The rule of thumb I follow with callout posts is to never believe them at face value. In journalism, there's a code of ethics that every journalist is must follow. If a callout post is supposed to report and inform, then I'd argue that they're obligated to follow the same-

standards. But I can say that the majority of the ones I've seen contain misinformation, which goes against the need to report the truth. On that same line of thought, is someone being independent and objective when they callout someone from the same fandom?

Are they minimizing harm when language such as "asshole" or "freak" is used? Are they being accountable when they block those who express different opinions in the replies? Can information declaring itself a callout even be ethical? I have seen callout posters chose to exhibit-

the behavior I've described in the thread. Being that journalism isn't a subject everyone is familiar with, I doubt that most callout posters have ethics in mind when posting, which would explain the behavior I have witnessed. Personally, the most I can view these posts is as-

opinion pieces. But all that said, I fully admit that I am not an expert on this subject, nor am I a journalist myself. This thread is, at most, an opinion piece as well. But, I am fully ready to stand by the opinion that journalism ethics should be known and applied to-

the reporting of important information, regardless of if the user is a professional or not. I believe that if more users knew about, and put in the time to think about these things before reporting or retweeting information, it would lead to a more informed, safer internet.

Anyone can be a reporter with the usage of the internet. People learn things everyday form what they heard from other users. Wouldn't you want the information you receive to be truthful, transparent, objective, and made without the attempt to harm?

(I made this thread under the presumption that other users are acting in good faith, but that's not to say that callouts cant be made for attention or specifically to hurt someone.)