Right. Too many journalists are sloppy (some like Jason Blair making up quotes and witnesses, others “phoning it in” by not attending a rally but reporting on it, or like Roger Ebert admitted, reviewing a whole movie based on the first 10 minutes...).
And then with wire services syndicating stories around the globe, each idiot down the chain rewrites and translates to fit the local audience.
Too few people ever ask “did it really happen”.
The Middle East has gotten wise to this and regularly stages “news” photos for global consumption.