On Monday this week, during the break in the football game between Maccabi Haifa and Maccabi Tel Aviv, the sports channel's presenter, Miri Nevo, surprised in an announcement to viewers.
"Before we return the broadcast to the field, we want to take this opportunity to share with you, our viewers, who are asking and wondering where Moody Bar-On is and why he has not been appearing on your screen lately," Nevo said.
'So here it is: Moody has been dealing with a complex medical situation lately, and as you've already gotten to know him, he's treating it properly as well.
We would like to thank the medical staff at Ichilov Hospital very much, and we here at the sports channel wish him complete medicine and await his return. "
The message, presumably, was consistent with Bar-On, or someone on his behalf, and the intent was good, of course.
The result, how to say - less.
Within minutes, the sports and television sections of all the sites were filled with reports of Bar-On's medical condition.
What happened?
How did it happen?
What is a "complex medical situation"?
What is allowed to say?
What is forbidden?
Nevo's announcement also managed to surprise the brass, who, unlike similar cases in the past, did not know Bar-On's condition, and not even rumors circulated.
I personally received dozens of messages, with one common denominator: "What happened to Moody?"
Social networks have also erupted.
It turns out that the post that was supposed to reassure viewers at home, did exactly the opposite effect.
In an instant, they all became doctors and specialists, and the rumors raged: "Stroke," "terminal cancer," "he'll get out of this," and more and more.
On Tuesday afternoon, after a fracture or his family apparently realized that the damage caused by the announcement was greater than its benefit, Ichilov Hospital released a statement that he was hospitalized in the oncology ward: soon".
One thing can be learned from this case: in 2022, in an age where every talkback is a reliable source of information and every blogger is an investigative journalist - say it all, or say nothing.
It was precisely the sports channel's mysterious announcement, which sought to "inform viewers" but did not really provide any information and only aroused curiosity, was the one that revealed Bar-On's condition.
The man who managed to maintain his privacy over the years, lost it precisely at the most critical moment of his life.
Erans@israelhayom.co.il
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