The Internet has transformed media. Anyone can read the news from around the world — from American cable news to the national Yemeni news — all with a few clicks of the mouse. I try to take advantage of the near overabundance of news by reading as much as I can from various news sources to include infamous sources such as Al-Jazeera.

While perusing the latest news from the Middle East this past week, I found a disturbing article concerning the devastating tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean on December 26. This article theorized that American and Indian nuclear tests caused the tsunami that killed at least a quarter of a million people from Indonesia to Somalia.

There are obviously some problems with this news reporting. There have been no reports of radiation poisoning in the destroyed cities and villages along the Indian Ocean. Above all, there have not been any accounts of a nuclear test anywhere near Indonesia.

This type of reporting by networks such as ‘Arabiyya Television results in some serious consequences; those who watch media reports from reputable sources such as ‘Arabiyya believe that stories such as this one about the tsunamis are true. This is due to the inherent trust between the viewers and the media, where the viewers assume the news the media source is publishing is the truth.

On another level, a story like this one about nuclear tests causing the tsunami is actually dangerous. The story accuses the United States and India of conducting nuclear tests. The report did not mention Pakistan, a Muslim nuclear state in the region. Stories like this one indirectly accuse Islam’s “enemies” of causing the deaths of thousands of Muslims. An obviously fabricated news story like this one only provokes anti-American, anti-Indian, and anti-Western sentiment.

While false reporting such as this seems outrageous, we have seen this type of reporting in our own country. The current CBS news scandal is evidence of this. There was a disregard for fact-checking on the story concerning George W. Bush’s military record while in the Air National Guard, and this story — if it was not checked and invalidated — could have influenced the presidential election.

Of course, there are numerous differences between the stories of the president’s military record and the nuclear tests causing the tsunami. The CBS reporting was verified to not be true, and Dan Rather himself apologized for the flawed story. Many Middle East news networks do not vet their reporting at all and rarely apologize for any mistakes. The scandal has tarnished the integrity of the American network while networks such as ‘Arabiyya still are held with the utmost regard in the Arab-speaking world, despite some of their heinous reporting. When there is errant news coverage, American networks such as CBS face the wrath of an angry American public, while news networks like ‘Arabiyya air any story that is anti-American without any consequence.

With the Internet, news coverage can be published with a click of a button, and the entire world — from my father’s computer room in small-town Wisconsin to Osama bin Laden’s cave — can read the news even as an event is happening. Factual reporting is even more crucial when the whole world can read what a journalist wrote. Media can influence entire populations; from the American electorate, to the entire Muslim World, and a mistake (whether intentional or not) can change world sentiment, or possibly change world events.

With the Internet, we ourselves have the power to fact-check, and through e-mail, we can let our voice be heard. On my last article, I errantly called snow birds (those who live in Arizona in the winter) “snow bunnies.” The next day, I received an email from a reader in Mesa, Ariz., pointing out my error. I appreciate the correction and learned that as a writer, I must research well. It is my responsibility and my duty. CBS learned the ramifications of their error and are paying for their mistake with their reputation.

I hope that networks such as ‘Arabiyya some day will adopt the same journalistic principles instead of mixing real journalism with certain stories that only incite the general public.

Jeff Carnes ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in linguistics.