The sacred profession of journalism, once defined by courage and conscience, has been replaced by a chaos of live streams where every death is content and every lie is breaking news
By Dr Syed Irfan Shafi
The sacred profession of journalism, once defined by courage, conscience, and credibility, has today been hijacked by a mob of unqualified, unethical, and self-proclaimed reporters who have turned Facebook into a circus of chaos. In Kashmir, this transformation has been particularly tragic.
The proverb “Bekal Chhi Beklan Beklaawaan”, “the fool teaching other fools”, now echoes across the digital streets of our valley, where truth is traded for likes, and deception wears the mask of “breaking news”. These so-called journalists neither understand the ethics of reporting nor possess the education or discipline required for it. Their Facebook pages have become their newsrooms, their opinions have become headlines, and their egos have become their editors. They go live not to inform but to perform. Every tragedy is their stage, every death their content, and every public issue their opportunity to display false heroism. They rush to the scene before even verifying a single fact, turning grief into gossip and sensitivity into spectacle. In their quest for visibility, they violate privacy, spread rumours, and destroy reputations all in the name of “truth-telling”.
The tragedy deepens when society, unaware of the mechanics of manipulation, believes them. Ordinary people are fooled, emotionally exploited, and psychologically conditioned to mistake noise for news. These Facebook journalists have mastered the art of manufacturing outrage. They use emotional language, dramatic tone, and half-baked information to keep people angry, divided, and addicted. They play with public emotions, ignite communal and political tensions, and confuse public opinion through misinformation. They claim to be the “voice of the people”, yet they serve their own ego and agenda. Their broadcasts are not acts of journalism but acts of manipulation, staged drama designed to provoke reaction rather than reflection.
What makes it worse is the alarming rise of digital illiteracy among the public. Many people in Kashmir have begun to treat Facebook posts as the gospel truth. They rarely question, verify, or analyse. This blind faith in unverified content has created a culture of confusion and distrust where truth dies before it is born, and lies travel faster than thought. Instead of inspiring awareness, these pseudo-journalists have infected society with misinformation and cynicism. They have made the people suspicious of genuine media, disrespectful toward real journalists, and numb toward ethics. Their videos lack grammar, structure, and sense, yet they influence thousands. The educated voices are drowned out by the loudest fools.
This phenomenon is not only degrading journalism but also corroding the very moral fabric of society. When falsehood becomes entertainment and ignorance becomes authority, the line between truth and fiction collapses. This is not journalism; it is digital pollution. Facebook, once a space for connection, has been turned into a factory of falsehoods by these opportunists who have no understanding of journalistic ethics, no sense of accountability, and no respect for humanity. They exploit pain, sensationalise suffering, and mock the profession that once stood as the pillar of democracy.
It is time for society to wake up from this illusion to recognise that journalism is not a hobby, it is a responsibility, not a game of followers, but a discipline of facts. The government, civil society, and academic institutions must come forward to regulate and educate. People must learn to differentiate between a journalist and an opportunist, between an informer and an instigator.
The real journalist reports for truth, not for traffic; for people, not for popularity. Until that realisation dawns, “Bekal Chhi Beklan Beklaawaan” will remain the most accurate description of this tragic era where the uneducated preach, the unethical dominate, and a misled society applauds its own deceivers.
dr**************@***il.com