Fake News

Fake news is the reason it is mandatory for us to take Internet Survey and Research. We are so bombarded with information; we are so busy trying to retain everything that is thrown at us everyday, that we lose sight of what is reality and what is not. In our Internet class we learn how to distinguish between a credible source, and an unreliable source. The overall message I’ve take from that course is that all sources are credible, depending on what you’re looking for, and that all sources have a bias and an agenda. We are the test generation of the information age. We are bombarded with this information and are taught to decipher it. This is the most prominent point for me because of the audience of fake news. An article from the ctv website states that satirical news shows, specifically the Daily Show “has more viewers in the coveted 18-to-31 age demographic than any other nightly news program in the United States” (Janus). If we are the target audience what are we getting from this news? A journalist is ideally objective, whereas these shows are usually quite opinionated. Many young people are discredited because of their lack of interest and involvement in the news and politics, but are we being misinformed? Or are we just not interested in an objective point of view anymore? Personally, an opinionated perspective is something I cherish. Though this is not the accepted, traditional form of news deliverance, I think there is something to be said for this style. With all the information out there, one doesn’t know how to decipher it, when John Stewart puts a spin on it, I better understand the information, and the different perspectives available for me to choose.
Fake news shows often reject the regular news stories we read. Often politically slanted, fake news dismisses PR sugar coating. With the control major corporations have on the media, the media deliver the news, but choose to omit some facts that would damage reputations. I tend to think fake news journalists are the ones that bring up the controversial issues other journalists can’t bring up without fearing job loss.

Works Cited

Janus, Andrea. “Is ‘fake news’ informative? Study Tests Fun vs Facts.” CTV News. 15
September 2008. 1 November 2008. ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080912/news_feature_080912/
20080914?hub=TopStories>.