Ms Samantha Ann Francis, a STOMP content producer (STOMP is the "citizen journalism" site of SPH) was fired for posting a photo of an MRT train running with one set of its doors open, which was found to be false. The photo was posted by a user named "wasabi" which was later revealed to be the STOMP staffer.
I am not sure if she was fired because she posted a fake photo, or because she posted it as an anonymous member of the public, or both.
Is it the practise of SPH to allow their staff to post "scoops" as anonymous "STOMPers". I wonder?
I was most amused at the photo of Ms Francis showing SMRT where she boarded her imaginary train.
According to the (now-deleted) article on Asiaone:
Ms Samantha Francis, 23, a content producer with citizen journalism website Stomp, had uploaded a photo on Wednesday morning showing one of the train doors wide open.She claimed that the train was traveling despite the open door and only closed when it reached the next stop at Chinese Garden.
Ms Francis had boarded the train at 10.15pm on Tuesday night. She told The Straits Times that after the train stopped at the station, the doors on the opposite side to the platform opened first. She then took a picture through the closed doors in front of her. When the doors in front of her opened, she entered the train and took another picture of the opposite doors, one of which remained open until the train stopped at the next stop at Chinese Garden.
Ms Francis said a Chinese man in T-shirt and bermudas and an Indian man were in the same carriage as her.
Yesterday, she met with SMRT staff at Lakeside MRT to assist in their investigations. She showed them where she was standing when she took the photo and described what she was wearing that night to help SMRT identify her in CCTV footage.
When asked by SMRT staff if her current ez-link card was the one used that night, Ms Francis answered yes.
However, SMRT told The Straits Times in a statement on Thursday that Ms Francis was not present at Lakeside MRT.
"We thank (Ms Francis) for coming forward today to assist us with our investigations. We are checking a few more things, as from our records (CCTV footage and ez-link card trip details), she was not at Lakeside MRT station on 19 June," said the statement.
I thought it'd be fun to see how my Twitter community would caption the photo:
@buttercrab: "This is where the door opened to Twilight Zone."
@judacris: "I can't board the train with these doors closed like that."
@izreloaded: "My Grandfather Imaginary Train!"
@lesleyjohn: "Ok. This is not what it looks like."
@chiewmei: "My article is THIS much away from the truth"
@xrxrxrxr: "This was where i got abducted by aliens."
@roykwok22: "…and this is where i saw an elf run out from the glass screaming "DOBBY IS A FREE ELF!!" For real!"
@asterix07: "You know, this is a magic glass. if you look thru here, you'll see Pasir Ris."
@yazbanz: "Swear I saw a Loch Ness monster in the Jurong Lake!"
@badehavior: "The hole was THIIIIIIIIIIS big."
@arekzed: "You want answers?" / "I want the truth!" / "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!"
@EugeneTehYJ: "Then Agent J came in with his Neuralyzer…"
@Technospaz: "That gaping hole is where my integrity fell through."
@mrbrown: "If only Ms Samantha Francis of STOMP had cable ties to hold her MRT story together."
