Journalists must be watchmen, not rumormongers

Frozen yogurt was made from old leather shoes, according to another "scandal" quickly blowing up on the Internet.

It started from a vaguely-stated microblog post by a famous TV anchor. Zhao Pu, the CCTV news host warned Monday on his Weibo account that the public should stop consuming solid yogurt and jelly products because of some terrible secrets in their manufacturing process, citing an unnamed colleague as a source. His comment was later echoed by a news reporter, who told his Weibo followers that a friend tipped him off that frozen yogurt products used industry gelatin extracted from rotten leather shoes.

The posts instantly stirred anger and panic from the public especially through the extensive reach of the microblog users, who have become extremely sensitive to food safety scandals.

However, a number of jelly producers soon questioned the reliability of the information. The posts named no specific company involved but put the whole industry under scrutiny.

The China National Confectionery Association, the official body representing the industry, also released a statement warning that those breaking so-called inside information must be responsible for their comments or face legal consequences.

Some take this scenario to be the government trying to cover up another food incident exposed by honest journalists, particularly given the poor public image of China's food industry. The original intentions of Zhao may have been good, but as a journalist himself, he should understand the consequences that muckraking would bring to the companies and persons involved.

Journalists from other news media conducted more thorough research and concluded that the accusations on the jelly and yogurt industry were not true.

Experts explained that putting industry gelatin in jelly will ruin its taste, and that it is more costly to do that than using carrageenan, a substance commonly used by most jelly producers.

The public needs watchdogs to safeguard its interest. But there are also law-abiding people earning their fortune through honest activities and it is irresponsible to smear the entire industry with weak accusations.

This is particularly the case for journalists. Although they have the power to influence public opinion, this power is given for them to better fulfill their role as watchdogs, not to abuse it.