Social Media Fact-checking [Michael Jackson’s Confirmed Death]
Only moments ago, it was confirmed that Michael Jackson’s death was confirmed by sources of the LA Times:
Pop star Michael Jackson was pronounced dead by doctors this afternoon after arriving at a hospital in a deep coma, city and law enforcement sources told The Times.
Most news sources, cable and online alike, carried the news when it broke that Michael Jackson was admitted to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center this afternoon. Some news sources carried the news that he had died, others that he merely had a heart-attack, and Techcrunch’s MG Siegler that he possibly was just moonwalking.
Twitter and Friendfeed, though, were for me and were able to clear up the confusion for me in a matter of moments. I had been watching Fox and CNN throughout the afternoon, and when news broke in of Michael Jackson’s health, the details were highly sketchy.
The first reports I saw that he might possibly be dead came across my Facebook status feed from a number of folks, though with no sources linked. Within a matter of moments, though, links to the LA Times confirmation filled my feed, pushing down a number of unrelated conversations several screens down.
This isn’t another #CNNfail or anything like that, but it is another example of how undeniable it is now that for breaking news, the only place to find up to the second news and places to cut through the rumor is one’s social graph.
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