N.B. – This was published in The Lobbyist (March 15) where I write a column (Subtext).

Please forgive me if the basis of this article is a rumor. There’s a good reason for this “violation” of journalistic conduct.

A staff from our college called me yesterday (Monday) to ask if the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman will dismiss its workers early. She claims to have received information from another UP campus that the latter’s workers have started going home already.

“Why?” I asked. She said that the Philippines will experience “acid rain” and that everybody is being advised to stay indoors. I told her that there is no announcement yet from university officials and that there is no reason to panic as Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is very far from where we are.

I’m sure you’re aware of the explosion that happened in the Fukushima power plant earlier last Monday which injured six people. According to news reports, Japanese officials said that the reactor container was not breached and that there was no major rise in radiation.

Related to this are two developments replete with jargon. One, the cooling system at the nuclear plant’s number two reactor failed. Two, the blast was said to be due to a build-up of hydrogen in the building around the nuclear plant’s number three reactor.

This is not the first time that the explosion happened in the quake-damaged part of Japan. To quote from an Agence France-Presse report cited by Inquirer.net, “A similar explosion hit the building containing the No. 1 reactor at the plant on Saturday [March 12], the day after a devastating earthquake and tsunami struck a large swathe of the country’s Pacific coast north of Tokyo.”

Ordinary people like you and me generally do not know how a nuclear plant works. In the process, we have a vague idea of what happens when a cooling system fails or a build-up of hydrogen happens. As a result, we all become susceptible to believing in misleading information. And because it’s much easier to share information via SMS and social media like Facebook and Twitter, we could become unwitting accomplices in misinformation as we try to inform family members, friends and colleagues.

A few hours after the staff from our college called me, I got this text message from a fellow professor who happens to be a close friend: “URGENT BBC NEWS: Japan confrms radiation leak n Fukushiima nuclear plant. May bgn 2hit Phil.4 pm 2day so remain indoors n d 1st 24 hours. Close doors+windows Swab neck skin wd betadine bcos radiatn hits thyroid 1st. Pls pass.TY”

Exactly 23 minutes later, she texted a retraction: “Pls disregard last txt. Sabi ng DOST scientifically impossible makarating d2 nuclear leak sa Japan. Tnx po” It’s clear that my friend means well; it’s just that she became compulsive in sending text messages without verifying the source of information. A simple check with the BBC website, for example, would prove if the information really came from the London-based media organization.

Indeed, the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) had to issue a statement denying it had anything to do with the advice “that people should stay indoors and to wear raincoats if they go outdoors.” Compared to the alleged BBC news that I received via SMS, I am more inclined to believe in this categorical, official statement: “DOST emphasizes that there is no immediate danger of nuclear radiation in the Philippines.”

This should put the issue to rest. Acid rain in the Philippines is as unlikely as the end of the world in 2012.

What’s the lesson to be learned here in the context of media reportage? Much as media organizations should be commended for providing up-to-date information, it would help if audiences are armed with popularized information of how nuclear reactors work so that people would understand why they fail. A simple illustration as to how far the Fukushima power plant is from the Philippine territory could also help in getting a bigger picture (literally) of the situation and assuage whatever apprehensions people may be feeling right now.

It is imperative that at this time of uncertainty, media do not become part of the misinformation and continue to verify whatever data they have before making them public. The latter, on the other hand, should be strongly advised to refrain from sending unverified information via SMS and social media as they could unwittingly cause widespread panic not only among their loved ones but also the public at large.