Are newspaper stories to blame for destroying lives?
Newspaper stories, online trolls and social media have often been blamed for the negative impact it has on people’s mental health, which has seen a significant rise in the last couple of years.
Many celebrities have come forward to raise awareness of the dangers that online trolling causes, including Jesy Nelson, member of popular girl band, Little Mix.
We have just heard the tragic news that TV presenter Caroline Flack has been found dead in her East London flat. A lawyer for the Flack family confirmed that Caroline took her own life.
Caroline Flack presented many of UK television’s biggest reality TV shows and their spinoffs, from The X Factor to I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here Now!, and won the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing in 2014. There have been multiple stories in the papers over the last few months about her. Tabloids such as the Sun, which broke the news of her death, moved swiftly to delete recent negative stories that they have written about her.
Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May 2018 was marked by an outpouring of affection in Britain, but less than a year later they found themselves on the receiving end of a barrage of negative stories in the media.
They have ranged from their alleged feuds with Prince William and Kate Middleton to their celebrity-like behaviour, to the young couple’s home being renovated with 2.4 million pounds of taxpayers’ money to reports of Meghan being dubbed “Duchess Difficult” by palace insiders for her “string of demands,” and more recently, for taking frequent luxury flights.
Many royal fans thought that the harsh scrutiny would stop for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after they became parents. However, the negative reports have not stopped at all.
This has now culminated in the royal couple standing down from their royal duties and moving to Canada.
These are just two examples of how the media portray celebrity life using ‘clickbait’ to encourage readers to read on.
What are your views? Should newspapers take more responsibility for how and what they report?
