Ethical issues found in news media when publishing stories concerning archaeological discoveries

What is it about?

When the media reports on 'new' or 'recently discovered' Dead Sea Scroll fragments, the language and rhetoric that is found in their stories is often problematic. The lack of questions surrounding the origins of these new archaeological discoveries can make it possible for forgeries to enter into datasets.

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Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

Why is it important?

I have found that during the last 60 years of media reports concerning the Dead Sea Scrolls, repetitive statements, claims of ignorance, and deficient storytelling have been rampant in articles which rely on placeholders for provenance, as well as the underreporting and under-evaluating of information provided by interviewees. Put simply, the media's style of reporting when faced with Dead Sea Scrolls (and other biblical artifacts for that matter) has had so many ethically problematic and/or missing elements that it has made it easier for forgers to explain away the lack of origin stories for their wares. This has contributed to a climate of provenance practices which saw institutions purchasing false fragments for millions of dollars.