You know how when you watch a magic or a mentalist show and you assume the people they call on by which to prove their skills are just plants placed in seemingly random locations around the hall? They then call on them to do their magic on or whatever and everyone is wowed, but you really wonder if the person in the crowd was just a plant, and it was all coordinated in advance.
And, the teachers or rabbis who always say, it is ok to say "I don't know", or they say something like the greatest experience in the classroom was the first time I said "I don't know" to a student's question, and kids don't expect you to know everything and you should be honest, etc.
Chief Rabbi Rav Yitzchak Yosef, in his recent shiur, called on the radio stations to stop their popular "ask the rabbi" programs in which a rabbi takes callers on air and answers their halachic questions.
I would note that one of the most popular such programs on the radio has been run by Rav Yosef's own brother, Rav Avraham Yosef on Radio Kol Hai (note: I don't know if this program is still on the air, as I no longer listen to radio on even a semi regular basis, but it at least was for several years).
Rav Yosef criticized these programs saying the rabbi on air responds quickly, no matter the topic, whether it be in Yoreh Deah, Choshen Mishpat or whatever topic, and it seems as if the rabbi knows the entire Torah and has it all at his fingertips.
Rav Yosef
called on the frum radio stations to stop these programs, as they cause people to "stumble", the rabbis cant always be right when they give these quick answers from any and every topic and they make mistakes. He said they should teach halacha but not with these types of ask the rabbi programs, but with shiurim in halacha.
Fair enough, I guess, if that is really a problem, though I have no idea if these rabbis are really making mistakes so frequently or not. Rav Yosef said he does not listen to these shows and does not know himself firsthand, but he has been told. Maybe the people who told him were mistaken?
Also, I would bet many of the people who listen to this type of format of a program are not necessarily going to listen to a more formal shiur format of a program. Different people listen to different things, and the radio stations try different programs that will attract a variety of listeners. So while they have shiurim and people listen to those, these ask the rabbi programs also get listeners who wont necessarily listen to the other programs.
Additionally, Rav Yosef related a fascinating story on this topic. He said that his father, Rav Ovadia Yosef, participated in such "ask the rabbi "programs decades ago, especially before Pesach. He said that Rav Ovadia would go to the shul and tell people to call in to the show when it would be on with specific questions. At least many of his questions that he was answering were plants. When asked why he did that he said he is afraid of getting a question that he would not know the answer to and that it would be a chilul hashem to say "I don't know".
Rav Ovadia Yosef, the person who knew the entire Torah by heart and mastered it like nobody else in his generation, was afraid of getting a question he would not know the answer to. He was afraid to have to say "I don't know", and to prevent it from happening he would plant people to call in with specific questions that he was sure he would have no problem with.
While I am not quite sure how that proves his point, other than Rav Ovadia not wanting to make a mistake on air (which I am sure he wouldnt have), it seems to prove the opposite. Despite his fears, he participated in such programs, though he tried to stack the deck in his favor. Maybe rabbis who participate in current programs do the same?
Regardless, it is fascinating that Rav Ovadia, of all people, was afraid to get a question he would not know the answer to. It would probably be next to impossible for that to have happened, but the slight chance scared him and made him plant questions. Rav Ovadia also seems to not believe the adage common today that it is ok to admit that you don't know something.
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