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Journalists had to face the consequences of user-generated content (UGC) and its influence on their professional routines. The spread of UGC implied that journalists could lose control over what they published, even as authors of the news and it soon threatened editorial values and news standards (Paulussen and Ugille, 2008). Ethical concerns about UGC focused on three aspects: accuracy, credibility, and civility. It increased the difficulty of verifying the information and checking whether something was true or were mere rumors or lies spread by people over whom journalists had no control. News professionals saw that their credibility was in the spotlight. Some experts criticized that users, unlike journalists, did not feel responsible for what they published and did not report accurately (Noguera Vivo, 2012).

Legal concerns about the use of UGC in the media, such as copyright ownership, were mixed with ethical ones. However, making sure that the material external to the newsroom was “legally safe to publish” consumed considerable time and energy in most newsrooms. According to one British editor, comments are “subject to lawsuits for defamation, slander, libel, or the prohibition of spreading the name of the victim of a violation: reading these things and supervising them involves tons of work” (Singer, 2003). In this way, journalists struggled to ethically accommodate the opportunities for dialog presented by UGC, while safeguarding their credibility and sense of responsibility. News professionals showed concerns about the value of user contributions, as well as the consequences of uncivil comments on personal and institutional credibility (Singer and Ashman, 2009, p. 18).

However, criticism of the use of UGC in the newsrooms was not universal; many journalists expressed support for user contributions (video, pictures, news tips, etc.), although warned about the actual costs versus the ideal benefits. As Singer (2003) points out, most media outlets established an ethical framework about the problems raised by this innovation and many newsrooms drew a line not to be trespassed.