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| Neville Longbottom reads The Daily Prophet |
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| The Daily Prophet |
George Orwell, the English novelist and essayist, journalist and critic, once said that In a Time of Universal Deceit. Telling the Truth Is a Revolutionary Act.
Concepts of the appropriate role for journalism vary between countries. In some nations, the news media are controlled by government intervention and are not fully independent. In others, the news media are independent of the government but instead operate as private industry motivated by profit. In addition to the varying nature of how media organizations are run and funded, countries may have differing implementations of laws handling the freedom of speech and libel cases.
We are living under exceptional measures and, of course, the first victim has been the truth. False information, misreported and fake news are always a problem although is more dangerous and unacceptable when these fakes are created and distributed by people who are supposed to work to protect the population.
It is not a problem located only in the Muggles' world but also in Hogwarts and because of this, today, The Grandma wants to talk about failing journalism in Hogwarts with the example of Rita Skeeter, a British witch and journalist who specialised in writing poison-pen stories, and The Daily Prophet, a wizarding newspaper based in London creator of misleading journalism -information that, while accurate in fact, leads readers to the wrong conclusion.
More information: Wizarding World
The Daily Prophet is a wizarding newspaper based in London, England. It is the primary source of news for British and Irish wizards. The current editor is Barnabas Cuffe, who works in the main office in Diagon Alley.
Because of its ability to influence the minds of many in the British and probably Irish wizarding community, the paper has been known to have its content slanted intentionally by the Ministry of Magic, which it has strong ties with, into telling the Ministry's preferred version of events. Unfortunately, the Prophet does not seem to have a lot of journalistic integrity, it has been known to be more concerned about sales than about factual accuracy.
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| The Daily Prophet |
There is only one wizarding newspaper in Britain, discounting such small circulation publications such as The Quibbler.
The Daily Prophet, whose headquarters are in Diagon Alley, is delivered by owl on a daily basis to nearly every wizarding household in Britain. Payment is effected by placing coins in the pouch tied to the paper-owl's leg. Occasionally, when something particularly interesting or exciting happens, such as the illegal flight of a Ford Anglia the length of Britain, an Evening Prophet edition will be rushed out.
Subscriptions cost 1 Knut. This paper is delivered to professors and a few students at Hogwarts in the mornings, when the owl post arrives.
The Prophet is not the only publication in the Wizarding World, but it is almost certainly the most widely read. Stories in the Prophet often colour public opinion to a great amount.
When the Prophet published stories deriding Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, most people in the Wizarding World believed what they read. The most widely read alternative newspaper in the wizarding world is The Quibbler.
More information: Wizarding World
While the Daily Prophet has been known to print facts, it has also had a somewhat negative reputation for being incredibly biassed, corrupt, and deceptive.
It is clear that, as there is strong government control of the newspaper, the facts can be misleading, if not outright fabrications, and that certain means of gathering information appear to be somewhat unethical.
Government control of the Ministry is shown in the way that the Daily Prophet appears to pressure the government and go around official sources, and several people in Harry's circles feel that the Ministry of Magic leans heavily on Prophet.
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| Harry Potter's reaction to fake news |
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| A Daily Prophet campaign against Harry Potter |
There are also occasions when the newspaper is seen to contain inaccurate or libellous content. It appears that there is little regard for accuracy in any form and there are no consequences or accountability for poor journalistic practises.
The Daily Prophet's unethical means of gathering information are most accurately seen with Rita Skeeter, a prominent but corrupt journalist who wrote with a complete disregard for accuracy, truthfulness and objectivity -often conducting interviews with a Quick Quotes Quill, a magical quill that writes automatically as the subject speaks.
However, the quill does not record verbatim what the subject says. Instead, it takes a subject's words and creates sensational and inaccurate tales that bear little resemblance to actual events. In addition, Skeeter illegally turned herself into a beetle to spy on people and get personal information from them without being seen.
The Daily Prophet reports on everything going on the wizarding world, albeit not always in an unbiased way. In addition to news, the Daily Prophet includes a Magizoology column is run every Wednesday and a Quidditch section which features a boxed table of all the teams in the league, ranked by total number points scored, with forthcoming matches listed side by side. This section also includes articles on recent matches and other items of interest.
More information: The Daily Prophet
Wizardkind tends not to require alternative political flavours in its news coverage, which is not to say, however, that the Prophet does not have a political agenda.
As a small, outsider and occasionally beleaguered community, wizards are, by and large, interested in the same kinds of stories: whether anyone is in trouble for infractions of the International Statute of Secrecy, what irritating legislation the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office has come up with now, and when the next Celestina Warbeck/Weird Sisters concert will take place.
There is also an editorial section of the newspaper, where only few get responses, and are usually brief. The best letter is under the headline STAR LETTER.
A classified advertisements section is in the newspaper, with subheadings of JOBS, FOR SALE, and LONELY HEARTS. Birth and death notices also appear on this page. The advice section of the Prophet has a variety of experts in differing fields answer readers' questions.
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| Against Albus Dumbledore |
Sometimes, the Daily Prophet has a fiendishly difficult crossword puzzle, and usually has a Magic lottery and a Magical Symbols Game.
The Daily Prophet also allows advertisements in their newspaper by businesses. some of these ads include: Nimbus brooms, clothing, Floo Powder accelerator, and O.W.L. crammers.
The Ministry also uses ad space in the Prophet. The Ministry posts various warnings, classes on advanced Defensive spells, and spells that can be used to safeguard your home.
The Evening Prophet was the name of the evening edition of the Daily Prophet. Presumably, this edition included different features, compared to the morning edition or Sunday Prophet.
Evening editions that are can apparently be delivered very quickly after an important story breaks. A witch or wizard anywhere in Britain can have a copy in hand within a short time of publication. For example, when Ron Weasley and Harry Potter were spotted by Muggles flying the Ford Anglia, Severus Snape had a copy of the hogwarts, story continued in his hand after they arrived. One of the Muggles who spotted them was in Peebles, which is relatively close to Hogwarts, so the story couldn’t have been more than an hour old at that point.
The Sunday Prophet is the name of the weekend edition of the Daily Prophet. Presumably, this edition includes different features, compared to the daily edition.
More information: Screen Rant
The Daily Prophet has been producing papers since 1743, the year when it famously described Gideon Flatworthy, head of an extremist anti-Muggle group, as less a wizard, more a lazy walrus-like object who lies all day on a rather smelly cushion, and expects people to admire him for it.
The Daily Prophet covered the rise of Gellert Grindelwalds rise to power, questioning if then Minister for Magic Hector Flamboyant Fawley was doing enough and detailing the increased security measures taken at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
During the Ministry's campaign to discredit and slander Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter, the Prophet was an instrumental tool of the Ministry in their goal to convince the public that Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter were fear-mongering or simply mad.
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| Professor Severus Snape reads The Daily Prophet |
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| The Daily Prophet |
Hermione subscribed to the paper to keep on top of the Ministry's agenda and see what the enemy was saying. Some people, such as Augusta Longbottom, cancelled their subscriptions due to believing in Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter over the Ministry.
Originally, Harry Potter kept getting his subscription only to skim through the front page for information about Voldemort's movements, as he was unaware of the Ministry's denial. Because of this he missed out on the slip-ins of him and Dumbledore being antagonised. Upon realising what was happening, Harry ceased his subscription.
After Fudge was forced to admit that Voldemort had returned, the Prophet changed its stance overnight, calling Harry a lone voice of truth. The newspaper even bought, from The Quibbler, Harry's interview on Voldemort's return and claimed it to be exclusive.
After the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and the Ministry was forced to accept the Rebirth of Lord Voldemort, the Daily Prophet reported on all the tragedy and terror affecting wizards and Muggles alike. This included reporting the murder of Amelia Bones and Emmeline Vance, the incorrect arrest of Stan Shunpike, and the arrest of Mundungus Fletcher for impersonating an Inferius.
When the Death Eaters took over the Ministry, they also took over the Daily Prophet, and subsequently they stopped reporting deaths that Death Eaters were responsible for. They also printed biassed, bogus news such as articles on Muggle-borns stealing magic from true wizards. As such, many resistance members turned to other programmes for news, such as Potterwatch and The Quibbler.
When Kingsley Shacklebolt became Minister for Magic, the Daily Prophet was de-corrupted.
More information: New Statesman
The Prophet?
You deserved to be lied to if you're still reading that muck, Dirk.
You want the facts, try The Quibbler.
Ted Tonks
Rita Skeeter is a British witch and journalist who specialised in writing poison-pen stories.
These stories tended to be based on false information and misreported interviews while she worked for the Daily Prophet, as well authoring a few tell-all biographies.
Skeeter was born into a half-blood or pure-blood family.
Skeeter preferred writing for the sake of publicity and wrote what she thought people would like to read rather than what they ought to read and which was the truth.
Rita's writing tended to be sensationalist and sometimes outright dishonest.
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| Rita Skeeter |
Notable stories Rita covered include the trials of various Death Eaters after the First Wizarding War, the Triwizard Tournament, and albeit reluctantly Harry Potter's account of Lord Voldemort's return to power for The Quibbler. She also wrote biographies of: Armando Dippet, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, and Harry Potter. Her biography of Harry Potter for instance, is only one-quarter factual with the remaining three-quarters being pure fabrication.
Skeeter spent time training to become an Animagus and she was finally able to transform into a beetle at will. Skeeter aspired to be a journalist and an author, and used this ability to spy and eavesdrop for her articles.
During her early days as an author, Skeeter wrote a biography on Armando Dippet, entitled Armando Dippet: Master or Moron?. It was presumably an exaggerated history of him to gain controversy and by extension, popularity and fame. This book turned out to be a best-seller, with numerous copies sold. Also sometime in her early career, Skeeter provided a quote for the critical acclaim for Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp, when she wrote I've read worse as a review.
More information: Wizarding World
Rita was a guest speaker at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Prior to the reveal, the identity of the speaker generated quite a buzz throughout the school, with Rowan Khanna's guess being an Auror, the Minister for Magic, or a random Arithmancer, while Jacob's sibling thought to perhaps be the person Albus Dumbledore had been searching for throughout the school year.
Professor Minerva McGonagall introduced her to the school in the Great Hall, with Rita adding a bit more detail, stating herself to be a widely popular writer for the Daily Prophet.
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| Rita Seeker |
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| The Daily Prophet |
Rita then observed Potions, Transfiguration, Flying, and Charms classes, much to most of the instructors' annoyance. Following the Reappearance of the Dark Mark, Skeeter penned a scathing report of the British Ministry of Magic's handling over the riots, accusing the Ministry of incompetence over their failure to catch any of the culprits.
These articles particularly angered Arthur Weasley for her obviously biassed reporting, and he along with his son and fellow Ministry employee Percy Weasley had to head to the Ministry to help sort out the controversy, as she had mentioned Arthur in her article.
That year, Rita was given the opportunity to interview the Triwizard Tournament contestants for an article in the Daily Prophet. Under the guise of interviewing all four champions, she confronted Harry Potter in a broom cupboard where she took his ums and ers and invented her own quotes. Eventually, her interview of the contestants turned out to be a highly falsified story of Harry himself.
Harry Potter's story that Lord Voldemort had returned was not believed by much of the wizarding world, as the Daily Prophet portrayed him as either a delusional boy or an attention-seeking liar.
More information: Wizarding World
Rita was an unregistered Animagus, wherein she took the form of a beetle and was able to slip around undetected and spy on unsuspecting company so she could obtain gossip for her articles which she later exaggerated and exploited to gain the attention of the masses.
Her ability to turn into a beetle also reflected how irritating and bothersome she was to other people, particularly Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, and it also displayed her dishonest and cunning characteristics.
Rita also wrote primarily for the Daily Prophet, though some of her articles have also appeared in other sources, such as Witch Weekly and The Quibbler.
Rita was extremely nosy and willing to do anything for a good story, from spying on people in her Animagus form of a beetle to sensationalising or outright inventing stories. She also took advantage in order to dig up dirt on the late Albus Dumbledore for her extremely critical biography. She did this despite the use of such a powerful truth serum being heavily controlled by the Ministry.
Rita tended to portray the people she wrote about poorly, presumably because it sold more stories.
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| Interviewing the Triwizard Tournament participants |
Her blonde curls were curiously rigid, suggesting it was styled with the magical equivalent of hairspray. In addition, she had penciled-on eyebrows and three gold teeth, as well as large, masculine hands. Her bright scarlet painted fingernails and toenails were usually likened to claws or talons.
She was known to carry with her a crocodile-skin handbag, inside of which she carried her acid green Quick-Quotes Quill. She usually wore magenta-coloured robes but also wore clothes of green leather with maroon furs at the collar and sleeves.
Apparently, unemployment did not serve Rita well, as when she showed up during the year she was blackmailed by Hermione Granger not to write, Rita's nails were chipped, she was missing fake stones in her glasses, and her hair was lank and unkempt.
As in her unregistered Animagus beetle form, her antennas were curled to resemble her curls in her hair and she had marking around her antennas resembling her jewelled glasses.
Rita is a short form of the name Margarita, a Latinate form of the name Margaret. The name is derived from the Greek μαργαρίτης, margarites, meaning pearl.
Skeeter is a slang term for a mosquito. This could be a reference to her Animagus form, which is an insect, or to her career in tabloid journalism. The word paparazzi is derived from an Italian word for mosquito
Skeet is also an Anglo-Manx colloquialism for gossip or an act of nosiness. Skeeter could also be a pun off of how annoying Skeeter's lies tend to be, as people tend to find mosquitoes annoying and attempt to swat them away.
More information: Wizarding World
Hello, I'm Rita Skeeter!
I write for the Daily Prophet.
But, of course, you know that, don't you?
It's you we don't know. You're the juicy news.
What quirks lurk beneath those rosy cheeks?
What mysteries do the muscles mask?
Does courage lie beneath those curls?
In short, what makes a champion tick?
Me, myself and I want to know.
Not to mention my ravid readers.
Rita Skeeter
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