From the White House down to city halls in rural hamlets across this country, politicians are using the term “fake news” to discredit anything they encounter in the media that they deem negative or that doesn’t fit their self-interests.
As traditional news media outlets continue to struggle in business models that are no longer fully relevant to the digital age in which we live, work and consume news today, the rise of the “fake news” attacks have only served to further weaken the legitimate news gathering and reporting entities on which the Internet and social media depend.
The hard truth is that if traditional newspapers, broadcast news operations, and even new digital news gathering operations that have yet to gain enough market share to pay the freight on their overhead go out of business and disappear, the American public will be left with something far less than news – “fake” or otherwise.
Former Estonian president Toomas Hendrick IIves, a psychologist born in Sweden but educated in the U.S., perhaps said it best: “Fake news is cheap to produce. Genuine journalism is expensive.” Ilves is widely acknowledged as passionate spokesman warning of the dangers of cyberattacks on democracies and the social media abuses that threaten elections on a global scale.
With President Donald Trump’s steady drumbeat of “fake news” allegations against CNN White House reporter Jim Acosta and others, there’s little doubt why politicians farther down the political food chain engage in similar attacks. For Trump, the “fake news” battle cry often seems to take on the guise of political sport rather than legitimate complaint.
Closer to home, Gov. Phil Bryant – who has a long track record of opening doors in state government that had previously been closed to traditional media – has engaged in the “fake news” defense. Bryant, in the not-too-distant past, was a victim of an actual fake news report falsely linking his family to the grisly 1955 murder of civil rights martyr Emmett Till.
The Urban Twist, a self-described digital news magazine, offered up the bogus report and based it loosely on a 2016 USA Today story by William Tomer. Later in 2017, Tomer and USA Today offered the following correction: “An earlier version of this story contained a quote asserting that a relative of Gov. Phil Bryant was involved in the murder of Emmett Till. The assertion is unsubstantiated, and Bryant said in February that it is false.”
So pardon Bryant if he’s on the “fake news” train. But as social media engagement increases, the national wholesale adoption of “fake news” as the first strike defense by politicians reading things in the media that they don’t like or disagree with carries with it an awful danger.
Without the practice of real journalism by real journalists – reporters, editors, producers, broadcasters – in which these journalists attend the events that the public is too busy or otherwise occupied to attend and observe, what are we left with? By and large, we are left with propaganda generated by either the left or the right in politics, by public relations professionals with inarguable agendas, or finally just unverified, or otherwise unreliable crap someone posts on the Internet as fact.
The Internet offers valuable, enriching and unique information. Much of it is entertaining. Some of it is true. Some of it is also total and unvarnished BS. New media sites from across the political spectrum now play a vital role in what is the new journalism. Much of that is citizen journalism and it’s intensely valuable. But journalism and a free press remains a cornerstone of our basic American freedoms.
But the “fake news” battle cry threatens to erode and eventually take down valuable, legitimate news gathering organizations who are fighting the most important battles in defense of the First Amendment – be that on Capitol Hill or at the Mississippi State Capitol or at the Calhoun County Courthouse in Pittsboro, Mississippi.
Bulletin: News you disagree with, news that offends or insults you, may well be the truth. What you do with that knowledge is up to you, but better you get the opportunity to make your own decisions based on those reports than to be left to a slim diet of government-approved announcements.
Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at sidsalter@sidsalter.com.
57 comments:
No, Sid. News is fake when they distort the truth to fit their agenda. Look at CNN and learn.
“Talking loud and saying nothing” - James Brown
Fox “news” is manufactured to fit an agenda....a tv show.
It’s Trump TV.
Actually there is fake news, false news, biased news, choose the label. All anyone has to do is open their mind and read from multiple sources. Hint... mainstream news is NOT where the truth is.
I remember the first time Trump used the term “Fake News” at a press conference. You could see from his smile and genuine delight as he said it that he knew it would strike a nerve. It was a disarming and effective strategy in the beginning, because he understands how much his base despises mainstream media (MSM). Since then, due to overuse by the President and other like-minded politicians, I think the term has lost some of its punch as it has devolved into a default response by him and his equally thin-skinned MAGA base for any and all MSM news that questions his policies, right or wrong. But is that what they really want, a compliant media that never questions anything that a politician says or does?
Sid, I worked with you at the CL,(not in the newsroom) what happened to you?
Also, news that reports only the negative about someone and ignores the positive, can also be classified a fake news or at the least disingenuous news.
Once again Sid uses a lot of words to say nothing. No, Sid, fake news is not 'news we disagree with or don't want to hear'. Fake news is a story crafted by the media that has no basis in fact or if it does have a basis, it's a really loose basis and contains mostly exaggeration, hype and content fabricated and woven for impact. Often it can't be proved or disproved so it passes as news and we realize it's fake news.
It's often like those TV shows that advertise "Based on Actual Stories - Content may be mere illustrations, exaggerations or fiction".
Sid is no longer a reporter so it's not really part of his routine to report real OR fake news. He bloviates opinion only. Fake news is created by news reporters who want to get a story out there, whether truth-related or not. they do it to meet deadline, because they're lazy, want to keep a check coming in and/or hope to get in line for a prize or other recognition.
And too often we see 'sources say', 'as has been reported', 'stated on the condition of anonymity' and 'sources not authorized to speak to the media' as the basis for fake news.
Next, let's discuss 'fake headlines'. Example: "The Two Foods Doctors Say You Should Never Eat". Then followed by a litany of crap you click through (filled with advertisements) that never does identify foods that are dangerous.
8:20
News is fake when they distort the truth to fit their agenda. Look at Fox and learn.
BULLY, MR. SALTER. Well said and true.
It is really hard for me to believe people pay Sid Salter to write this type of piece. His run on sentences and wordy word phrasing makes it hard read. And for the record “news” is reporting facts. When you add your own personal opinion or slant it to make a point, it IS FAKE NEWS.
I used to watch CNN almost non-stop. Now it is never turned on in my home.
When you have some time watch the TV coverage of 2016 election on YouTube. It is a scream watching the media try to figure out a way Hillary could win when it was obvious she was losing big time. Then when Trump won, some networks still would not call it for him.
Walter Cronkite was the last newsman that i trusted and respected. Between those with not so hidden agendas, others leaving out relevant portions of a reported situation and the near illiteracy that editors and producers demonstrate in their craft today, it is easy to understand why the moniker of “Fake News” is used so often. As a hero of mine used to say, “Just the facts Mam.”
Things must be really dull at the moribund JFP for all the lefty children of privilege who live in Fondren subsisting off mommy and daddy's checkbook to come here and troll.
What's the matter, kids? Bored while waiting for the craft beer emporium and gourmet popsicle stand to open?
It is important to keep in mind that news is a commodity. It is sold in the marketplace just like food and clothes. People tend to buy what they like so news peddlers sell what they think people like most. Objective journalism is not sought out by the spoiled masses so it is not a very popular product. Sad but true. There are no media outlets that receive a subsidy or financial security for presenting the truth, so truth is secondary, sales are primary, hence each outlet chooses it's niche then serves their customers with the "news" flavored the way they like. And like Trump, what you don't like you can call FAKE.
In that case all news is fake. Fox is dangerously right, CNN is dangerously left, MSNBC is majorly manipulative, ABC News is big brother, PBS NEWS is generic...but I depend fully on the GOOD NEWS.
Sid Salter's writing makes me nostalgic for Rick Cleveland's columns about Coach Jimmy Joe Scofield who led the Doddsville Sunflowers to the 1934 Tri-state Mumblety-peg Championship.
That's not a ringing endorsement of Sidney.
If it’s a corporate owned news site or paper then all of their stories will have to be written to please the corporation.
The litmus test for determining intelligence in any political discussion is whether a person uses the phrases "fake news" or "main stream media." Get your news from various sources and make decisions for yourself. If you "side" with one outlet, you're easily manipulated and simple minded.
the practice of real journalism by real journalists
Sid's oxymoron of the day.
By and large, we are left with propaganda generated by either the left or the right in politics, by public relations professionals with inarguable agendas ...
Then Sid self-defines his current role @ MSU.
@ 8:10 I think you just proved his point. CNN is not fake news, they just report the news. Just maybe if a particular individual did not LIE so much, he wouldn't classify it as fake news....
NBC News was rated with a 90% negative in their reporting of the Trump Admin.
Now that means that they are in fact, "Fake News". The mere fact that credit and reporting has not been given to a ton of positive outcomes since taking office, viewers are in fact watching biased, opinion driven reporting. Which is not Hard news as the format traditionally insinuates. Therefore, its Fake.
Hillary, the DNC and FBI all paid a foreign spy to put together a dossier that was filled with propaganda straight from the kremlin. The DOJ signed off on FISC court warrant pleadings as verified when they knew they were not. If you have seen this reported clearly- then it is not fake news. If your network of choice has not informed you of these indisputable facts, then you are not being told the truth.
9:19 and 9:25 - same socialist.
Okay, Sid. Would you hire an avowed racist as a newspaper or network editor?
The NY Times did.
Mika on "Morning Joe" said last year, "Trump thinks he can tell the American people what to think. That's not his job, that's our job!"
So now Sid. Do you think that the NY Times and the MSNBC are reputable sources for news?
BTW, I voted AGAINST Trump. But I can distinquish fiction from news. Apparently you cannot.
Sid has become some sort of Joe Scarborough. A guy who once provided rational context to current events. He attempts to make us believe nonsense is OK in order to rationalize the absolute garbage being pushed by most media outlets.
I used to really respect Sid. I don't anymore. No insight, just parroting the liberal line while making innuendos that those who disagree with him aren't smart like him.
I'm done with Sid. I'll check out the comments. But I won't give him new clicks.
I don't mind JJ running pieces I disagree with as long as the writing is good and insightful. Sid Salter is neither.
My God you people are unbelievably stupid. The writer is not saying that fake news doesn’t exist!! He is saying that politicians now deem unfavorable news, regardless of how true it is, as fake. . . Even when they know it’s true. They are able to do this successfully because they know that many people much like some commenting on this post are incapable of being objective and will happily endorse reports/articles that reinforce their flawed/outdated belief system that also demonizes the other party.
Lol. The "journalist" cries out in pain as he hits you.
There is absolutely fake news. Just look at all the lies Fox news pundits spout every hour. It's sickening to think how they take advantage of the older generation who are unable to rationally decipher for themselves where the truth lies.
Sid is delusional and it’s only the media who don’t see it for what it is but fake news is not new. Hearst sent Remington to Cuba to document the Cuban uprising in the late 1800’s but once there Remington reported to Hearst that there were no uprising and would be no war to which Hearst responded furnish me the pictures and I’ll furnish you the war. It’s called yellow Journalism and Hearst created the Spanish American war using fake news. We just grew up believing news wasn’t biased as now there are too many ways to verify it.
I hear Lamar Adams sentencing has been delayed. Kingfish, any truth to that? If true new indictments just around the corner.
So when Trump lies, slants the facts, co-mingles fact with opinion, omits facts or misleads his followers and the country, are we entitled to call him "Fake POTUS"?
11:35 am
She tweeted later that she "said the media's job was to keep President Trump from making up his own facts, NOT that it's our job to control what people think."
She misspoke indeed.
But you should get all the info out there.....snipetts out of context....to make a point that wasn’t made....
That’s assasination.
The reality of Trump is sinking in, the disappointment is pretty obvious among the majority of Americans. Real income is not increasing sure there are more jobs, it just takes two to survive.
The tariffs are scary and his meeting with Putin and Kim even scarier.
Most people don't look at the news about him until he tweets. So most of the time he gets to deny what he doesn't like. You wonder at that point what's really fake.
Have not lived in Miss in over 20 years, very shocked at the number of Socialists on this site.........
Donald Trump calling the news media fake is like a hog complaining about slop. He is a creature of the sensationalized hype machine that most broadcast news has become. His presidency would be impossible without it and he plays to it like no other public figure in history. He just better hope that people don't lose their patience with bullshit or he'll have nothing to talk or tweet about.
The BIRTHER issue was total FAKE NEWS and it helped put the president in the White House but although the birth certificate issue has been totally proven a lie Faux Noooz celebrities and the other supporters of the Trump administration wish to let their support of that lie fade from view they while they attack any criticism of the president as FAKE and in the end it is quite obvious that a great deal of what Mr Trump attacks as FAKE NEWS will prove quite true. But his 'base' will stay with him 'till the end and even beyond.
@2:02 - I must be pretty dense. Which majority of americans are you talking about? What disappointment? Are we talking about the same Majority? As tweeted by CNN "President Trump's approval rating of 42% outpaces Jimmy Carter's and Bill Clinton's ratings of 39% each in the August of their second year in office, and narrowly tops Ronald Reagan's 41% rating in August of 1982. "
That a majority of disappointment if I ever saw one. When ever you want to back up your statements with facts and references, I will be waiting... Links to crying and whining liberals is not an approved reference source... lol
Or maybe try this one: http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/trump_administration/prez_track_aug15
https://news.gallup.com/poll/235751/trump-job-approval-tying-personal-best.aspx
That a major disappointment. That MAJORITY is surely disappointed... Are you fake news? :)
@22:11 - since Trump’s job is not to “report” the news, it is irrelevant to this discussion whether he lies. This discussion is about those who DO have a job “reporting” the news. And, for the record” reporting” means to simply tell us what happened, when, and where. They should not be expressing an OPINIIN of any sort. Period. And for those of you too dumb to understand the difference, the commentators you accuse of biased “reporting” actually go out of their way to tell you that they are, in fact, OPINION commentators and NOT “reporters. CNN does just the opposite. They PRETEND to be reporters when they are actually just opinion commentators. In other words, they lie by ommission- straight out of the chute.
Sid, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS = fake news.
1:59: Nice try, but I quoted Mika correctly. You are simply naive enough not to recognize that the tweet was a CYA effort.
How about Don Lemon? He stated that Laura Ingraham is a white nationalist for not discussing Europeans with expired VISAs (a huge leap in itself), when Ingraham discussed Europeans with expired VISAs in detail in the opinion piece by Ingraham that Don Lemon referenced.
But Don Lemon is a "real journalist", right Sid?
Sid Salter is an enemy of the people of Mississippi.
5:21 pm
Laura I is an abomination.
She just said the country isn’t as white as it was and that is bad.
She was praised by David Duke for her honesty.
She had to retract and recast and lie about her intent.
Well before this....she outed gay people in college to their detriment and her brother is gay.
She could be the devil.
If we are going to start talking about Fox News, don't forget to throw in MSNBC. The Washington ($*% and CNN have been forced to retract a few stories as well. Remember when it wasn't too long ago that CNN fired an editor, or was it a reporter, over making up stuff about Trump?
Then there is the NYT. A reporter getting caught banging her source. The NYT doesn't fire her but instead reassigns her, after counseling, of course.
The point is, there is plenty to go around. As for Fox, I prefer to watch Cavuto and don't watch any of the op-ed crap at night on any of the cable stations where most of this crap occurs. I don't need to watch them if I want to validate my own viewpoint.
What kills me about the right, is how low of a bar they have set for space cadet bone spurs. We literally held Dog the Bounty Hunter to a higher standard than the faux president. And these idiots think it's patriotism to root as our country goes down the drain.
The difference between all of them and Fox is that they at least own up to their mistakes. When is the last time Fox made a retraction.
All of the Newspapers will be striking back against Trump on Thrusday. Omarisa doesn't like that he's trying to change the narrative by canceling Brennan's security clearance, I expected fireworks into next week when Manfort's guilt or innocence is decided.
Remember "Hands Up, Don't Shoot"? I do.
Remember Jenny Horne lying and saying she was a descendant of Jefferson Davis to remove the Confederate flag in South Carolina, and CNN never fact checked? I do.
Remember when CNN fed debate questions to Hillary's campaign before the debates? I sure do.
Remember all the rigged and fake polls declaring a major victory for Hillary? I do.
Remember when CNN doxxed a guy on Twitter for posting a mean "violent" meme about them that Trump retweeted? I do.
Remember Russia! Russia! Russia! That still hasn't gotten anywhere? Surely this is the end of Drumpf!!!!
Face it, you can call Fox "Faux Nooz" all you like. The second Trump rightfully beat CNN and MSNBC's teeth in, you liberals shat yourselves in itinerant rage. And let your true authoritarian colors show.
Newspapers don't realize what that does for Trump. It's similar to when National Review pulled the same stunt with the anti-Trump issue. It just played into his hands as he could say, see, I'm against the conservative and Republican establishment.
Now he will just say that the media is organized against him and here is proof. Well, they did organize.
They organized to rebut him and to tell the truth in unison. Shame on you and the media that let him get away with it.
Without fake news where would Donald Trump be? He's like a fireman who loves to start fires. He loves it!
Trump, not the media, is the enemy and a danger to the republic.
11:25 am You left out that a GOP candidate for President hired the firm first and that Steele has a rather impressive background in British intelligence.
You are ignoring the guilty pleas and indictments in the Russian probe as well.
I was willing to give the President the benefit of the doubt until his interview today with The Wall Street Journal where he admitted to pulling Brennan's security clearance because the " Russian hoax" investigating interference in our elections started with Brennan. That an attempt to obstruct of a legal investigation by punishing or intimidating anyone involved or supporting the investigation.
I would also remind everyone that collusion isn't a crime until there is a crime committed. That isn't as yet proven as true where the President is concerned.
But, it seems that for someone who committed no crime, the gentleman doth protest way too much! Reminds me of Richard Nixon denying he knew anything about the Watergate burglary before...only on steroids.
The media has been an enemy to We, The People and to simple normalcy every since the 24hr news cycle started.
The reason is very simple, the news became a business, instead of the free press. With that, they have to dramatize everything and create fake narratives and fake news.
It's not rocket surgery.
I know it will disappoint some of you that this is not about Trump, but here's a good example of typical CNN Fake News:
https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-clinic-responds-to-patient-story-published-by-cnn/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=sm&utm_content=post&utm_campaign=mayoclinic&geo=national&placementsite=enterprise&mc_id=us&cauid=100502&linkId=55599774
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