Under a decision passed by the Arbitration Court of Moscow, the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda had to refute its unchecked report that Y. Churbanov had purchased a sugar factory in the Belgorod Region. By publishing materials based on unchecked information or rumors, media professionals draw a distorted picture of the reality in public conscience and thereby perform as a destructive force, which is absolutely contrary to the role they are expected to play in society. Such irresponsible attitude to professional duty is socially dangerous also because it can be turned into an instrument of economic or political rivalry among various groups. As a result, the whole of society may be compelled to watch propagandistic or promotion campaigns, political games, or information wars. Many conflicts were considered last year by the Judicial Chamber for Information Disputes which operates under the auspices of the Russian Federation President.
Distorted information can be an instrument of pressure and a tool for manipulating public opinion.
It should be noted that the public seems rather skeptical about the media s independence or immunity to interest group pressure. That means that in the view of 73 percent of the polled, any mass medium presents its owner s opinion as an objective reflection of the reality to the public. Negligence towards professional duty also leads to factual errors for which the media may be held liable. The author cited another person s name by mistake. From a media professional s point of view, publishing a story based on unchecked or untrustworthy information is akin to citing information leak, which characterizes the author as an irresponsible person.