Twitter seems to have become an alternative to Reuters or AP for most journalists the days. Even major newspapers and news organisations seem to 'back up' their articles with numerous quoted tweets —as if the half-baked shite spewing out of Twitter in response to World events was some kind of confirmation of a story's authenticity.

it's pretty disturbing. I wish I had better insight into the causes of this but from where I sit (an outsider in a different industry) it looks like a noxious combination of race-to-the-bottom, intellectual and professional laziness, lowered standards, groupthink, and institutional corruption.