Real-time reporting has never relied on "investigative journalism". The 24 hour news cycle means that media organisations publish whatever information they're given without verifying it in an effort to be first with information. Sadly, consumers care a great deal more about getting new information every five minutes than they do about whether or not the information is accurate. Once one large media organisation has published wrong information, others pick it up off the wires without verification and it often becomes imprinted in the public memory as "truth" regardless of the later release of actual facts.
Even if media organisations themselves declined to publish names until they were verified by authorities, insanely inaccurate stuff is often posted in the comments section of developing stories by Joe Average and that feeds the whole internet detective thing which leads to random accusations taking on a life of their own.
