The Pros And Cons Of Fake News

In New Hampshire in 2016, President Trump said in regards to the news media that "They're scum. They're horrible people. They are so illegitimate.” Having been quoted multiple times referring to the journalists and reporters in a similarly negative manner, President Trump apparently has diminished the nation’s trust in the press. The Trump administration is also notorious for barring certain news organizations, from access to events. In response to blocking prominent news organizations, including CNN and The New York Times, from attending a question and answer session with Press Secretary Sean Spicer, NPR wrote that “the relationship between the Trump administration and the news media has taken another step backwards.” By excluding typically adversary news organizations and including typically supportive news organizations, some argue that the Trump administration is inhibiting freedom of the press and prohibiting the truthful spread of information. On the other hand, it can be argued that adversary news organizations may distort events and quotes, causing unnecessary confusion and misguided

Fake new became a popular topic in news regarding politically aligned news channels and outlets. For example, YourNewsWire is an online news outlet based in Los Angeles. Based on this website, Hillary Clinton’s victory in the popular vote was due to voter fraud of 25 million votes (Kosoff). YourNewsWire used evidence of an investigation the NPR, National Public Radio, conducted. Though the article’s claim of voter fraud seemed compelling, as evidence was to support the argument was supple. Yet the evidence was incorrectly used. The NPR was involved in this investigation of voter fraud, but only published the information as Pew Research Center conducted the analysis of credibility. Another piece of falsified data is that the investigation was not conducted as a means to discredit Hillary Clinton’s victory in the popular vote, as the investigation was completed in 2012, prior to Clinton and Trump’s campaign for office. This is only one example of skewed stories and biased articles. The creators of YourNewsWire, Sean Adl-tabatabai and husband, Sinclair Treadway, were politically aligned with Bernie Sanders for the 2016 election (Baum). The reputation that YourNewsWire has created for itself has plummeted. Google no longer supports this website with ad-sponsored money, and other accredited websites, such as Snopes, investigate the validity of news articles such as these and discredit their findings

One example is when they put out the article "Charles Foster Kane Defeated, Fraud At Polls". From that headline you would believe that he was beaten by some illegal purpose, but it was just a headline getting people to read the article and the enjoyment of

To anyone looking to avoid fake news, Leonard Pitts says to read a newspaper. Pitts points out that there is a difference in satire and fake news such an SNL skit being made to poke fun at news sources being compared to a story about Donald Trump being assassinated. The New York Time's recent case study explains that fake news arises due to people not bothering to fact check the articles they share online. Fake News has become popular in conservative communities and in those looking to confirm that they are the true victims. The alt-right movement and its supporters have lead us into a spiral of misinformation and fake reality.

For example, Donald Trump proudly stated that “any negative polls are fake news,” and constantly refers to mainstream media outlets as “fake news media.” To compound the effect, according to MSNBC, a leading Republican Congressman, Lamar Smith, advised Americans to get their news directly from the President because “it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.” The reason why undermining credibility of news media is so scary is that it reduces their ability to hold politicians accountable. With public’s trust in cable news plummeting (all-time low of 32% according to Gallup), more and more individuals are looking for alternative sources online, which makes them more susceptible to fake news, and so the vicious cycle

“If you don’t watch the news you're uninformed and if you do watch the news you're misinformed.” We as a society tend to believe whatever we see on the news or social media sites but with the outbreak of “fake news”, knowing how to differentiate a fake news story from a real one is critical in being a informed citizen. As Trump took the stage for his first State of the Union Address, all of America was listening very closely to hear what they wanted, rather that be a mistake or more reason to cheer him on. I examined four different media sources; The Advocate, The New York Times, Media Matters, and Twitter, in order to see how differently each source perceived what president Trump had to say based on a different motives. The news industry has a certain tactic being employed in order to appeal to their followers.

News writing is made to inform others with the truth. However, humans are naturally a greedy species. We always want more; this goes with power and wealth. As a result, the art of journalism can sometimes be tarnished to make a quick profit. Eye opening headlines with false or irrelevant information are becoming more common. Some writers even disobey writing ethics by unfactual and biased stories, otherwise known as “fake news”. There are other examples but in the end, viewership is needed so writers spice up their articles in any way, shape or form to get their money. Some are written well enough to look like legitimate news articles; many people can easily be fooled and believe whatever they read. That is why it is important to understand the dilemma of the prevalence of “fake news” today. People should be cautious and hesitant, and try to understand the full concept or picture when it comes to reading news

Fake news is completely made up and manipulated to attract maximum attention and resemble credible journalism. With each click, these stories are able to acquire an increasing rate of revenue through their advertisements. Most of today’s fake news can be found spreading around social media because most people don’t realize what they share contains misinformation that’s being applied in order to appeal to its readers. It’s easy for readers to fall into these traps because the headlines that journalists use to attract attention and encourage users to click on them by using a strategy that is known as “clickbait”. By learning how to spot fake news, society would be able to present a policy to address fake news. Fake news can be understood by considering the source and supporting sources, checking for biases, and reading beyond just the headline. Knowing which articles that have been written and published with the intent to mislead is crucial for being able to spot fake news.

In addition, news companies deceive the public by

But what is “fake news”? With roots in yellow journalism and circular reporting, fake news is the deliberate reporting of false information in a light that will make it seem legitimate. As reporter Elle Hunt writes for The Guardian, fake news is “completely made up, manipulated to resemble credible journalism and attract maximum attention and, with it, advertising revenue.” Hunt also goes on to explain that in some form, popular satirical news sites such as The Onion and Clickhole, also resemble fake news in a way. Hunt’s reasoning for this is that, although to many it may be clear that these sites publish news satire, some consumers may “easily [take it] at face value, especially if they touch on current events or politics and if they appear free of context on social media.” Additionally, Hunt adds that sites like The Onion actually are “often taken at face value.” But is this really an

Fake news is taking a hold much of the media today; it creates tension between readers over facts that may not be entirely true. It seems that the rise of fake news became more prevalent during this last elections people confused what was true and what was not. When I initially read the article More People are Arrested for Simple Marijuana Possession than All Violent Crimes Combined I was shocked by the given statistics. The articles very first paragraph states that more than 137,000 people are incarcerated for a petty marijuana charge, far exceeding the amount of individuals in jail for violent crimes. As I continued to read, the writer of the article begins to go into a more emotional position of their writing and

In a world plagued by natural disaster, assassinations, and terrorism, citizens of the world tend to exaggerate or create ideas to explain events without clear answers. As those ideas are spread, conspiracy theories are born. They are used to explain reality, but why would we need to explain reality when there are experts to decode it for us? Like with the Watergate scandal, the government is not always trustworthy and the populace refuses to believe they are not lying until certified proof is presented. By not being in full control, we as humans begin to question the authenticity of everything around us. People believe in conspiracy theories because of their psychology. Though the likelihood of believing certain theories changes from person to person, the overall cause is similar; feeling as though you lack control of your life means you are more susceptible to believing in conspiracy theories.

Not everything in the news and told to the public is true. Especially in this modern age and time where anyone can put anything on the internet. There are many things that are told that is just false information that could easily be spotted and outed. To prevent being fooled by fake information, conduct research, check the Uniform Resource Locator, and check for reliability & credibility. One of the first steps in being aware of fake information is to see where they come from and their sources. Check the sources and sites from where they come from, not all are reliable. Some sites are clickbait and don’t use any real information but instead use fake information to bait people into clicking on the ad so they can get revenue. Another way to see and find if some site have

Gautam 4 Kriti Gautam Professor Sherry Sharifian Federal Government 2305-71433 30 November 2017 Fake News and Real News In today’s world, fake news is prevalent all over the world. People need to be more aware of these news stories, so that they become more educated about what is happening around them. In 1998, a fake news story was published about an endangered species that doesn’t exist. The fact that many people thought this story to be true, exemplifies how uninformed the public is. This story was compared with a real story on the CNN website in order to examine the differences between real and fake news, which are discussed later in this paper.

The recent surge in popularity of social media comes with a price: fake news. Fake news is defined as news or media that has been altered or modified. Journalists have begun to analyze why that fake news exists and why it continues exist. Two authors, Eoin O’Carroll and Kevin D. Williamson, both have written articles about fake news. Eoin O’Carroll’s article “How Information Overload Helps Spread Fake News,” discusses how the media has bombarded us with news stories, blurring the distinct lines between real and fake news. Kevin D. Williamson, a journalist for the National Review, writes in his article “‘Fake News, Media and Voters: Shared Reality Must Be Acknowledged” that the news is not fake; it just does not align with one’s personal beliefs. Both authors successfully appeal to their audiences’ emotions and feelings, but O’Carroll is more likely to succeed than Williamson in persuading his audience to try and combat fake news because the writer presents himself as someone the intended readers will more readily identify with and offers evidence that his readers will find more compelling.