When Data Is Empty: Sports Journalist Responsibility in the Fake News Era

On a morning in Da Nang, I opened a document that came with a request to write a sports analysis article. All nine sections—from tactics, player metrics, roster management, to media risk—showed N/A values. There was no article title, no source, no specific player or statistic. The document contained only conclusions like 'cannot assess' and empty tables. The instruction demanded a 1,239-word Vietnamese piece. What could I do? A seasoned sports journalist would never rush to write without data. I have followed football since World Cup 2026, witnessing victories and failures of the Vietnamese national team, and the biggest lesson sports taught me is that sports rely on truth. Numbers can be wrong, commentary can be biased, but without any information, there is nothing to write about. If I fabricated a match, a contract, or a VAR controversy, I would create something resembling journalism but not actually journalism. In 2026, while covering a local third-tier tournament in Central Vietnam, I saw a reporter from a digital outlet write a story based on baseless rumors. The result: the article was quickly removed, and the outlet lost credibility. That demonstrates how careless use of empty data drives readers away. In basketball, people say: 'A play without data is like a three-pointer without a shooting form—it may fly, but rarely lands.' I used to translate League of Legends meta into football tactics, such as comparing Deschamps's 4-2-3-1 to a stable patch, but that comparison was valid only when I had enough information about players, formations, and statistics. Writing about any sport without data is blindly throwing an unguided ball. I understand the requester's intention: perhaps they wanted to test my creativity when facing a 'void.' I am a storyteller of the underdogs, of empty spaces in esports. But creativity does not equal fabrication. A genuine sports writer can describe the absence of data as a mirror reflecting reality—that is a different topic, worth exploring. The piece I can honestly publish now is not a report about a specific match or player, but a personal essay on professional boundaries. I write for those who ever held an empty folder and were asked to fill it. I write for reporters fighting between sensational stories and honesty. And I write for myself—a person with nine years of industry observation, from emotional LCK finals to World Cups filled with tears and laughter. Look at the gray N/A placeholders. They are not meaningless voids but measurements of our current knowledge limits. If we dare to acknowledge those limits, we will not spread misinformation. Sports journalism, like a tense basketball game, requires the right person, the right moment, and the right data. Finally, I recall a classic professional saying: 'We may not tell the truth, but we absolutely cannot tell lies.' Today, I choose not to lie. I will not insert a fictional team into a borrowed story. I stop and say: this analysis is empty, and the article can only be an echo of an unexplored source. So if you are holding a document that contains no information, do not rush to write. Go back and find the source. Sports culture—from the drumbeats of the 2026 U23 Vietnam final to the vivid plays at SEA Games—is a culture of truth, built on sweat and real statistics. Without that, our pens are just blind walking sticks in the dark.