The temporary reporter who created the fake news about the bao, has created more catastrophic damage to China's image and reputation, way beyond the damage to the reputation of his media organisation and of the media. Already, there have been problems with the reputation of the China products. Confidence once shattered, takes time to regain.
The fake bun case also showed how the truth can be found out - the Netizens were questioning the story ...
{cartoon by Heng Kim Soong/ZB, in ST, 22 July 07}Whose Buns In The Oven When Fake-Food News Is Itself Phony?
Vivian Wai-yin Kwok, 07.20.07, 1:10 PM ET / Forbes Faces in the News
At a time when China's markets are deluged with counterfeit products and dodgy food, it ought not to be a surprise to find instances of fake news popping up in the country as well.
After its widely aired footage on a merchant's process of concocting a cardboard-stuffed breakfast "bun" had shocked the world, Beijing TV made an even more astonishing apology late Wednesday, acknowledging that the clip was fabricated by a temporary staffer.
The network apologized in its evening news program for airing the phony report, produced with a home DVD camera by Zi Beijia, a temporary employee, that aired on Beijing TV-7, its Lifestyle Channel.
"We should apologize to the public for the Lifestyle Channel's failure strictly to examine the content of the report, resulting in the airing of a faked report, which in turn undermined public confidence," said the network's announcement, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The investigative report, which first aired on July 8, captured how a small purveyor of pork buns in Beijing soaking used cardboard softened with water and caustic soda, mixing the cardboard "broth" with pork fat, leeks and soy milk sheets to make baozi, a popular breakfast in Beijing. The manufacturer even talked about how the cardboard-stuffed bun was an innovative response to the rapid growth of pork prices across the nation. (See " Yum! Cardboard-Stuffed Buns")
The ersatz buns aroused worldwide media attention and animated discussion on Chinese blogs and in chat rooms after China Central Television rebroadcast the clip on July 11. Meanwhile, on YouTube, the video clip, titled "steamed meat bun made up of corrugated cardboard," had been viewed more than 9,894 times as of noon Friday. Interestingly, chat room discussions in recent days about the bun fakery, besides questioning the credibility of Chinese media, have cast critical attention on the conduct ot the authorities' investigations. "Our specialists determined that green tea made with 50% cat urine can easily be detected when ingested," one respondent mocked on the Imagethief blog.
Pressured by public outcry in the wake of the story, Beijing's Municipal Food Safety Office started a four-day intensive inspection campaign, examining street stalls offering breakfast items in the fourth ring of Chaoyang District, where the report was shot. Yet, no paper fiber or other illegal ingredients were discovered among the more than 100 samples of meat bun collected.
The food safety watchdog invited Chen Min, a professor from the Food Science College of China Agricultural University, to conduct a re-creation of the recipe from the TV report, and the specialist concluded it was impossible for the cardboard to go unnoticed. "Even if you mix a tiny proportion, say, 5%, of cardboard, the fiber substance can be easily seen, and the meat buns made this way could not be easily chewed," said a spokesman for the Municipal Food Safety Office, according to Xinhua News.
The municipal authorities then shifted the investigation's focus to the TV report. Zi, who joined Beijing TV as a temporary worker this year, allegedly admitted fabricating the entire report in response to the channel's pressuring him for a scoop, after he spent two weeks on the street to scrutinize the quality of meat buns, an idea he had earlier initiated in an editorial meeting . According to information provided by the municipal police, Zi asked four migrant workers and a friend of his to make the cardboard bun, which were said to have been tested by feeding them to dogs.
Zi and five other people, including the four migrant workers, have been detained by the police. Beijing Mayor Wang Qishan has ordered an immediate investigation and called for those involved to be prosecuted if credible evidence against them is found.
Even though the cardboard-stuffed buns turned out to be a hoax, some local residents have lost their confidence in street food and remain suspicious of its quality. "I would never let my family buy breakfast from street stalls again," a Beijing resident identified only as Ms. Liu told Xinhua News. "After all, health is paramount."
Fake cardboard bun news tarnishes media image
China Daily (Xinhua)Updated: 2007-07-20 14:47
BEIJING -- China's journalist association has condemned the act of fabricating news following the revelation that the report on dumplings stuffed with cardboard aired on Chinese television was proved fake.
The All-China Journalists' Association (ACJA) on Thursday night released a statement criticizing journalists involved in the fabricated report, saying it "severely violated journalistic ethics and severely tarnished the image and social credibility of Chinese media".
It carried on to say the report had "severely ruined the reputation of the State" and made society "astonished and angry".
"The ACJA, on behalf of journalism professionals all over the country, strongly condemn the news fabrication and requires the media circle to take feasible and cogent measures to put an end to news fabrication," the statement said.
"Authenticity is the lifeblood of journalism and ensuring authenticity of news reports is the basic professional ethic of journalists and a social responsibility which journalists must bear," said the ACJA statement.
It also cited a rumour about bananas in Hainan containing a SARS-like virus earlier this year, which caused losses of up to 20 million yuan (US$2.6 million) a day, as an example of the consequences of news fabrication.
"The existence of fabricated news is humiliating for the Chinese media circle. Fabricated news, which disturb normal production, social order and cause severe economic losses and baneful social effects, is not allowed by laws, regulations and journalistic ethics," said the statement
"The journalists involved in the fake report on cardboard dumplings should be harshly punished," said the statement.
"The public relies on the media to find out what is happening and make basic judgments on their lives accordingly. Once the foundation of the public's judgement is proved fake, the media's social credibility will be ruined," said Zhou Qing'an, professor of Qinghua University.
"The content of news is no different from historical fact," Zhou cited Cai Yuanpei, one of China's most influential scholars in the early 20th century, as saying, stressing the importance of the authenticity of news.
Although angles and stances of news reporting can be different, a faithful attitude towards the facts should never be changed, he said.
Only by adopting this attitude can the media be qualified and justified to safeguard public interest and be fearless when being challenged and questioned," he concluded.
From Shanghaiist - Photo of the Day: Fake water, fake buns, now fake story? (19 July)
Update: EastSouthWestNorth translates a story from Southern Metropolis Daily tracing how the story of the bogus buns was found to be fake, and says kudos to the netizens who raised the following doubts from the beginning:
1. How can you eat something that had been soaked in caustic soda? The spice cannot cover up the taste. How big must a bun store be in order to maintain the normal profits after accounting for the caustic soda, flour, pork and spice materials as well as water, electricity, rent and labor? You must make "at least 1,000 yuan more per day." So how many buns do you have to sell in order to realize that? Is it possible that nobody could taste the difference after so many years?
Truth: According to Zi, caustic soda was not used during the filming. The caustic soda comment was added to enhance the audio-visual impact.
2. The film angles did not appear to be made stealthily. Many of the shots came from very good angles. Some of the shots did not appear to come from a hidden camera.
Truth: This was not a stealth job. This was a fixed set-up.
3. Throughout the report, the Industry and Commerce Department never made clear what the stall workers did wrong. In the end, the Industry and Commerce Department banned them because they had neither public health permit nor business license, not because they were using cardboard to make bun fillings. There was not even a mention of the term "waste cardboard boxes" from the Industry and Commerce Department.
Truth: The Industry and Commerce Department made a sweep of all the conceivable shops and stalls that could be selling breakfasts in the Chaoyang district and did not find anyone using cardboard to make bun fillings.
4. A netizen concluded: there may have been a rumor that cardboard was being use to make bun fillings; the reporter was intrigued; he found a few migrant workers and staged a "news story" in which the reporter discovered and filmed how waste cardboard was being turned into bun fillings.
Truth: The netizen's speculation was very close to the results of the investigation.
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