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3.
4. In every form of media there exist faux news. Researching
different ways fake news is perpetuated is of interest to me.
However, sorting through fake news can be time consuming.
People are very busy today, and even though it’s important, most
of us don’t have the time to decipher fake news. Fortunately for us
there are watchdog groups like PolitiFact committed to sorting
through this universal mess.
5. PolitiFact’s mantra is to hold all persons perpetuating fake news
accountable, ultimately trying to mitigate any damage done through any
false narrative. Fake news is designed to manipulate, shape, deceive, and
ultimately blur the lines of reality.
This kind of distorting of the facts only serves to twist the truth, and present
inaccurate information. News editors who provide selective information hurt
the public as well, this is called Gatekeeping. Gatekeeping is the process through
which information is filtered, therefore controlling the types of information that
gets
published. Many believe that the effects of gatekeeping and fake news hurts
society overall…and I tend to agree.
6.
7. Whether it’s a video purportedly showing Georgia State
Agricultural Director Shirley Sherrod giving a racist speech at a
NAACP conference in 2010 by right-wing news organization
BREITBART, or a gossip rag spreading lies and filth `a la The
National Inquirer. The issue of “Fake News” has troubled society with
its destructive tentacles since forever.
8.
9. In the case of Mrs. Sherrod, the video taken of her was
heavily edited down to present a racistly false narrative
that got her fired from her job. It was later discovered that
the video was doctored, but the damage had already been
done. She ended a 25-year career in public service in
disgrace. She was later vindicated, and offered her job back
but instead chose to retire. She sued, Breitbart was later
held liable, and she won her case!
10.
11. According to an article in The New Yorker fake news goes back more
than a millennium. The question I had was similar to a statement
made in this same New Yorker article which asked why do
“consumers of journalism, prefer fake news to real news?’’ I’m
curious, and somewhat perplexed as to why, when people seek
out news stories, come across ones that to many would be
obviously fake, choose to embrace them instead of dismissing
them outright? Many then go on to spread the lies to whomever
else will listen.
12. Uses and gratifications theory, a theory advanced by media
scholar Arthur Asa Berger says that “Instead of looking at
the audience as sheep-like mass of receivers of
messages… [ it] views audience members as active
receivers of information of their own choosing. “Audience
members are aware of these choices and make them
consciously.”
13.
14. Though I know that no one wants to be a victim of deceptive news,
I do wonder if it’s still a deep desire by some to cling to an ideology
that hinders the acceptance of the truth, even when the truth is
revealed. Maybe some individuals seek out farfetched scenarios
that perpetuate some form of escapism, or maybe it’s another way
to avoid reality? A sort of vacation from life maybe? It’s all too
subjective to really know for sure…but the theory does have merit.
15. Maybe it’s just another form of mass hysteria? People believing the lies that
feed this notion of mainstream news as the real fake news, and “Alternative
Facts” is somehow more accurate and reliable then anything else? What
drives people to embrace this form of reality, rather than reality itself?
Sociologist W.I. Thomas in discussing Symbolic Interactionism goes on to
say that “If men define situations as real, they are real in their
consequences.” Which in so many words say’s that perception becomes
reality, and for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction…even if
the situation is an imagined one.
16.
17. The imaginary sex-ring run out of the Democratic party and the Hillary
Clinton campaign through a D.C. Pizzeria is one prime example. This
conspiracy theory first originated from a white supremacist twitter account
that claimed after reading postings by WikiLeaks about the New York police
department finding out information about this ring. This information led 28-
year-old Edgar Maddison Welch on December 4, 2016 to storm the Comet
Ping Pong restaurant, and fire three shots with his AR-15-style rifle.
18. Mr. Welch saw on REDDIT online that the Comet was harboring
child sex slaves, so he decided to investigate the place for himself.
This fake news story ended with Edgar firing off three shots in the
pizzeria. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but none the less this was still
a deadly situation! These lies masked as truth regularly have
unforeseen, and potentially deadly consequences. This is why we have
to hold these purveyors of garbage accountable.
19.
20. We all understand that there’s a thin line between good and bad speech. The courts
have often cracked down on free-speech when it’s deemed to be offensive. As we all
know, most fake or hate filled speech doesn’t lead to criminal activity, but here are a few
examples of some that could, and one that did. You can’t yell fire or shooter in a crowded
place under the guise of free speech when there is none. If you make defamatory false
statements against someone else you can be sued. A few years back several girls bullied
another girl on Facebook, after being bullied she then went on to commit suicide. Though
the girls were not directly responsible for her death, and some would argue that they
were only exercising there first amendment privilege, these girls were still held
accountable. These are just a few examples of how we as a society have held people
directly accountable, and have limited some forms of speech.
21. I think the same theory applies here. If your actions
contribute directly, or indirectly to some criminal behavior
by someone else due to your inflammatory lies or blatant
harassment, you need to be held accountable to the
people…and the State. Mrs. Sherrod held BREITBARTs’
feet to the fire for fake news, and I’m simply saying we all
should do the same…it’s as simple as that!
