One of the most frequent used means of manipulating the public opinion is through spread of panic and fear. Such was the case of the alleged leak of toxic chemicals from the “Ohis” factory on 8 November.
The portal “Dosie” published a text for an allegedly very dangerous situation in “Ohis”. The portal presented frightening facts about alleged leak of chemicals that may cause blindness. There was also information that the near-by inhabitants started to feel bad and that two persons were removed from the factory with an ambulance.
The portal “Dokaz” wrote that there was an uncontrolled leak of the chemical, and added that the institutions do not want to provide explanation and to warn the citizens, even though a toxic chemical is in question, which may even cause death.
The portal “Infomax” blamed the authorities that they hide the event, that they have tried to manage the incident for three days, and that they did not evacuate the citizens.
A similar text was also published by “Kurir”, spreading panic that the alleged leak of the toxic chemical may even cause death.
These texts are spin, since there was an immediate reaction by the competent institutions that there was no danger upon the life and health of the citizens from the leak of the water which was used to clean toxic chemicals. It was the water that leaked, not the toxic chemicals.
“Water has leaked from a tank in which Methyl acrylate was previously stored. After the tank was emptied, the company had to clean it. A valve broke during the cleaning, causing the liquid to leak in a concrete basin which is outside the object, and that is why there was an unpleasant smell in the air” – the Ministry of Environment stated in a press-release.
Additionally, the Ministry of Environment immediately responded that inspectors went in the factory after the citizens reported the unpleasant smell. The report was received at the beginning of the previous day, not “three days ago”, as claimed by “Infomax”.
On Friday, citizens reported to the police that they felt an unpleasant smell and the institutions immediately responded.
The Minister of Environment Jani Makraduli has published the Ministry’s press-release about the incident on his Facebook profile at 17:43.However, at 18:15 the portal “Infomax” writes that the institutions are silent, which is a manipulation of the public opinion.
The institutions did not inform about alleged worsening of the health condition of any persons present in “Ohis”, as it was claimed by “Dosie”, while the information that the toxic chemical that was cleaned may cause death – as claimed by “Kurir”, “Dokaz” and others – also proved not to be true.
A note, the role of media is to inform, not to disinform.
