The term "fake news," has been circulating American media recently, and it got me thinking about a few things. Now of course there is some fake news out there, but who is in control of what is deemed as "fake" news, and what is not? Who is pulling the strings? A lot of people are suggesting that the term "fake news" is just a tool to subtlety censure what we see online. Facebook recently announced that they will begin implementing human fact checkers to help identify authentic content and flag content that is allegedly "fake" or a hoax. Opponents are worried that this will only enable big businesses to control what we see. And anyways, even if something is “fake new,” don’t we still have a right to read it and determine that for our ourselves?
One trend that I’ve noticed in this whole fake news fiasco, is that only alternative news sources are called for providing "fake news." News sources like CNN and Fox News, to name a few, are pretty much guaranteed to never be listed as fake news. Many would say this is because news such as CNN and Fox always tell the truth. In actuality, it’s just because they're mainstream and make a lot of money. People accept their word as truth without so much as a second thought.
There are six corporations that control 90% of what we are exposed to through the internet and television. Such a consolidation of media creates the illusion of choice, but in reality there are six corporate heads who are in control of our news. They are regarded as the ultimate news authorities, and their power has placed them in people's minds as a legitimate source of knowledge. However, with so much power in the hands of such a small number of people , aren't biases fated to emerge? Logically thinking here; these media giants are probably more interested in making profits and not the integrity of the news they're producing.
Selecting, shaping, and circulating images and stories through media advances a certain understanding of the world, and censors others. Flagging articles as fake news is a prime example. Many of these “fake news” articles are deemed as fake only because they hold unpopular opinions. Censoring them discourages deviation in thought while encouraging us to all think along the lines of what mainstream media is telling us.
I believe it’s important to realize that mainstream media isn’t the final word; it isn’t the ultimate news authority. Alternative news has a lot to offer in terms of a different outlook, and often, a different story then you would hear in the mainstream. For example, the mainstream media gave extensive coverage of the massacre in France back in 2015, but remained silent when over 50 people were slaughtered in Libya, only a few months later. Both events were linked to ISIS, as were many others in the months to follow. For some reason, it appears that Western media only highlights when Europeans and Americans are attacked by ISIS, even though people of the Middle East and Africa are targeted by ISIS more than any other group. Representing things in this way only kindles the American mentality that "Muslims are bad," when in fact, Muslims are being targeted by ISIS more than we are. This is why it's important to read alternative news.
Mainstream media is incorporated on a large scale. They carefully and strategically select what they will present, and how they will present it, the way they want to. This is not to say that CNN and Fox are always lying, but it is to say that they ignore important topics and events and hold visible biases.
