Fake news. After a string of theories failed to explain the surprise victory of Donald Trump, fake news has become the new warning cry. We are urged to avoid this insidious fake news, lest we reward those who would profit off the gullible, or worse, become the victims of Russian Propaganda. Dignified reporters, paragons of the fourth estate, sit in front of cameras, breathlessly warning of now familiar figures who are aiding and abetting the fake newsies: Steve Bannon, Mike Flynn, and of course, President Elect Donald J. Trump himself.
And to be sure, the information on the internet should be taken with a grain, or perhaps a shovelful, of salt. Just last weekend, a man with a rifle burst into a Washington pizzeria, intent on busting up an imagined sex-trafficking ring. Based on what he had read on the internet, he was convinced that there was a cabal of Washington elites running the ring. Obviously, that was not the case, and he was taken into custody.
However, while this serves as a clear reminder that we should all do responsible research concerning what we read, it also shows how quickly the fake news scare has been blown out of proportion. A quick google search shows that far more has been written about the dangers of “Pizzagate” then were ever written about the “scandal” itself. The only article I could find detailing the alleged crimes was the TruePundit page tweeted by Michael Flynn’s son. The rest of the articles were warnings about the dangers of fake media.
The overblown coverage of what ultimately amounts to a very small incident carries a certain amount of irony. The only real story is that a disturbed individual read something online, which caused him to fire a gun in a restaurant. Thankfully, no one was killed. Everything past that is conjecture. The mountains of coverage it has received is itself fake news.
And this is an issue. It’s an issue not only because it draws attention away from real stories, but because it provides the media with yet another excuse for their dismal coverage of the 2016 election. And it provides us, the readers, and American society at large, another phantom to blame our problems on.
Additionally, this scare over fake news is dangerous, because the scrutiny is only being directed one way. No one can deny that the political right has its fair share of conspiracy theorists, more than willing to spread unsubstantiated rumors. But to focus solely on the right gives moral cover to the left, where the problem is just as rife.
If we truly want to stop the spread of “fake news,” the answer doesn’t lie in legislation or demonizing those we disagree with. It starts with us, the readers, calling for higher standards among those who seek to inform us. And that means taking a more critical view of what we read, regardless of whether it fits our political views. It means not sharing something on our Twitters and Facebooks and Instagrams without being damn sure that the text is true, and more importantly, credibly supported.
So if you want to stop fake news, ask yourself:
Did I laugh off the allegations of Pizzagate, but believe that Donald Trump is being tried for sexually assaulting a minor?
Do I dismiss Breitbart and InforWars as partisan , but rabidly follow Slate or Huffington Post?
Do I accept “An anonymous source said” as a source in Politico and New York Times Articles?
Was it acceptable when CNN started snarkily fact checking headlines in parenthesis? (It Wasn’t).
Fake news is out there, and we should ignore it. But we also need to hold “real” news accountable when they don’t live up to reasonable professional standards. This failure to provide accurate and unbiased coverage is what led to voters turning to the unaccountable internet for knowledge. And the first step of that is not letting them blame their failings on others.
pleasedontvote 