The Pros And Cons Of Fake News
Postman and Powers’ insight into the news world explains that when a news program distorts the truth either by altering or creating new facts the audience is defenceless to know what is accurate (406 Postman Powers). The general public trusts the news to give accurate reports on the goings on of the world and without truthful information it is difficult for most people to get the real story about any happening. Since people believe the news and are getting fed misinformation the public is completely uninformed on current events that it is important they know about. Greg Beato informs, “During the last few years, multiple surveys by the Pew Research Center and the Annenberg Public Policy center have found that viewers of The Daily Show and The Colbert report are among America’s most informed citizens” (390). The research done contributes to the ideas that Beato ties throughout the article, though “fake news” it is still a source of information that many americans learn from on a daily basis.
A Critique Of: “How Technology Disrupted the Truth” In Katherine Viner’s article “How Technology Disrupted the Truth”, Viner discusses the impact technology has on journalism as well as fabricating fictitious facts. Viner illustrates how a baseless article spread through social media, ultimately causing the resignation of a politician. She argues that misinformation, through the use of social media, can negatively impact an individual’s opinions. Unfortunately, journalists, news stations, and even politicians themselves appear to be focused more on views and profit, even if it means spreading that misinformation. In the article, Viner provides numerous instances where the press would tell a “fact” only to, a few days later, renounce the statement
“‘The habits of social media users are a bigger driver of misinformation spread than individual attributes. We know from prior research that some people don’t process information critically, and others form opinions based on political biases, which also affects their ability to recognize false stories online,’ said Gizem Ceylan” (Madrid). Through time and as technology advances social media and news stations have spread a lot of fake news, and people believe it whether it's because they blindly believe whatever they see or if it’s biased because they like that person or
In Jason Zinser’s article, “The Good, the Bad, and The Daily Show,” he argues that Americans have dissociated from the conventional mainstream of news into a new program that is often filled with “fake” news, such as the The Daily Show. Zinser questions the ethics and validity of “fake” news sources, since these new programs have gained a considerable amount of popularity that can cause a detrimental effect into peoples’ mentality. Zinser acknowledges that fake news is a method to obtain information from a comical and satirical news source, however Zinser exhorts that, “The question isn’t whether Jon Stewart or the show’s producers and writers are morally corrupt people, but whether or not fake news is, on the whole, beneficial or damaging
Studies have shown that there is little evidence that coverage of the news is biased towards one party as a whole, though it has been shown that news media tend to be biased for those candidates ahead in the polls during an election. Regardless of its purpose, most media does not work in persuading viewers to change their opinions about an election. In fact, most potential voters pay little attention to elections, and have also already made up their mind
In an age of what appears to be increasing insecurity, Americans have to make a choice between being secure and maintaining civil liberties or is it up to the government to decide. Privacy today faces growing threats from a growing surveillance apparatus that is often justified in the name of the national security. Security is privileged over values such as civil liberties after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Because of this horrendous event the national government, began its surveillance attack in hoping to stop another terrorist attack from happening. The government has been trying to rebuild the security that was lost (“Money”).
Society expect to be constantly entertained; they have become so concerned with things such as who the latest star is dating, scandals, or dumb people doing rather idiotic things. Much of society have been consumed in their personal instant gratification and what makes them “happy”. When on an off chance that news does show things that are serious and impactful(not necessarily positive things that is happening in the world) people have become so numb that the best they could do is feel sympathetic and at worst continue on with their day. The other part of the problem is that those behind what is being published and shown on the news media have been absorbed in their avarice nature, whatever allows them to make as much profit they do. “Writing thousands of hours of coverage from what could have been summarized in a couple of minutes every few weeks, a new rhetorical strategy was developed, or-let’s be generous-evolved”(6), Saunders describes the new formula formed by mass news firms that would yield the most profit.
From television to social media everyone has something to say. For the past 50 years, candidates have based their campaign around the messages in their television commercials and in their debates. Committed party members, both Republicans and Democrats alike, will take information in with caution and typically hear what they want to hear. It is the undecided voters who are swayed by the media as to whom they should vote for. More often than not it is the undecided voters who decide the elections, this is the case in point as to why the power of media in elections can be substantial.
The central theme of media manipulation and the consequences of that are explained and uncovered in Ryan Holiday’s book Trust Me I’m Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator. Holiday offers a brutally honest insight into the world of PR and journalism, one that many people can have trouble accepting and one that makes us doubt every form of media and advertisement around us and exposes the twisted relationship between online media and marketing. In the beginning of the book, Holiday admits that he is a liar, but asks the readers to believe everything he says. As mentioned in an article published by Poynter institute, “He has a point to make, but he 's like the addict warning of the dangers of drugs, all the while snorting a line and shaking his head at how bad it is” (Silverman, 2012).
“Today we live in a society in which spurious realities are manufactured by the media, controlled by governments, by big corporations, by religious groups, and by political groups”, quoted American writer Philip Kindred Dick. I bet his name got your attention! Anyways, let’s move on. Almost 90% of all international mainstream media is controlled by a total of 6 corporations. To put that into perspective, 1500 newspapers, 9000 radio stations and 1500 TV stations across the globe are owned by these 6 corporations!
Public trust in the media has been declining continuously over the past five years. In a Gallup study, it was reported that, “Americans' trust and confidence in the mass media "to report the news fully, accurately and fairly" has dropped to its lowest level in Gallup polling history, with 32% saying they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media” (Swift). This type of mistrust is because of the bias in the new forms of media today. Bias may have been easier to keep in check when there were fewer news sources. However, with the ease of access to the internet and the rise of citizen journalists and fake news sites, the public is finding more and more stories they most see shared are false.
Furthermore, fake news can be disseminated rapidly. Due to the widespread use of social media,
Thanks to social media, access to information from all over the world has become easy. Because of the developments that social media has reached, it is no longer necessary for us to rely on receiving information from second hand sources. We are now able to access the main source of the news ourselves such as an eyewitness or video footage of the event. This can insure that the information we receive is reliable considering that many secondary news sources tend to be politically biased.
The media is supposed to be just like a warrior fighting with a pen or like a mirror which shows us or strives to show us the bare truth and astringent realities of life. However, in recent years the media has, like other agencies, come under the influence of politicians. Therefore, the media no more writes about the people’s grievance but in support of the ruling government party. It has been contaminated by political influences. Today, the media has many vital roles in a modern democracy such as; political lies, reviling the truth to the public as well as helping to aid with the hypocrisy of the nation.
Fake news has been around for years, and yet it is still able to blend in to disguise itself from recognition mostly because of how the human brains addict to the fact they feel pleasant to see, which leads to the obtention of views, and directly to the calculation of money derived from advertising. But the unignorant fact of fake news being imprecise at its source and being friendly when mentioning a two-sided story will be the chance to identify them, and avoid them from mixing in with the real world. Overall, the emphasis on demanding the disappearance of fake news are stunningly valuable for without the ruthless data there could be another day having spent not being bothered by the information retrieved
More about The Pros And Cons Of Fake News
Summary Of Greg Beato's Amusing Ourselves To Depth
997 Words | 4 PagesHow Technology Disrupted The Truth By Katherine Viner
148 Words | 1 PagesHow Is Fahrenheit 451 Relevant Today
798 Words | 4 PagesThe Good The Bad And The Daily Show Analysis
226 Words | 1 PagesThe Role Of Media In Presidential Elections
509 Words | 3 PagesConspiracy Pros And Cons
2098 Words | 9 PagesThe Braindead Megaphone Analysis
800 Words | 4 PagesMedia's Influence On Presidential Elections
543 Words | 3 PagesTrust Me I M Lying Analysis
1273 Words | 6 PagesEssay On Suicide Terrorism
965 Words | 4 PagesThe Negative Effects Of Media Bias
1501 Words | 7 PagesArgumentative Essay On Fake News
994 Words | 4 PagesEssay On The Influence Of Social Media On Politics
1036 Words | 5 PagesThe Importance Of Media In Democracy
884 Words | 4 PagesCause And Effect Essay On Fake News
1403 Words | 6 Pages