All throughout the election year of 2016 and still following into 2017, fake news has taken its toll on society. Many people have fallen victim to the fabricated tales pushed by fake-news on websites. As stated by Dictionary.com, news is defined as, “A report of a recent event; intelligence; information.” With this in mind, one would think that the events reported on a daily basis would be true. However, many websites, some minuscule and some large, have been releasing news that is to every extent incorrect, at worst, and at best, unverified rumor. Some journalists have become fixated on being the first to release a fresh story, the first to be read, but what they don’t take into consideration is the content of the article, and whether or not the report is actually true. Instead, in an effort to be the first with a “scoop” they often report what someone “said” without verification of whether or not what was said was the truth– and these unfounded rumors reported as facts can have serious repercussions on today’s society.
Considering journalistic ethics, articles relating to current events are supposed to be supported, based on facts, and unbiased. The only type of article that should have an opinion from the writer is in an editorial, such as this one. Many factors contribute to this culprit. The first being diction. The choice of diction that the writer uses to present a new article reveals the writer’s point of view. I’m not going to lie, writing an article on something I truly feel passionate about makes it hard to restrict myself from writing what I personally feel, and about the world, from my personal point of view. The small tweaks in language that a writer uses to emphasize their personal feelings can be seen in an example like: "New Information Released on Trump" vs. "Bombshell Accusations Dropped on Trump." These two different titles written in two drastically different tones can represent the same exact article, but this is specifically meant for the people who only read the titles. In the first example, people think that they are reading unbiased facts in order to then form their own opinions on a topic. In the second, readers understand that they are reading allegations—not something verified. Use of language is important, and language can confuse readers, making them think that they are reading fact, when they are reading the writer’s opinions or unverified accusations.
Fake news has been grabbing the attention of many innocent victims recently. Certain TV news networks have a long history of trying to report the news objectively and without opinion. However, even outlets like Fox News, CNN, NBC, etc., that are dedicated to reporting the news, have opinion shows, like Anderson Cooper, Sean Hannity, or Rachael Maddow who promote a certain vision or point-of-view that is subjective and not merely objective reporting. Other outlets, such as Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Buzzfeed, and other social media apps are not fully vetted, don’t adhere to any journalistic ethical standards – yet many readers don’t realize this, and think they are an outlet for reliable facts. Additionally, many people today get their news from comedy shows, like The Daily Show and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. These are comedy shows, and represent the opinion of the stars and their writing staff, but many people actually take their news from these shows, without questioning the source.
Throughout the election year, Republicans and Democrats became pitted against one another with such opposing views on topics that these “news stories” reported on Facebook. Some of them were fabricated, while others were highly opinionated – shining a spotlight on facts that supported the opinion of the writer, while ignoring ones that represented opposing viewpoints. To read and trust these outlets on facts relating to current events is dangerous. This goes far more beyond just a tilted to the left or to the right, but to paint a picture without any facts as evidence is completely outrageous.
Recently, Buzzfeed went out of their way to publish something completely unsupported by facts and unsubstantiated.
According to the New York Times, “BuzzFeed News became the center of a swirling debate over journalistic ethics on Tuesday after its decision to publish a 35-page document carrying explosive, but unverified, allegations about ties between the Russian government and President-elect Donald J. Trump. The document, a dossier prepared by a former British intelligence officer hired by Mr. Trump’s political opponents, had been circulating among high-ranking politicians and some journalists since the fall. Intelligence officials recently presented a two-page summary of the allegations to Mr. Trump and President Obama, CNN reported on Tuesday.”
Beside the fact that Buzzfeed is now no longer to be trusted when it reports news, Facebook has decided to take action by attempting to eradicate most, if not all, fake news stories from its site. This is a positive sign, given that the New York Times, once the most revered and trusted newspaper in the nation, has recently been accused of being more and more polarized and opinionated.
According to USAToday.com, “Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg shared his plan of attack against phony news stories on the social media platform, following up on an earlier announcement on work "to flag fake news and hoaxes" in the wake of a vicious election cycle. The spread of fake election news escalated the conversation about misinformation on Facebook. Some blamed the social network for the election’s outcome, but Zuckerberg said it was "extremely unlikely" that phony stories posted on Facebook influenced President-elect Donald Trump’s win. Nearly half of Americans get their news from Facebook, according to the Pew Research Center. In contrast, just two in 10 U.S. adults get news from print newspapers."
With the proliferation of news sites that don’t adhere to time honored journalistic standards, it is more important than ever for the population to do their homework before just believing something that they “read somewhere.” I sincerely ask, that no matter what political party you follow, that if you want to make any sort of claim on a current event or significant political figure, that you inform yourself before doing so. Make sure that you're not just reading some bogus story with no factual evidence to prove it’s even true.
