We have progressed in our discussions regarding our Project Brief 4. We have decided to focus on one event, after a class discussion. Jordan mentioned the vast array of conspiracy theories that fueled the media in the week and months following the MH370 Malaysian Airlines disaster. One event in the real world can create hundreds, thousands, or thanks to social media even millions of media texts. We brainstormed some ideas and real cases such as the Belle Gibson media case came up in conversation. Belle Gibson claimed that she had cured her brain cancer through a health food diet. She originally appeared in 2014 and the story was picked up by the media. The claims turned out to be false, and the journalists that reported on the story were scrutinised and forced to apologise for not fact checking the story. A Facebook page has been set up detailing the extent of Belle Gibson’s lies: <https://www.facebook.com/bellegibsonuncovered>.
Also, in 2012 an Italian man was painted by the media as a “physically abusive workaholic” and claimed that his four daughters were being forced to return to Italy against their will. The Courier Mail, who published the story was forced to pay $120,000 in fines for identifying the family involved in the court case. The truth was that the Italian man was trying to get his children back after their mother left Italy for a holiday and refused to return. The story is detailed on the Media Watch website: <http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s3611123.htm>.
We decided to frame a story about a kidnapped girl, Izzy Varis, whom her mother Virginia Varis claimed had been kidnapped by her father. We constructed the story to be picked up by the media and then the truth was revealed and the father actually had taken Izzy on a pre-arranged camping trip. The media was then forced to apologise.
