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# The bad, avoidable and useless forms of journalism
- URL: https://balaustine.mymagic.page/the-bad-avoidable-and-useless-forms-of-journalism/
- Published: 2016-03-04T11:40:45.000Z
- Updated: 2016-03-04T11:40:45.000Z
- Author: VM
- Tags: Uncategorized, archiving, fact-checking, hoaxes, journalism, NASA, #Migrated-1787483357778, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-23 11:09

**Bad journalism**: A [*Hindustan Times* report](http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/from-the-village-to-the-stars-bengal-girl-awarded-nasa-scholarship/story-0eFib3xYzM06jvgnbRPx5J.html?ref=balaustine.mymagic.page) on March 2 claims a high-schooler from West Bengal won a "prestigious" scholarship sponsored by NASA to study at Oxford University, having been selected on the back of a theory she had developed on blackholes. The piece was one-sided.

![Sketches - 6](https://gravitysshadow.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/38390-cc09a-sketches-6.png)

**Avoidable journalism**: The report – one among a dozen others, all on the same lines – turned out to have many holes. One of the first giveaways as usual was the language used to describe the science. *Huffington Post India* was (among) the first to publish NASA's clarification, that such a scholarship as the student had claimed didn't exist. I wrote about it [in *The Wire*](http://thewire.in/2016/03/03/misplaced-pride-on-nasa-scholarship-for-indian-girl-trips-up-national-media-23550/?ref=balaustine.mymagic.page).

![Sketches - 8](https://gravitysshadow.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/74a1f-4f61d-sketches-8.png)

**Useless journalism**: On March 4, [*Hindustan Times* reported](http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/wb-girl-s-nasa-scholarship-claim-appears-to-be-a-hoax/story-aRLDs48zeOf26JNhoxeeIM.html?utm%5Fsource=twitter&utm%5Fmedium=tweet&utm%5Fcampaign=social) that the high-schooler's claims were a hoax, writing "her claims \[had\] been widely published in the Indian media, including \[on\] TV channels and reality shows." It conveniently overlooked that *Hindustan Times* itself had published the report as well. So, what should've been a retraction ended up being another article – as if its March 2 report had been a bit of news.

![Sketches - 9](https://gravitysshadow.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/61082-51d63-sketches-9.png)

**Archiving**:

![Sketches - 11](https://gravitysshadow.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/d75a0-0eb4d-sketches-11.png)