Over the past few weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with people in my neighborhood about the upcoming election. One thing I’ve heard often is people don’t know who to believe because of fake news. I’ve worked in communications and media for a couple decades now. I did my graduate work in Media Studies at Wayne State University. Back then the digital production equipment and distribution channels were becoming more available to average people. Cable broadcast networks were adjusting to creating content for an around-the-clock audience. It was all just starting to change culture, now it is defining culture.
Fake news, a fabricated story that may or may not have a small connection to a real event, has been around for over a century. But the term fake news is now being used as an inaccurate blanket term for media bias or opinion. It is more important than ever to understand the importance of our role in either the downfall or support of our most valuable institution as citizens, the press.
It is not accurate or civically responsible to read an editorial, opinion piece, or personal essay or to watch an analyst, commentator, or panel of pundits on a news network and deem the content fake news. That would be like calling an amazon product review that you don’t agree with, fake news. Everyone reading it knows it’s an opinion. As far as I know, most amazon reviewers don’t get threatened, kidnapped, or imprisoned. Journalists do. Often by governments that have turned their citizens against the press so that it can be the sole source of information.
Now that the news cycle is so rapid and and networks are expected to put out content 24/7, most of their airtime is filled with analysts, experts, and pundits opinion-ing and expounding on an event. What many “news” consumers are watching are analysts and pundits with strong viewpoints, sometimes even an agenda. None of this is a secret; the lower-third of the news screen will give the name and organization the person is employed by or representing. It also isn’t automatically wrong, but it is something to keep in mind.
Because we are now used to getting tons of information, it is not enough to get facts on a newsworthy event, whenever we aren’t watching or reading news we go out searching for more information, usually in our network of friends and social media. Those sources expand, usually by way of opinion, on the details of the event that we are most interested in. This is how a lot of us are put in information silos. There is nothing wrong with that. A lot of people read issue focused news on topics and in a framework that resonates with them. The problem is when we lose sight of the fact that we are in a silo. The danger is when our silos are telling us not to believe anything else. For some readers this can feel so real that they don’t notice they’ve been disempowered.
The breakdown of trust in the press is a serious threat to democracy. It is so important for us to not wholesale discount the press or journalists because of the current issues in legacy media. It is more essential than ever to appreciate how history has shown that the press has held our leaders accountable more than any other institution in our delicate check and balance system.
Just like it is our responsibility to know who is funding and influencing the media source we are consuming and sharing, it is our responsibility to know, respect, and reinforce the central tenets of ethical journalism. We don’t need to break down institutions. We need to participate.
It is one thing to deem a fabricated story from an unknown source “fake news,” but it is irresponsible to call our national, state, and local news outlets fake news because you lack media literacy. Even if legacy mainstream media’s days are numbered, if we don’t hold a standard for new media and citizen journalists, we won’t have an agreed upon center from which we hold our elected officials accountable.
USEFUL LINKS
Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics
www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp
Index of Media Funding
https://projects.iq.harvard.edu/futureofmedia/index-seven-big-owners-dailies
All Sides
https://www.allsides.com/media-bias
Media literacy checklist.
Ask if the thing you are watching or reading:
• Is an editorial, opinion, or commentary
• Comes from a source that doesn’t post corrections or retractions
• Does not post or declare reporting standards
• Relies on outrage or sensationalism
• Does not accurately explain or attribute an opposing opinion or provide context
• Is not transparent about sources
• Uses an anecdote as the sole source of information
• Is not transparent about funding
• Has a call to action
A yes to any or all of the above doesn’t automatically make it fake news, but you now have information as to the validity and intention of the source.
An easy way to double check information is to put the topic or headline and/or author’s name in a web search. You can use Presearch, Brave, or Duck Duck Go or try a couple different ones to compare results.
If the claim in the piece has something to do with legislation or public funding, you can go directly to the source and read the information yourself. House and Senate votes and bill information are all available.
FACT CHECKING SITES
https://www.bbc.com/news/reality_check
