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![\"screen-shot-2016-09-08-at-10-13-05-am\"](\"http:\/\/students.com.miami.edu\/reporting\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Screen-Shot-2016-09-08-at-10.13.05-AM.png\")
<\/a>\nABC News tweeted a radar image just before Hermine made landfall last\u00a0Thursday night showing\u00a0tornado watches and warnings throughout Florida.<\/p>\n
The graphic, albeit dramatic, is unclear and makes the viewer think that almost the entire state and the Gulf of Mexico is under siege by tornadoes.<\/p>\n
This kind of fear-mongering journalism is unacceptable, especially for a national news organization as reputable as ABC.<\/p>\n
ABC is not the only national news outlet that posted a click-bait tweet during a time of crisis. The New York Times<\/em> tweeted an article just a few hours after Hermine made landfall stating that the increased frequency of hurricanes this season could be related to global warming. While sea-level rise due to climate change makes coastal areas more vulnerable to storm surge flooding, scientific studies have not shown any correlation\u00a0between climate change and the frequency and intensity of tropical cyclones.<\/p>\n The New York Times<\/em> could have waited until after Hermine dissipated to post the article, but instead decided to take advantage of some of the public’s worst fears in order to gain readers.<\/p>\n The purpose of news organizations during states of emergency is to calmly inform people\u00a0of mortal danger based on scientific fact, not frighten the public with melodramatic stories and images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By DANIEL LLOVERAS When Hermine, the first hurricane to make landfall in Florida since Wilma in 2005, swept across the southeastern United States last week, news organizations were quick to pounce on the story. Journalists\u00a0from all over the country were … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n