Press Council: Rumors must be verified
The Swiss Press Council reprimands an article in the NZZ am Sonntag: In it, author Milena Moser had written that a yoga teacher had preached celibacy but had himself set up a kind of harem.
The Press Council criticizes the newspaper for spreading a rumor without checking it. Anyone who publishes a rumor must first verify it. The Swiss Press Council recalls this principle in a statement published on Friday.
In the article "Der Unterleib des Gurus" (The abdomen of the guru), which was published in May 2015, the author had not given her sources. In response to a reader's inquiry, NZZ am Sonntag informed the reader that the allegations were facts, as the Press Council writes. These would - where not specifically stated - come "from various international media (New York Times, etc.)". In the present case, the newspaper and the author of the article "obviously did not check the source of the rumor," the Press Council states. This violated the journalists' code of conduct.
As the Press Council further states in its statement, the NZZ am Sonntag had resorted to "an original argument". It claimed that Milena Moser was a writer and not a journalist. The journalist code was therefore not applicable.
"In times when it is normal for athletes, film actors and craftsmen to write regular columns in media products, this argument must be weighed more closely," the Press Council states. However, it concludes that "it is irrelevant whether a journalist, a writer or the janitor of the NZZ draws the article." (SDA)
