Week 3 - 'British men describe how they 'trolled the world' with fake story claiming they accidentally caught boat to Syria'

'British men describe how they 'trolled the world' with fake story claiming they accidentally caught boat to Syria' 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/british-men-trolled-the-world-with-fake-story-caught-boat-to-syria-from-ayia-napa-after-night-out-a7071176.html

• 3 British men posted a picture on Facebook with a fake news story about how they ended up in Syria 
• The men also posted snapchats and sent them to journalists as 'proof' 
• They said "we have literally trolled the world media and we are so proud of ourselves"
• "They report bollocks all the time and people never check the facts. As soon as they posted it that was it - it went viral"
• They thought they were making a valid point about international press coverage 

This story reflects the negatives of the news and social media. New digital media enables anyone and everyone to post a news story and to contact journalists, this story has therefore made audiences realise that everything that they read by journalists may not be true as there is the matter of manipulation. This reveals the negative effect of social media as the social networking platform enables people to manipulate situations; it also shows that the quality of facts are deteriorating as journalists create a news story about these British men when they do not know all the facts and they are only aware of the information that these men have told journalists. It makes us question the reliability and accuracy of news stories and the quality of journalism.