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Deception

Deception has been lauded as an effective tool of last resort for investigative reporting for more than 100 years. When used in the pursuit of material that is in the public interest, it has been invaluable in helping the press meet its watchdog function. When justified, journalists can provide persuasive explanations to audience members for why the technique was required to access information that the public needed to know. However, deception used for other reasons, such as to add unnecessary drama to a report, can damage journalistic credibility.

This entry further defines deception in journalism and discusses why it poses an ethical problem. It then looks at how deception can be justified and provides some examples of journalistic deception. The entry focuses on deception in the newsgathering process or by withholding information from the public in news articles. It does not deal with publications that are intended to deceive to generate advertising revenue and/or for political reasons.

Definition and Conditions

Deception occurs when one or more persons attempt to lead others to form or maintain a false belief. Deception may occur through action or inaction. People are deceptive even if they are caught, or the person they intend to deceive was not fooled. Deception is ethically questionable, which means that it is wrong, unless accompanied by adequate justification.

The first step to analyzing deception is conceptualization. It is necessary to determine whether an act counts as deception before determining whether the deception is justified or not. Intention is required for any act to be deceptive. When one has uttered a false statement without intention, we say that the person is mistaken. To say that a badly placed sign deceived me is to speak metaphorically.

Intention is a necessary condition in that an act is deceptive, even if the deceiver is unsuccessful. For example, when a reporter lets others assume that he is a police investigator to get access to a meeting open only to law enforcement officers, he has acted deceptively even if someone recognizes him as a journalist and tells him to leave. But, one can have the intention to deceive without following through. Acting deceptively, in addition, requires one of the following three sufficient conditions.

Uttered Falsehood or the Nonverbal Equivalent

Making a false statement with the intention of leading others to form or maintain a false belief is deception. A journalist has acted deceptively if she tells a real estate agent that she wants to buy a home when the intent is really to see whether a neighborhood is redlined to limit racial integration. There are also nonverbal equivalents of lying. For example, if a journalist presents through dress or circumstance to make others believe that she is a doctor, she has acted deceptively.

Withholding Information Under Certain Conditions

When a person withholds information with the intention of leading others to form or maintain a false belief and, in the process of withholding the information, breaks a law, breaks a promise, cheats, or neglects a duty, the withholding of that information is deceptive. For example, if a reporter who has been subpoenaed fails to disclose all that he knows, he has acted deceptively by breaking a law.

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