Tweets violate trust

JEERS TO GMA News TV’s Brigada and its reporter for violating a confidentiality agreement by tweeting information that a source had asked to keep secret.

In a report titled “Orchid Hunters” that aired last November 12, 2012, the reporter brought along an expert who combs the country’s mountains searching for rare orchids.

“Pinakiusapan kami ni (orchid expert) na ‘wag pangalanan ang bundok sa takot na baka limasin ito ng poachers [The orchid expert asked us not to name the mountain for fear of poachers],” the reporter said.

While the mountain’s name was never mentioned in the report, a Brigada tweet specified the mountain the team trekked: “Sa #Brigada, ang ulat ni @micaelapapa tungkol sa mga orchid hunter at ang kanilang Orchid hunt sa pinakamataas na bundok sa —-! [On Brigada, the report by @micaelapapa on the orchid hunter and their Orchid hunt on the highest mountain in Western Luzon!]” (https://twitter.com/Brigada_GNTV/status/267961610813976576)

Brigada's tweet

A quick Google search of “the highest mountain in —” would indicate what mountain the expert had wanted to keep secret from poachers.

Prior to that, the reporter had also tweeted twice, naming the mountain she had climbed in doing the report.

First: “Greetings from pitch-black darkness in the middle of nowhere in Mt. —-, basically. Ngayon lang nagkasignal ulit [Just got signal again].” (https://twitter.com/micaelapapa/status/267277173214310400)

Reporter's tweet

Second, with a photo of herself on the summit: “My exact reaction upon reaching the summit of Mt. —-. Watch our journey tonight on @Brigada_GNTV 8PM GMA News TV. pic.twitter.com/2b4WYRcQ” (https://twitter.com/micaelapapa/status/267921377628135424)

Reporter's tweet

Aside from violating their source’s trust, the naming of the mountain was also ironic, since the report was angled on the fast decline in the number of rare orchids in the wild because of poaching.

The report recalled an incident in which three poachers died in Tagaytay by falling off a cliff while trying to get a rare orchid. It then showed how the expert can determine if an orchid had been attached to a tree and had been poached.