The local media and correspondents criticized the local media and correspondents for violating the ethics of reporting when CNN filmed and broadcast the scene inside the nursery in Arampu, a farmer’s village in Thailand, where access was prohibited due to the mass shooting.
The Thai Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCCT) issued a statement on the 8th (local time) saying, “We are very discouraged by the recent CNN reports of the mass murder, most of the victims being children, that took place at an orphanage in Arampu, a farmer’s town.” It is a violation of professional rules and a serious violation of journalism ethics in reporting crime.”
CNN broadcast the inside of the scene of the incident on the 7th by sending out reports about the massacre at a Thai nursery school. Earlier, on the 6th, a man in his 30s killed 36 people, including 24 infants, with a gun and a knife at an orphanage in the Arampu region of northeastern Thailand.
On the sidewalk, the scene where the reporters who entered the nursery illuminate the scene and depict the scene, and the scene of the damage, such as puddles and drops of blood on the wall, were recorded without post-processing such as mosaics. CNN added to the report that it was “allowed to enter the crime scene.”
After the report, a Thai correspondent from Singapore’s Channel News Asia posted on Twitter, “The site is closed, so there’s no way they could have entered.” After that, a photo of a CNN reporter climbing the fence of an orphanage and crossing the police line was published on social media, causing controversy. Another reporter from Channel News Asia said, “No one was allowed inside. Even families, especially the media. “I was there the whole time,” he said.
Afterwards, the Thai Foreign Correspondents Club (FCCT) issued a statement expressing its regret. In a statement, FCCT said, “(CNN’s) report is not a scoop, nor is it a case of reporting through the incident and the scene. No other foreign or local media had the will to act with such an unethical attitude, and anyone could act like that.”
“CNN has to answer one simple question,” the club said. Would any of the reporters have acted like this at the scene of a serious crime in America?” he asked. As for the images reported by CNN, “Thailand has been traumatized by this tragedy, and concerns have been raised about inappropriate images published in the mainstream media and social media throughout. Respect for the victims and their families was one of the reasons.”
CNN International stated that the photo shoot was allowed through a Twitter promotional account and that the police line had been lifted when filming began. They said, “Three health officials left the building and said it was okay to take pictures inside.
The Thai media ‘Reporters’ reported that the Royal Thai Police Agency said it was preparing legal action against CNN reporters’ trespassing at the investigation site. Nong Napat Patcham, a reporter from the terrestrial channel PPTV, said on SNS, “There was no act of asking (CNN’s) permission to enter, even a representative of the police authorities in the Naklang area. The Naklang local police said the police line clearly stated that it was an out-of-bounds action and that no special exceptions were given.”
On the other hand, UNICEF said in a statement regarding the shooting on the 6th, “We request that the public and the media do not post or transmit images related to this violent incident. It could have a negative impact on children, their families and those who love them.”