Micro, Midrange and Macroissues: Polifact - Assignment Example

Micro Issues1. It is hardly possible to define the activity of Politifact.com as reporting because they do not provide any new information to their consumers. Their purpose is to analyze facts and assess their trustworthiness. Nevertheless, the site can be considered quite objective as they asses information critically and define its reliability.2. The truthfulness of a Truth-o-Meter is doubtful. The authors of the articles play with words and take separate phrases from the context. For example, I analyzed the statement of Alfonso Lopez on assault weapon violence: "Ducks have more protection than people in Virginia.

" The authors measured the truthfulness of this statement quite subjectively and made it ironical. However, in some cases the authors provide readers with valuable data regarding the reliability of facts. For example, the site informed its readers that there are no documents proving the statement of Scott Walker who said that: "Documents released from the Soviet Union show "the Soviet Union started treating President Ronald Reagan more seriously after Reagan fired the air traffic controllers”.3. The authors deliberately examine truthfulness of one statement because it is easier to assess the reliability of one fact than of the whole story.

In most cases even checking truthfulness of one statement takes a lot of time and efforts but unfortunately such approach is not ethical because sometimes examining statements without general context can be misleading for readers.Midrange Issues1. The job of a journalist presupposes fact checking otherwise his work is futile and the reliability of media is doubtful. Such site as Politifact.com are aimed to double check the information.2. The site that would check commercial message would be very helpful to many consumers; however, in many cases such fact checking would be senseless and costly.

Many brands advertise positive emotional feedback from their goods “comfort” or “joy” or promise something that would be difficult to measure “losing weight in 10 days”.3. The Truth-o-Meter is definitely that thing that brought success to the site. This gimmick helped to make boring factual information ironical and comprehensible. Those who do o twat to read long stories can simply watch if some politician got his “pants on fire”.Macro Issues 1. Politifact.com uses the concepts of tenacity and confirmation mostly in their work.

They analyze those facts that are relevant and crucial for the society at the peculiar moment and guarantee their own truthfulness. It is also positive that they also try to preserve dignity of those who become targets of their Truth-o-Meter with the help of irony. 2. The statement of James Carey about the value of context is totally applicable to the site Politifact.com. Most of the statements that they analyze are retrieved abruptly from general context which could change their meaning and message significantly.

For some facts though the importance of the context is not relevant if these facts are known for society as some important quotes. In this case checking whether Lincoln said or did not say some catch is easy for the site but assessing Obama`s statement: “"In Iraq and Syria, American leadership, including our military power, is stopping (the Islamic State’s) advance” needs a lot of work and context. 3. “The Daily Show” is positioned as fake news show but it still deals with real news although it demonstrates it in a satirical way.

Though some facts and statement are deliberately exaggerated however the show is still balanced. The authors of the show aim to bring some humorous element and demonstrate the absurdity of political world and the world of celebrities. Live interviews with real people make this show trustworthy and ironical.