The Mill is a new digital newspaper for Manchester, launched by Joshi Herrmann, a journalist who has worked for The Times, The Guardian, The Evening Standard and The Spectator. among others.

The Mill is not a traditional newspaper of record, such as the Manchester Evening News, Bolton News, or Bury Times. Instead, Joshi wants to focus on wider issues that affect people, and will deliver articles direct to inboxes.

He stresses that he wants to avoid sensationalism and chasing clicks and one of his first articles highlights the vital role journalists play in scrutinising what is happening around us and how it affects everyday lives.

Social media has turned us all into publishers, sharing amusing tales, photos and videos, recommending or criticising things, and sharing “breaking news” about crime, accidents and fires. But who checks if what is being posted is true? Is it fair? Is it legal?

As a journalist, before you share or publish anything, you need to be sure of the facts. Is what they are saying true? Does the picture or video really show what they claim? Do I have the right to use/share it? What happens if I get it wrong?

Accuracy is the most important lesson drummed into you from day one of journalism college, with the adage that if you can’t get basic facts such as names, addresses and areas right, how can people trust you with anything else?

Without all the facts, one person’s view of a situation could be unbalanced, incorrect or even dangerous, such as a recent incident near us in which a swan’s nest and unhatched eggs were senselessly destroyed. A man walking his dogs nearby was wrongly identified as being responsible and he and his family were subsequently targeted.

A colleague was once caught out by a couple who claimed to find broken glass in tinned baked beans they were about to serve their children. They complained that the supermarket they bought them from didn’t care and although approached for a comment, the company was struggling to find details of the complaint and wasn’t able to respond by the deadline. Once the article was published, and the supermarket got to the bottom of the claims, it turned out the store didn’t actually sell that brand and the woman was a former employee who had been sacked. She had used the front page of her local paper to get back at her former employer.

The Mill’s article which demonstrated a need for scrutiny featured an incident at a Chinese takeaway in which a customer was filmed verbally abusing staff and damaging a protective screen brought in following the coronavirus.

A video of the incident was shared across social media and it was described as a racist attack. But Joshi’s journalistic instinct kicked in and he started by checking the facts, including when and where it happened.

His digging uncovered that the incident did not take place in Blackburn, as stated, and when he finally tracked down the Heywood takeaway, staff said that while the incident was frightening, the man was very drunk but had not been racist. Police have been involved and the matter has been dealt with by means of restorative justice – the offender meets the victim and apologises, tries to explain their behaviour, and usually pays for any damage.

Joshi got to the truth. The real incident itself isn’t as big a story as the social media headlines suggested – racist attack at Chinese takeaway at height of coronavirus pandemic.

But everyone who shared it as a racist incident, or commented along those lines, has potentially libelled the person in the video. They have accused him of racism – claims they would have to prove in court if the man took legal action and a position that would be difficult to defend as we know from staff and police that race was not an issue.

Every story a journalist writes must be accurate, balanced and legally safe. Over the years I have spent hours discussing articles - and even minute details of sentences - with the lawyers to make sure they are safe to publish. Sometimes, even altering a single word can be the difference between a great scoop or a costly day in court.

Few people on social media need to go to those lengths before posting, but it is worth taking a step back to consider what you are sharing, and especially the consequences of posting it. 

It is no defence in court to argue that everyone else shared it, or that so-and-so said it so it must be true.

So please, don’t go down the “print and be damned” route. It rarely ends well.

Follow The Mill at https://manchestermill.co.uk/people/3289718-the-mill