Nowadays, the world is all about content that is short and quick to digest. Twitter is the prime example, where blurbs are squeezed and butchered to fit 140 characters. But when high-traffic news is being conveyed in that same 140 characters, a lot of mistakes could be made, and that ‘crime’ can even be committed by one of the world’s most trusted news sources.
Twitter users came close to a heart attack when Associated Press (AP) tweeted that one of the Dutch planes carrying bodies from the downed Malaysia Airlines flight “crash lands in Eindhoven.” In a week that has seen so many plane-related disasters, hearing that one of the planes flying the crash victims home had also crashed at the airport? That would have been too much for any of us.
BREAKING: Dutch military plane carrying bodies from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash lands in Eindhoven.
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 23, 2014
If you take a closer look, it is easy to see that it is just a case of bad grammar. English teachers around the world are probably muttering “I told you so” under their breaths.
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Eventually, AP issued a clarification shortly after the mistake. Fortunately, the plane carrying the deceased from the MH17 crash did land safely in the Netherlands, and will be identified by forensic experts there.
CLARIFIES: Dutch military plane carrying Malaysia Airlines bodies lands in Eindhoven.
— The Associated Press (@AP) July 23, 2014
Twitter is fast becoming one of the main sources of breaking news. According to a news report by the Pew Research Center, nearly one-in-ten U.S. adults gets news through Twitter. With a primary source of news being confined to 140 characters, it is so much more important for news to be delivered clearly, especially in a sensitive times like this.
