What really happened?

Many people react differently to a loved one passing away. How would you react at that moment? Would the person who told you the news be a factor in how fast or how much you would react? Maybe a close friend could tell you something has happened to them and you sit with each other calling other loved ones. Maybe a couple of police officers ask to come into your living room to tell you the tragic news softly. However, what if you just happened to come across a tweet on Twitter that told you that your husband was killed in a helicopter crash? Would you believe it? This is when social media becomes too much and is sadly a true case for Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant.

The same concept has always been used throughout the social media world. New stories come out so quickly that it’s hard to filter out bad headlines and get accurate information, especially in this social media age where anybody can share anything with the world in seconds. TMZ wasn’t the only news outlet to report false information on what happened with Bryant’s death; ABC and FOX both had reporters who just shared what they believed to be the full truth without waiting for the official details from the Los Angeles Police Department. Social media reporting comes with a responsibility to share accurate information especially in tragic times like these. However, there will be some news agencies who just don’t offer the respect the family deserves and that can potentially ruin reputations for these news companies. A man by the name of “Andrew Doughty” sent a tweet publicly that showed hate for the news organizations that shared the news quickly and falsely. This tweet was liked by more than six-hundred thousand people and likely read by millions more. These viral posts can be fatal to news companies and especially reporters who work for them. Even if TMZ was correct, putting a bold post out on the internet before anybody could even reach out to the family is just morally wrong. 

After all the reports and all the craziness that came with the first few hours of his passing, the social media world becomes a beautiful place. With pictures, videos, tributes, personal reflection stories, and other posts by everybody in the world who had an experience with Kobe Bryant and his family, the whole internet got to see a side of his legacy that maybe they weren’t familiar with before his passing. This is when social media is truly at its highest point when everybody is sharing happy moments of the people they lost, and the world can open Twitter and appreciate the people who made the world a better place. Social media going forward will always have some inaccurate information, but with sources becoming so vital to online credibility nowadays, we can expect a change in the news we read online in the future and in dedication to the late Kobe Bryant, “Mamba Out”.