How long before citizen journalism is faked?

The BBC lauds the contribution of user generated media - photos, video, etc, not least in the recent spate of flooding to hit the UK.

As a viewer, it was brilliant being able to access images of places I knew, photographed by old neighbours and published on the BBC website.

But here’s the stark stark warning - how long before we see so-called citizen journalism under-mined by fraudulent media?

It could be done simply as a prank - it could led by marketing interests - or even be politically motivated.

A few years back the Serbian government faked anti-West protest photos, repeating the same piece of imagery to make a crowd scene look bigger. We’ve also seen other sporadic fraud in media imagery - by persons considered professional, and vetted, by media companies such as Reuters.

So how long before interested parties care to start their own citizen journalism manipulation program?

For example, in the recent flooding, a person could photoshop a photo of a local landmark to appear partly underwater. It could be done as a prank, just for fun - or it could be done to add fuel to bitter local political arguments.

And sites such as the BBC would be in no position to determine the validity of such media. There’s no room for vetting checks.

User generated content - UGC - has already been a growing part of the so-called Web 2.0 era of the internet - but marketers have already latched onto this and flooded such sites with fake reviews, usually intended to promote the reputation and standing of the companies they represent.

As another form of UGC, citizen journalism is open to the same problems of systematic abuse.

Showing flooding images has been immensely useful to show just how badly places I grew up with in Hull had been affected. It’s an extreme example.

But the more acceptable citizen journalism becomes in traditional media, the more likely the pranksters, the fraudsters, the marketers, and the politicians, will all try to ensure that their view is the one that is broadcast and published.

As BBC editor Simon Waldman pointed out:

information from the public has helped shape our coverage

As so dangles the carrot before the donkeys.