Nowadays, blogging has become a powerful tool. How can one blogger still keep their ethics even if there are so many fake news and click baits around?

A Call for Responsible Bloggers: Where’s Your Ethics?

Lately, blogging has been creating a big buzz all over the world. People leave their day jobs to pursue other ventures and some become successful freelancers in various fields. One is content creation. It’s channeled through writing or blogging.

Most of us have easy access to social media and other websites which may contain content that could fool people and mislead them. These are fake news. Honestly, it is disappointing how fake news spread like wildfire. It can even destroy one’s perspective about a certain personality.

It’s sad that someone considers any link as credible even without doing proper research about the topic. Some state their opinion and others believe it as if it’s the truth. To be quite honest, almost everyone is gullible these days.

One of my pet peeves to see family members sharing or sending links about fake news or even fake articles. It has become an insult to other bloggers and can harm blogging in general. Besides, something must be done.

Responsible Blogging & Ethics

Writers and influencers have a certain amount of power. It allows us to touch other people’s lives through our posts. With a simple social media post, words transform into swords that pierce through someone’s morals. They have the power and the strength to make or break a person. So, it’s understood that every writer and influencer to be careful on what they post. Since it can cause a ruckus in the future.

But, what does it take be a responsible blogger?

Research

First is research. Most do their research accordingly as it helps them to share and deliver information more accurately. Basing their posts on facts is one of the most important factors in blogging. A writer or influencer cannot share or post stuff that are false. If they do so, their credibility will be gone in an instant.

Photos & Videos

Secondly, photos and videos. Some capture photos and videos of the restaurants they have been to and the food they ate. Others captivate their audience through grandiose photos and videos which captured and showcased their adventures here and there. And those with talents in that field curate their content according to their branding and what their blog is all about. We, the audience, are simply amazed at how unique and edited it is. Some have themes created which they would follow for a certain period of time before thinking of another.

Their Opinion

This may not be quite popular with others but it is something required to most. We cannot fathom every photo or video in an instant which is why we look for narration or their thoughts. We depend and rely on the blogger on how will they walk us through a specific restaurant or place which could be a million miles away from us.

But to everyone out there, do not forget to put credits on the posts especially if it was lifted from another source. Discrediting them could be another form of plagiarism and everybody do not like that. Which is why every person must be careful of their statements in their posts.

What they think will always be essential to their followers. If they stick to the truth, then they are responsible bloggers.

Now, we go onto the next big thing. Fake News.

Spotting Fake News

Wherever one faces, there’s always a fake news or article lying around. Some have always get the tendency of getting fooled yet others spot them easily. But sadly, there will be those who got fooled, who believed and who shared.

So now, how do you spot fake news?

Let me give a few tips on how to spot it easily.

Check the title.
Be attentive to the URL or link of the article.
Observe the date it was posted.
Check and observe the photos if they have used relevant photos and sources.
Do not be afraid of doing a research about the news on search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing.
Look at the comments or reactions. Most of the time, it will show others’ reaction about the matter.

These are simple tips that could help you discover the truth behind the article that you have seen.

After spotting the fake news published on the internet and on other platforms, we wonder how other bloggers can one be responsible.

How can I contribute towards responsible blogging?

A simple blogger can be a responsible blogger if every post is based on facts which expresses her own honest opinion. Quite frankly, it has been one of my mottos in life to always do research, gather enough data before I post anything or even insinuate.

My blogs contribute to responsible blogging and proper blogging ethics since it always aims to share facts and truthful experiences. These are first hand experiences that I have experienced throughout my existence in the world. Some are personal anecdotes in life and some are reviews about movies, restaurants or even books.

If I continue to stick to my prime purpose why I started blogging, it would always continue molding me to become a responsible blogger. For every post I write, I always strive to get my facts straight and have my own photos. I strive to always credit the works of other people may it be photos or videos which I included in my post and also, quotes by famous people.

Through this, I am contributing to responsible blogging and improving my blogging ethics.