Te'o and facts: Blaming the Media is that really a fair question?
Manti Te'o and his girlfriend hoax has recently led to the now ever present question about should the media be blamed for running a story that was not fact checked? This question is not going over well with many journalist, and of course not, why should the media be blamed for reporting on a story that Manti in many cases told in a video interview?
Most journalist would think such a poignant story by a college athlete who is in the spotlight would not be a hoax. It had all the makings of great public relations story, terminally ill girlfriend dies within 6 hours of his grandmother's death, long distance relationship, helping her over the phone as she goes through chemotherapy. Whatever the real story turns out to be about the relationship between Manti Te'o and Lennay Kekua, the media is not to blame.
Manti has stated in a recent interview that he 'tailored his story' and lied to his father, but many reports say Manti was duped by others involved. Whether he was part of the hoax or duped in some way by others, it remains to be seen as the facts continue to come out. The relationship was fictional by most accounts and Manti went to great lengths to encourage teammates to believe there was a relationship between he and Kekua.
I guess the media should have fact checked the girl, but this is a college athlete who spoke on camera at great lengths about her death and their relationship. Manti Te'o is young, but certainly old enough to have established truth from fiction and right from wrong. If he sat in the chair with the camera's rolling and the microphone on and lied, it is not the journalist to blame in my opinion for incorrect information, but rather Te'o. This wasn't some meeting in a parking garage to divulge information that an investigative reporter would then follow through. This was a college athlete, and story about a girl, a very elaborate story.
No worries though the media is also reporting that he will most likely be drafted by the NFL, and become a millionaire soon. That appears to be a fact and not a hoax.