It\’s very easy to dismiss an article from any media outlet, whether large or small, when you have a bias against that outlet. Whether CNN or Breitbart, we are quick to dismiss a news story just because it was published by one of these outlets. It\’s not uncommon to see \”CNN is fake news\” and \”Breitbart is a far-right conspiracy theory site\”.
But should we accept or dismiss a news story based on where it originated from? If that\’s the case then we should absolutely dismiss anything coming from the mainstream media that incessantly beat the drum for THREE YEARS on the now debunked \”Russia collusion hoax\”. And that’s just one example of their collusion on fake stories.
That doesn’t stop them from moving on to the next contrived fairy tale. Could I point to errors on the other side as well? Of course. Because all media outlets are run by human beings. And journalism in 2020 is more about sensationalism and clicks and eyeballs and social activism more than actual, true journalism.
What does this look like? Two of the best investigative journalists of our time are John Stossel and James O’Keefe. Stossel has always asked the tough questions of his subjects and turns to his audience to ask if they are seeing the same thing they are seeing. O’Keefe of Project Veritas does undercover camera work and exposes the media and big tech for who they really are by catching them saying what they really think and what their real motives are. It reminds me of the top-notch work that 60 Minutes and 20/20 used to do decades ago. You can find their work on YouTube and judge for yourself.
People are quick to discount someone like O’Keefe because of his personal bias. Or they’ll point to a piece of fake news believing that it’s true because it’s been repeated again and again. Meanwhile, O\’Keefe\’s “Wall of Shame” featuring retractions from all of the false things written about him has hundreds of letters from media outlets who were forced to set the record straight when confronted with a libel or slander lawsuit.
What’s the truth? Whether MSNBC or OANN, listen to what is being said or read the words on the page. Check the source. If it says “Anonymous”, odds are very high that you are being baited. If it isn’t sourced at all, it is purely opinion or conjecture. If there is a quote from someone, be sure to check the context. “Journalists” frequently will misquote or pull something out of context to put a spin on their story. And if it is sourced, go to the source yourself and read it without any bias. See if you come to the same conclusions when you do your own research.
And know the difference between “news” and “commentary”. News is the unbiased reporting of facts, in context, without coming to a conclusion. Who, what, when, where, why and how. Just the facts, m\’aam. It’s Journalism 101. And it’s sorely missing in today’s mainstream media.
Commentary is opinion with whatever bias exists built in. Think Rachel Maddow and Sean Hannity. If you base what you think of news on one of these people, you have no idea what news actually is. Actually, they are counting on that. They are issuing commentary. It is their opinion and spin on what is happening based on the story they want to tell. Does that mean they are wrong? Absolutely not. There are true stories and there are false stories. But without supporting evidence, they are nothing more than stories. They are NOT news. Unfortunately, even “fact-checking” sites like Snopes have earned a bad reputation for their need to be fact-checked for their fact-checking!
Lazy people and those with predominant cognitive bias (of which we all suffer from to some degree) believe what they are told just because a talking head told them. Inquisitive people understand that a half-truth is also a half-lie. Don’t be part of the majority hive mind. Don’t dismiss a story just because of where it originated from, or from what others have told you about the source. Check the source. Think for yourself.