Twitter is a micro-blogging service where anyone with access to the Internet, either by way of a computer or cellphone, can post updates of 140 characters or less to their followers. These updates also enter the public Twitter stream where anyone, follower or otherwise, can access them.
This has lead Twitter to become a main resource for citizen journalism, with ordinary people being able to report on news stories taking place in their local area. Journalists the world over, as well as bloggers, and just people seeking the latest news reports from around the world, can therefore use the service as an alternative to more traditional forms of news media.
Reference
Accessed on 14/November/2012,
<Available:http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2008/11/27/is-twitter-a-reliable-news-source/>
Reference.
Accessed on 31/October/2012, Available:
<http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090814130332AA5f73x>
The mainstream media gets it wrong to" is that you are equating a 1-to-1 correlation. But that's not the case. The media does have safeguards to reporting false information, even if those safeguards sometimes fail. Twitter has none. This leads to Twitter reporting false info more frequently and to that false information being far worse than what the media would report.
Reference.
Accessed on 31/October/2012, Available:
<http://www.tomstechblog.com/post/Oliver-Wendell-Holmes-Turning-Over-In-His-Grave.aspx>