how does slander and libel fit in to ethics in journalism

Question

anonymous · Answer

Slander and libel are things that no objective journalist should ever resort to. Both can be heavily biased, spread falsehoods, and generally distort the facts of the true story that a journalist should do their best to report to the public. An ethical and objective journalist can see above their personal feelings, hate, politics, or inclinations to report on what they see clearly without embellishment. At worst, it's lying to the public as a form of propaganda.

It's one thing to report on a story, but quite another to make up things in order to sell a particular angle without any proof.