Do you trust the daily news on your favourite news outlet? A growing number of people don’t, and there is good reason for them not to. Political bias, pressure from owners and shareholders and political interference have changed the way the news is reported. Misinformation, distortion, selective reporting together with a good portion of bias are to blame for an ill-informed and unaware citizenry.
News outlets now also feel responsible to give their opinions on matters of interest, especially as a tool to shape perceptions in a nation, reshaping culture to suit their agenda.
The media is also aware of the fact that people are simply too busy to do their own research to verify the news brought to them by news outlets, and this is where the danger lies. And this phenomenon is global with different world leaders now raising the topic in their communications. “Fake news” is now a thing, and it is up to responsible citizens to verify that the news that is brought to them is true, mentions all the facts and is not biased.
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Censorship has now become a service provided by news outlets, thereby reducing the highly valued free speech privileges of Western cultures. Censorship by the media is clearly an abuse of their position as reporters of important events in our world. The media lost the credibility it once enjoyed, and consumers should not reward them with blind trust until they are satisfied that integrity has returned to news reporters.
Sadly enough, the mainstream media is as guilty of this practice as the news aggregate sites that they continually project as suspicious. Truth is not important anymore, and so many consumers of news just don’t care.
Social media seems to be a rising star when it comes to truthful reporting of news, often from eye witnesses and people involved where news is happening. So, if you really are interested in the real news, you might have to check it out on social media and compare the facts for yourself.
