Irresponsible Journalism

Irresponsible Journalism

Several news services have reported that a man has been arrested in Vermont after stealing a Van Gogh drawing from a private home in 2009. The art work is a drawn version of Van Gogh’s famous Night Café painting.

The problem with the story is that Van Gogh never produced such a drawing. It's not a genuine Van Gogh. And yet reputable news sources such as Associated Press and BBC News have reported that the drawing is attributed to Van Gogh. With absolutely no investigation into the authenticity of the work.

I've seen this happen a number of other times over the course of the last year. A couple in the U.S. claims that their precious Van Gogh drawing (a different drawing than the Night Café work) was stolen. Again, their drawing was a fake. A professor in the U.S. claims to have two Van Gogh drawings along with dozens of other valuable art works. His Van Gogh drawings are also fake. And yet more than a dozen news services reported on both of these stories claiming that the Van Gogh drawings in question were genuine.

A credible news service should do more than just take such claims as statements of fact. Ten minutes of diligent research would make a world of difference.