake? A little bit of each, according to supervisory bodies such as the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU, in Portuguese), which has already identified 620,000 Brazilians under suspicion of having received emergency aid illegally. Part of them in Rio Grande do Sul. Possible irregularities were found through cross-checking data and statements regarding income, CPF and goods under beneficiaries’ names.
This happens because all it takes is vouching for the necessity of aid and finding loopholes in the targeted professional categories. Such is the case for small business owners: a passage in the government ordinance which states that this kind of professional may be contemplated. However, a fair amount of said owners does not fit another prerequisite for welfare: only those who did not receive taxable income over R$ 28,500 in 2018 may be entitled to aid. This means , on average, R$ 2,300 in monthly income (formal or otherwise). Even so, these small business owners receive aid, due to flaws in the program’s oversight.
How to inform the authorities.
The proper channel for informing authorities about fraud is the Fala.Br system, available through this link or through the numbers 121 or 0800-707-2003.
Criteria for receiving emergency aid:
Being over 18 years old; exceptions made in the case of teenage mothers
Not having active formal employment
Not receiving benefits paid by social security, such as retirement pay, pensions or Continuing Benefit Conveyance (BPC, in Portuguese)
Not being a beneficiary of unemployment insurance, insurance closures or federal coonditional cash transfer, with the exception of Bolsa Família
Belonging to a family with a monthly income per person of up to half a minimum wage (R$ 522.50) or with a total monthly income of up to three minimum wages (R$ 3,135)
Not having received, in 2018, taxable income over R$ 28,559.70, i.e. not having had to file an income tax return in 2019
Being a small business owner, an individual contributor to the General Social Welfare Policy or an informal worker, even if unemployed
620,000 payments blocked around the country
The Comptroller General’s Office (CGU, in Portuguese) and the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) have analyzed 30.5 million emergency aid payments since April. They found nonconformities in about 620,000 benefits, equivalent to 2% of all payments, according to data obtained by the TV show Fantástico, which is broadcast by RBS TV and Rede Globo. The CGU, on the other hand, has identified many property owners or people with income that are not entitled to receiving aid, such as:
86,632 people who own vehicles worth over R$ 60,000
74,682 business partners with active employees
22,942 beneficiaries with tax residences in foreign countries
21,856 high-cost watercraft owners
17,000 dead people in whose names benefit payments were made
85 campaign donors of over R$ 10,000
What the Ministry of Citizenship says:
The Ministry of Citizenship, responsible for managing emergency aid, claims to work around the clock towards the evolution of the greatest benefit ever created, on a national level, in order to aid the most vulnerable among the population. The resources allocated to this act have surpassed R$ 150 billion. It’s far from an easy task says minister Onyx Lorenzoni, due to the meager speed available for building, installing and revising constantly each working process.
Emergency aid uses a governance model which creates control and oversight partnerships with the Comptroller General’s Office (CGU) and the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). This creates audit trails which are used to identify, enact recovery efforts and provide feedback in order to improve analysis for each bundle of requests for emergency aid. The information fed into the website and the emergency aid app are cross-checked with several official data banks for documentation and economic and social situations. Besides answering for their crimes, those who defy the law are subject to reimbursement of received amounts.
RBS TV’s 11-day censorship
For 11 days, RBS TV was prohibited from publishing a news story about the emergency aid withdrawn by tradesperson Ana Paula Pagnussatti Brocco, from Espumoso. She took to the courts and managed to enact, on two occasions, preventive censorship regarding news stories about whether she fulfills the criteria for receiving benefits.
Judge Daniel da Silva Luz, from the district of Espumoso, granted an injunction that prevented her name and image to be “published” and “disclosed” in news stories. A fine of R$ 50,000 was set for disclosure. RBS TV appealed the injunction, putting forth the argument that the Brazilian Constitution prohibits preventive censorship. The censorious injunction was maintained by Associate Judge Maria Isabel de Azevedo Souza, from the 19th Civil Chamber of the Court. The censorship was overturned, on the 26th, under decree from AJ Maria Isabel herself, who reconsidered her initial decision. The magistrate considered that there was no “exceptional situation” that would justify preventive intervention towards the freedom of the press.
UNDER SUSPICION
Vineyard owner and dentist are among those who received emergency aid without needing it
News story also reveals city hall servant and judge’s husband received R$ 600 unduly as well
In the emergency aid bonanza, a vineyard owner is receiving the money allocated by the government towards needy workers. Such is the case of businessman Divanildo Kloss, from Nova Roma do Sul, in the Serra region, who received R$ 600. He lives in a cozy home and his family owns a building in the downtown area. On the phone, Kloss says he applied as a joke and will give back the money.
“I didn’t want to receive it, I gave it back, I just did it to mess around. I just wanted to see if it was going to go through or not, see? I’d never want [the benefits]. I though: as if, it’s never going to go through, since I’ve got some property there. If it got into my bank account, I’ll give it back; I neither need nor want it.”
When informed that his son is also on the list, he replied, “For that, you’ll have to call him. If he’s getting money, I’m not aware, I didn’t know. If he’s signed up, he’ll give it back, no issue. That’s wrong, very wrong.”
On social media, Emanuel Kloss, Divanildo’s son, usually records his patronage of restaurants, plus pictures of beaches and extreme sports. In a picture from last year, he receives the keys to a brand new truck. He did not wish to provide a statement.
The list of those who have received emergency aid while being in good economic circumstances is quite long in Nova Roma do Sul. It includes a dentist, Aline Scapinello, daughter of a known politician from the town. She’s travelled to places such as Angra dos Reis, Arraial do Cabo and Rio de Janeiro, as revealed by her social media. We’ve tried to talk to the dentist; she picked up the phone, but was silent.
Associate Judge’s husband received aid
The lack of control makes it so even the husband of a judge will receive the R$ 600 (despite their family income adding up to more than the cap established by the aid itself). A partner in a license plate factory accredited by Detran in Encantado and married to a magistrate who works in the Metropolitan Region, Pedro Giordani admits he has a motorcycle, a beach house and a boat. And that he signed up for receiving aid. However, he assures he will not withdraw the money.
“I’m going to give it back. It’s just that the factory’s been stopped for 15 days. But who told you about my property? Well, I guess that’s not important right now. This business is over, I’m going to give it back.”
“I fit the criteria”, says architect
A known architect from Veranópolis, Gerson Luiz Capponi, received R$ 600 in emergency aid in May. He is responsible for designing large residential buildings in that town, drives a sports car and lives in his own apartment. Upon being interrogated by the media, he assures he’s got a right to the benefits.
“You’ve just got to read the rules. I’ve got this apartment where I live in, but the family income must be R$ 3,135 per month, tops. Since I live alone, I fit the criteria”, he interprets.
Upon being asked whether his yearly income is under R$ 28,000, as laid out by the rules, Capponi said he was busy and hung up the phone.
Another Veranópolis resident also interpreted that he could receive benefits. Former councillor Rudimar Caglioni, real estate business partner and agent, received R$ 1,200 in emergency aid in April and May. He believed that realtors would be entitled to it, since they would spend several months without selling real estate. He has announced, via Facebook, that he has returned the money.
“In my homeland, everybody’s gotten it: dentists, doctors, businesspeople. We thought it was a leg up for businesses. There was no bad faith on my part, so much so that I’ve already returned the R$ 1,200 and posted about it on Facebook.”
The news crew asked Caglioni if he hadn’t suspected that the benefits were for the needy and if he hadn’t noticed the R$ 3,000 cap on family income. The real estate agent assures us that he had not; he simply had seen a loophole for attaining some financial relief during the pandemic. He understood that the aid could be not just for people, but also for businesses.
Some people, either after being admonished or due to shame, have given up on the benefits. In Veranópolis, the funds for paid emergency aid, which were R$ 1,5 million in April, dropped to R$ 237,000 in May.
Town hall civil servant returned money
In Nova Pádua, town hall civil servant Keyla Marin had also received R$ 1,200 in government aid in April and May, but returned it all last week, after much criticism on social media. She assures that she did not know she was forbidden from using the benefits on account of being a town hall worker. Public officials from any milieu may not be considered for emergency aid, stresses Rio Grande do Sul Comptroller General’s Office (CGU, in Portuguese) superintendent Carlos Alberto Rambo. This is written in Decree 10.316/2020, which explains as such: “aid is vetted to a public official, including those occupying a temporary position or function or in the position of a temporary civil servant which is freely appointed or dismissed through election.”
Keyla says she thought about securing some money due to occupying a temporary civil servant position and being liable to losing her job during the election year. “Afterwards, I saw that there were people who needed it more and gave it back. The weight on my conscience was stronger than any judgement.”
Regarding small business owners, the CGU stresses that only those with a very low income are targeted by government aid.
“The spirit of the benefits is to help those who really need it and can’t sustain themselves. It’s not for someone with a consistent income of over R$ 28,000 per year”, Rambo emphasizes.
In São Marcos, also in the Serra region, it was mayor Evandro Kuwer (MDB)’s daughters who, after receiving R$ 600 each in emergency aid, decided to return the benefits. The mayor told reporter Lizie Antonello, from the Pioneiro newspaper, that both of them (Karen and Kátia) are unemployed and their husbands make little money. Thus, as Kuwer understands it, they fit the program’s criteria.
Fraude, aliás, é outra ponta do novelo de irregularidades no auxílio emergencial. Começam a proliferar nas delegacias policiais queixas de que estelionatários tiram o benefício em nome de cidadãos que sequer sabem que isso aconteceu. Reportagem de GaúchaZH mostrou que pelo menos cem casos desse tipo ocorreram no Vale do Sinos desde maio.
O superintendente da Polícia Federal no Rio Grande do Sul, delegado José Dornelles, promete agir contra fraudadores, usando para isso de cruzamento de dados e ferramentas cibernéticas.
Fraud is, in fact, the other end of the yarn of irregularities in emergency aid. Complaints are proliferating in police stations about fraudsters getting aid in the name of citizens who are not even aware it happened. A GaúchaZH news report has shown that at least a hundred cases like this have happened in the Vale do Sinos region since May.
Rio Grande do Sul Federal Police superintendent José Dornelles promises to take action against fraudsters, using data cross-checking and cybernetic tools to do so.
“Generally speaking, the crimes being done are computer device invasion, theft by means of fraud, unauthorized alteration of an information system, major larceny and insertion of false data into an information system, in accordance with each case’s specifications”, Dornelles summarizes.
How to inform the authorities
The proper channel for informing authorities about fraud is the Fala.Br system, available through this link or through the numbers 121 or 0800-707-2003.
Criteria for receiving emergency aid
Being over 18 years old; exceptions made in the case of teenage mothers
Not having active formal employment
Not receiving benefits paid by social security, such as retirement pay, pensions or Continuing Benefit Conveyance (BPC, in Portuguese)
Not being a beneficiary of unemployment insurance, insurance closures or federal coondiitional cash tranfer, with the excepption of Bolsa Família
Belonging to a family with a monthly income per person of up to half a minimum wage (R$ 522.50) or with a total monthly income of up to three minimum wages (R$ 3,135)
Not having received, in 2018, taxable income over R$ 28,559.70, i.e. not having had to file an income tax return in 2019
Being a small business owner, an individual contributor to the General Social Welfare Policy or an informal worker, even if unemployed
What the Ministry of Citizenship says
The Ministry of Citizenship, responsible for managing emergency aid, claims to work around the clock towards the evolution of the greatest benefit ever created, on a national level, in order to aid the most vulnerable among the population. The resources allocated to this act have surpassed R$ 150 billion. It’s far from an easy task says minister Onyx Lorenzoni, due to the meager speed available for building, installing and revising constantly each working process.
Emergency aid uses a governance model which creates control and oversight partnerships with the Comptroller General’s Office (CGU) and the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU). This creates audit trails which are used to identify, enact recovery efforts and proovide feedback in oorder to improve analysis for each bundle of requests for emergency aid. The information fed into the website and the emergency aid app are cross-checked with several official data banks for documentation and economic and social situations. Besides answering for their crimes, those who defy the law are subject to reimbursement of received amounts.
RBS TV’s 11-day censorship
For 11 days, RBS TV was prohibited from publishing a news story about the emergency aid withdrawn by tradesperson Ana Paula Pagnussatti Brocco, from Espumoso. She took to the courts and managed to enact, on two occasions, preventive censorship regarding news stories about whether she fulfills the criteria for receiving benefits.
Judge Daniel da Silva Luz, from the district of Espumoso, granted an injunction that prevented her name and image to be “published” and “disclosed” in news stories. A fine of R$ 50,000 was set for disclosure. RBS TV appealed the injunction, putting forth the argument that the Brazilian Constitution prohibits preventive censorship. The censorious injunction was maintained by Associate Judge Maria Isabel de Azevedo Souza, from the 19th Civil Chamber of the Court. The censorship was overturned, on the 26th, under decree from AJ Maria Isabel herself, who reconsidered her initial decision. The magistrate considered that there was no “exceptional situation” that would justify preventive intervention towards the freedom of the press.
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One must praise the press’ efforts towards researching and pinpointing cases of fraud and diversion of public resources that have been committed, especially when it affects the neediest among the population. Investigative journalism has shown itself to be a collaborative element regarding national transformation, shedding light on issues that must be better examined by all, many times motivated by demands borne out of society itself.
The series of new stories published by Zero Hora regarding fraud in emergency aid given by the federal government in order to minimize the critical economic circumstances many Brazilians see themselves in due to the pandemic is one example of journalism’s role in the purification of society. Besides demonstrating that civil vigilance does exist, the news story serves as an information provider so the authorities can begin to act.
No âmbito da Polícia Federal, em se tratando de desvio de recursos públicos da União, as publicações do Jornal Zero Hora funcionaram como “notícia-crime” para estabelecimento de procedimentos investigatórios. Os fatos noticiados agora passam a ser analisados sob a ótica policial, com a busca da materialidade necessária para o prosseguimento da persecução penal, observadas as normas legais e o princípio da ampla defesa.
Caso as investigações resultem em ação penal, e, ao final do processo, haja condenação, o ciclo resultará completo, iniciado pela voz da sociedade através da imprensa, conduzido pelos atores do sistema jurídico e com a aplicação da pena pelo Estado.
José Antonio Dornelles de Oliveira, Superintendente Regional da Polícia Federal no Rio Grande do Sul
Within the Federal Police, when it comes to diversion of public resources, the articles published by Zero Hora work as something of a “crime report” for establishing investigation procedures. The facts that were reported are now analyzed under the lens of police work, which seeks a material basis for forwarding criminal prosecution, keeping in mind legal provisions and the right to a full defense.
In case the investigations result in penal action and, at the end of the process, a conviction is established, the cycle will be complete, set in motion by the voice of society through the press, conducted by the agents of the legal system and ending in the application of a punishment by the State.
José Antonio Dornelles de Oliveira, Regional Superintendent from the Rio Grande do Sul Federal Police Department.
This story first appeared in Mothership on July 25, 2020.
Lee Zhong Han tells us how he started a community initiative from scratch, garnering tens of thousands of views online.
What comes to mind when you see the letters WTS?
For 23-year-old Lee Zhong Han, what may normally stand for a crude expression of incredulity, is actually the name of his brainchild, WTS Community, a visual storytelling initiative.
“Yes, WTS is an abbreviation for We Tell Stories,” he told Mothership.
The initiative started as a social media campaign seeking to tell stories about how everyday Singaporeans were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic but quickly evolved into a platform that also features other ground-up efforts addressing community needs.
Today, a quick look at the initiative’s Facebook page shows that the initiative’s videos have clocked up tens of thousands of views on average with WTS Community’s latest video bringing to light the struggles that local food and beverage businesses are experiencing.
Another video was devoted to the SGUnited Buka Puasa Initiative, a community effort which provides free Buka Puasa meals to underprivileged families during Ramadan.
OVERWHELMED BY STRUGGLES FACED BY COMMUNITIES
“Storytelling as a force for good”, Lee explained, is at the core of what his community initiative does.
Through WTS, we aim to bring more stories to light and increase the awareness of social issues faced in Singapore through exploring the micro and macro aspects of society.”
The project, which started in March this year, was the product of an “accumulation of experiences” from working on nonprofit and social enterprise initiatives and learning about societal and environmental issues.
The 23-year-old, who is currently studying counselling at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, recalled being overwhelmed when he first started learning about society and the environment.
“I was shocked by the vast amounts of information. There was so much I didn’t know. I was also overwhelmed by the struggles faced by several communities,“ he said.
I wanted to continue my learning journey and build a community where we learn and support one another together. To satisfy my desire to learn more about different issues in society and bring others along on this learning journey, I decided to embark on WTS Community.”
SELF-DOUBT AND THE FIRST VIDEOS
The team today is made up of a dozen youth volunteers, united in their passion for storytelling and digging deeper into the struggles facing Singaporeans.
However, Lee told us that the initial stages of the initiative were difficult; volunteers were hard to come by and organisations that they wanted to work with were quite distrustful.
“They [doubted] our intentions and professionalism. As a young person, I do sense that we need to work harder to gain the trust of our partner organisations,” he mused.
But it wasn’t just organisations that hesitated, Lee faced doubts from his friends and even his parents.
Then there was also the act of actually producing a video and uploading it for audiences to see.
“When I posted our first video on our social media platforms, my heart was palpitating,” said Lee.
I felt very nervous as if I was on stage giving a speech.”
That first video saw WTS Community hitting the streets and talking to youths about the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Actually, I did. Just a bit,” admitted one interviewee when asked about the panic-induced buying that beset some Singaporeans at the supermarkets.
The vox-pop ended with participants sending well wishes to Singaporeans and frontline workers before directing viewers to different organisations in need of volunteers.
While Lee said that he felt a sense of accomplishment and joy shortly after the video went up, self-doubt and uncertainty soon crept into his psyche.
It would be another two months before WTS Community would post a second video.
Yet soon, things began to pick up steam for Lee and his group of volunteers soon grew to include friends of friends who were interested in what WTS Community was doing.
“WE TAKE OUR WORK VERY SERIOUSLY”
The initiative’s second video was also more substantive, featuring the executive director of Zero Waste Singapore — a non-governmental organisation dedicated to helping Singapore eliminate the concept of waste, and accelerating the shift towards zero waste and the circular economy.
The video sought to encourage viewers to reduce their single-use food packaging.
Now, a better-oiled machine, Lee approaches prospective partner organisations by telling them “we might be a volunteer initiative but we take our work very seriously”.
When deciding on a new video topic, Lee’s team looks out for projects or issues that are under-reported and can offer new perspectives.
They then spend a few weeks doing research, talking to people familiar with the issues at hand, and sourcing for interview profiles.
The team, he explained, is keenly aware that viewers today have shorter attention spans.
There are many societal issues that deserve attention but are often not reaching the masses. We want to make it easy. Allow others to learn about society in an experiential and fun way. We condense what we find from research into short-form video content, designs and social media posts.”
The result is a slickly edited, snappy video delivering bite-sized information on issues targeted at young Singaporeans, before directing them towards an avenue to act on their newfound curiosity.
GETTING HELP AND FUNDING
All this would not be possible without the initial funding that Lee received from the Our Singapore Fund (OSF).
Supporting the Singapore Together movement, the fund seeks to support meaningful projects by passionate Singaporeans that build national identity and a sense of belonging or meet social and community needs.
Funding, explained Lee, took a week to get approved after he sent in a proposal to OSF’s online portal.
The partial grant helped WTS Community “get off the ground” by paying for marketing and production costs.
More than just providing financial support, the team managing OSF also gives Lee feedback on the team’s videos and offer advice on how to make the initiative sustainable in the long run.
Source: Zhong Han.
“THE TYPE OF SHIFT WE WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE”
The support provided by OSF has allowed Lee and his team to focus on delivering fresh and impactful content. Speaking about impact, Lee was reminded of a comment left by a friend on WTS Community’s social media:
I have a friend who commented on one of our social media posts about how some people need regular blood transfusions due to conditions like leukaemia. His comments were: ‘Nice that’s quite a perspective I have never come across before.’
When I saw this, I felt a sense of satisfaction as we are inching towards creating content that serves our vision.”
Ultimately, that incident offered a glimpse into what WTS Community hopes to achieve.
While Lee has grand plans to expand the initiative into a sustainable non-profit organisation, the mission — to bring change through storytelling — will remain unchanged.
It’s even exemplified in the playful pun in WTS Community’s name, said Lee:
[WTS is] typically exclaimed when the person comes across something they didn’t know before that is usually incredible or hard to believe. And yes, that’s the type of shift we want the people to have when you consume our content… in hopes that they take action and contribute to the common good.”
