MUST READ: Smartphone and your personal safety

Beyond being powerful tools of communication, social connections and business relationships, mobile phones are becoming sources of danger to citizens. In the United States, there have been cases where videos of police brutality have been released, causing public outrage.

I tried to do something like that some years ago, and it turned out to be a suicide attempt. About eight years ago, I almost got caught filming a policeman taking a bribe, but I was lucky that I changed my intention earlier. I later found out that the people sitting with me in the cab were soldiers and a police officer. I had since known the importance of ensuring one’s safety while being a responsible citizen journalist.

Some other people have not been that lucky. In 2011, I witnessed a citizen beaten to pulp because he dared to film the Kick Against Indiscipline officials during one of their operations at Ikeja, Lagos.

Back in November 2013, there was a story involving a French teacher, Aminu. While walking along the road in Lagos, he saw two policemen fighting and decided to capture the scene with his phone camera. He was caught, beaten, detained and the issue became one that needed the intervention of the Inspector-General of Police to be resolved. Also recall the case of an engineer, Isiaka Yusuf, who was detained because he dared to publish details and pictures of an attempt by Boko Haram to break into a prison.

There is a need to educate citizen journalists about their safety.

Continue reading after the cut....

With the growth of smartphones, citizen journalism has become a crucial factor, influencing conversations around social and political issues. The simple tweets, pictures and videos we share play important roles in shaping national conversations. New media technology and smartphones have made citizen journalism more accessible to people worldwide. Due to availability of technology, citizens can report breaking news more quickly than traditional media reporters.

Osama bin Laden’s death was reported unwittingly in tweets by a local IT consultant a day before it was officially announced. In fact, media houses depend on citizen reports to a great extent in the course of their duties. There is no doubt about it: the impact of social media and the role of citizens’ participation have helped to shift global attention, amplified the conversations politicians would rather ignore and ensure that those in public offices are on their toes.

However, citizen journalist needs to be responsible. False reports, images, tweets and articles are responsible for the scale of misinformation we have today. Before you raise that camera as an amateur reporter, here are some essential things you need to know:

Think of your safety first

Across the world, the safety of the citizen journalist has become an important issue. Before you begin to feel like a journalist, please remember that the professional journalists have had a number of years of training and know how to negotiate their ways out of trouble. Before attempting to film a robbery incident, be careful so that you will not draw unnecessary attention to yourself. If you can do the recording discreetly, great. Otherwise, choose between your safety and the great video you want to get.

Mind your digital footprints

Sometimes, citizen journalists need to report events but they are scared the information could be traced to them. They are right. If you must report anything, which may compromise your safety and security, it is important to have a rethink. When whistle-blowing, there are basic risks involved with the tools you use — phone number, email and your mobile phone. You need to determine if your desire to share information compromises your safety or not.

Report to the official quarter not Facebook

When a disaster happens, people will rather tweet, ping and upload images on social media rather than call the police. The right thing to do is to report or tweet to the official quarters. Before sharing the story about a disaster you cannot confirm, stop and think about the danger in sharing it.

Before you broadcast, remember the traffic lights

I had written a previous article on what Blackberry broadcast says about you, and I had mooted the idea of the traffic light system. When you receive information concerning anything, stop and think before sharing or forwarding it. Assess the information you have received and be sure you are doing the right thing as a citizen.

You are what you publish

Whatever you publish online cannot be considered as a private conversation anymore, it is as serious as traditional publishing. Apart from what you publish on social media being a reflection of your intelligence, you need to know that you can be held responsible for the opinion you share online.

- Adeola Kayode/Punch

Share your thoughts...thanks!