Tuesday, October 09, 2012
What is the meaning of "documenting"?
Reporting on the latest incidents in Syria, the BBC writes of the Syrian "Observatory" on Human Rights (which as far as is known is one guy in an apartment in England):
The SOHR is one of the most prominent organisations documenting and reporting incidents and casualties in the Syrian conflict. The group says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be verified.So I have just a simple question? Isn't the claim of "documenting" something antithetical to the words "cannot be verified"? Yes, it is possible to claim to be documenting something and to completely fabricate the documentation, and you could claim to be "documenting" it, but the news media should simply say you are "asserting" it. Or "alleging" it. Not "documenting" it.
