The Vietnamese internet is all abuzz this week after VTV program 60 Minutes invited emcee and actor Phan Anh on the show to discuss the pros and cons of social media.
Phan Anh, who is among the country's most famous TV presenters, came under fire from the show's commentators after posting a VTC video clip on his Facebook page on April 27, shortly after news of the central Vietnam fish die-off broke. In the clip, two small fish are placed in a bowl of water, which the on-camera journalist claims to have collected from the ocean in central Vietnam; the fish die within two minutes of exposure to the water.
As of this morning, Phan Anh's post has been shared a total of 2,462 times, however shortly after the clip originally appeared on social media, officials from Ha Tinh province's Department of Natural Resources and Environment questioned the video's authenticity, a fact which the emcee also acknowledged in a subsequent Facebook post, saying: "This afternoon, I posted information from VTC about the fish dying after two minutes. Now the Ha Tinh Department of Natural Resources and Environment has responded with this feedback. We only support the truth. The truth belongs to whom? We're awaiting clear answers from all parties!"
The clip has since been removed from VTC's website, however it managed to receive heavy traffic on Facebook during its short time on the social network.
Following this incident, Phan Anh was then invited onto the VTV program hosted by journalist Ta Bich Loan. The discussion, which can be viewed on iOne, touched up the purpose of social media sharing and whether posting information such as Phan Anh's VTC clip was helpful or harmful to society.
During the conversation, Loan brought in several commentators, including a social media analyst, another popular Facebook personality and a photojournalist, all of whom provided their own insight into Phan Anh's social media post and weighed in on whether he ought to be held responsible for influencing his followers by posting a video clip which later turned out to be fake, reports Zing. Several of the personalities on the show, including host Loan, felt Phan Anh was at fault for posting the video, as it affected public opinion.
Video via Facebook user Le Minh Duy.
“The action is nice but this had a negative impact on society because you didn't know about the clip,” said journalist Hong Thanh Quang.
“No one cares what you think in your head,” he continued. “You made those who love and trust you place considerable faith in something which they should not have believed.”
For his part, the emcee disagreed with his critics, saying: “I always stop and think when writing something on Facebook. Of course, it isn't always accurate. But that doesn't mean I can't express my opinion.”
Phan Anh continued: “I want our society to have an open exchange and to be more democratic and outspoken.”
On the internet, netizens expressed sympathy for the way Phan Anh was treated on the program. As a result of the public response, some of the commentators on the program also made their own statements regarding the show, including Phan Anh himself.
“I was only a guest,” Quang said, according to Zing. “The person responsible for the program is Ta Bich Loan.”
On his own Facebook page, photojournalist Na Son also clarified his experience on the show, saying the program was edited to appear a certain way.
“There were many interesting things that were supposed to give balance [to the conversation],” he wrote. “For instance, Phan Anh said: 'I have to believe VTC because it's an official source, a state television station, in the same way that everyone believes what reporters say...it was the same situation with VTV's report on vegetable farmers in Thanh Hoa [in which a reporter claimed farmers were slightly damaging their crops in order to make consumers believe they did not use pesticides; VTV later apologized for the incident]...”
Phan Anh posted a post-show snap of himself along with his fellow guest stars and host Ta Bich Loan on Facebook.
Viewers also reacted, with many standing up for the emcee. Celebrities like actor-musician Thanh Duy Idol, TV presenter Duong Thuy Linh and musician Tang Nhat Tue voiced their support along with average netizens, who flooded the celebrity's page with positive comments. While there were some viewers who sided with the television program, most of the social media chatter surrounding the 60 Minutes episode was in support of the star.
For his part, Phan Anh later posted on his own Facebook page about the talk show appearance, saying there were no hard feelings and expressing respect for his fellow commentators. The star did not apologize for his original post with the VTC video clip but instead called for transparency from both VTC and Ha Tinh officials.
[Photo via iOne]
