Covid19 Interviewee Accuses CNA Of Sensationalising His Story

A netizen took to his Facebook (FB) to spread a cautionary tale about being approached for media interviews. His story involved an interview he did with state media Channel NewsAsia (CNA). This interviewee was diagnosed with Covid19 and had spent 68 days being isolated.

When CNA initially approached him, the reporter told him that the news angle would be on "hygiene". The netizen was told that CNA would highlight the changes to his hygiene practices before and after he tested positive for Covid19. While the netizen had initially declined being interviewed, he became convinced by a contact that the news was for a good cause to educate others about good hygiene practices.

To his disappointment, CNA "sensationalised" and made its headline into a "clickbait" by focusing on the source of his infection instead. According to screenshots he uploaded, the article was initially titled "68 days of isolation and 22 swab tests: A Singaporean's long COVID-19 journey after a night of partying in the UK". Even after the interviewee requested for the headline to be changed, its focus was still on the partying, "…after possible infection at UK party".

The netizen questioned CNA's agenda with its insistence to retain the word "party", and implied that his story was sensationalised at his expense and "with false facts".

The resulting CNA story led to others leaving nasty comments about him. He also advised these people to consume news critically, and to keep their unhelpful comments to themselves.