Spreading False News - Essay Example

Journalists come in many forms: some write articles in the newspapers that are delivered the people’s doorsteps every day; others become familiar, trustworthy faces that are broadcast on television for millions of viewers. By creating information, however, journalists of all types can become a source of false news. Those who write newspaper articles are often subject to strict deadlines, and sometimes they may feel unable to gather all of the correct information on time, so they fill in some of the small details on their own. Their boss may also expect them to write about something that will grab the attention of many readers, and this sort of news is not always easy to come by – so they decide a little white lie won’t hurt anyone. They may be journalists, but they are still human; and like you and me, they care about keeping their jobs. Those who write news scripts for television, on the other hand, face a different kind of pressure. To keep ratings up, they must present news that people will want to watch. And if it’s going to help the show’s popularity, why not add their clever twist to the story? It might only be a small percentage of journalists who would make fake news at the expense of the public, but there are other ways the news can be inaccurate.

While certainly, not all journalists are as untrustworthy as those in the aforementioned scenario, it should be pointed out that sometimes the sources they gather their information from are wrong.  Many journalists and reporters rely on the information that is shared with them by ordinary, average people. Some of these average people may skew the story to protect themselves from someone they know. Or some of these people may add their own opinions to the story, thus altering the story that the journalist interprets and relays to everyone else. Then again, there may even be some people who just like to create problems for other people, so they just lied to the journalist for the sake of lying. Whatever the case is, it is important to remember that the source a journalist gets their information from is not always right. Even though many journalists are well-trained to identify credible sources, others are not; and sometimes it is just too hard to tell.

Another way that false news finds its way to the media is through pressure from the government and businesses. Both the government and certain corporations are very strong in terms of size, power, and money. If the media has gotten wind of a story that may make people angry at the government or weary of a certain company that depends on their loyal consumption for their profit, both of these powerful bodies have the means to sway the voice of the media. Large businesses, with their large accumulations of money, can “buy off” a journalist who would otherwise share the news that would hurt the company. The government, on the other hand, actually has the power to seize direct control of the media, and thus control what is said (Gehlbach & Sonin, 2008).

While the media can send important information to people all over the world, the news is not always one hundred percent accurate. People must use critical analysis to decipher the credibility of what they read and see in the news and elsewhere so that they are not misled by false news.