Fake News. A term that, as of late, has been floating around a lot more than usual; especially due to certain Twitter accounts. Almost as long as news and the media has been around, the credibility of it has been a concern. Especially when it has been news surrounding pop culture and politics. But it is possible that the term has been wrongly been put in a negative light, and very possible that it has been misused.
But what is fake news really, and how should the term really be used?
Fake news is defined as "websites or other news sources deliberately publishing hoaxes, propaganda, and disinformation purporting to be real news--often using social media to drive web traffic and amplify their effect".
While that is daunting, the term itself being used isn't always a bad thing. A skepticism with our media should be encouraged by and for the general population. There are definitely 'news' organizations who care a lot more about creating an outrageous headline or story that will get people to click, rather than putting out news that is truthful. With the discussion and worry about fake news, it encourages people to do their own research on stories, and form their own opinions. And when people find out the truth, or find out an organization was in fact correct, the websites that put out these misleading or false articles are then held accountable. Which (hopefully) in turn means that we see less of false articles.
However, the term 'fake news' or something like it can also be used by some for bad. Very bad. One tactic used by fascist leaders and dictators to gain more power in the past ( Putin, Mussolini, Stalin, Hitler and Mugabe for example) is to create an enemy of the press. To do so, they argue that any news article that puts them in a negative light is completely false. Then this creates a distrust of the press by the general population, along with a sympathy for the leader.Then the press slowly is suppressed and loses it's freedom, and a country is no longer completely free.This, with certain Twitter accounts, has become a problem as of late. The press isn't (always) the enemy.
So, then, how should 'fake news' really be used? When an article actually has fake or misleading information. Not when one doesn't like an article, or has heard different news from another source. Rather than call everything fake, we should encourage a skepticism, not a distrust or hate, for the media. If something seems unbelievable, do the research to see if it really is. We, as a country, should hold the press accountable, but we should not make an enemy out of them.
