EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT .........ON FACEBOOK ? --------- By Claire Wright Stanard

Isn’t it amazing how relevant something we were taught in high school has become today!  Remember footnotes and bibliographies and citations when writing term papers?  A student could get suspended from school for failing to cite resources, plagiarizing, or representing erroneous information as fact in research reports. As irrelevant as it all seemed years ago, today we search in vain for sourcing and long for reference integrity when assessing articles online or listening to cable news pundits.

Today’s online postings are basically anonymous as to where they come from and how they arrived on our screens.  China, Russia, robots, extremists, political PACs, or targeted trolling, they all have one thing in common – propaganda.  For those who did not live through the Cold War 75 years ago, propaganda is “the deliberate spreading of fabricated ideas, facts, and allegations to further one’s cause or damage an opposing cause.”  Oppressive regimes control their citizens through dispersing propaganda. Social media is blasted with it every day, but we have no way to recognize the difference between propaganda and factual accounts.  And guess what?  Everything on Fox News or MSNBC or even CNN is NOT factual news; most are biased news entertainment opinion shows meant to influence the viewer’s thinking.  No one is monitoring T.V., cable news programs, internet, or subscription streaming services in regard to the veracity of the content.  Obscenity, indecency, and profanity on licensed T.V. broadcasting are the only elements of content regulated by the FCC.

Since there are no government agencies monitoring/verifying the credibility of news information and no regulations mandating referencing sources, then how do consumers differentiate?  Psychologists agree that most people will instantly believe something is true-in-fact if it aligns with their point of view. This is a global issue which our laws have yet to address. While our system requires licensing to be a dental hygienist, a sociologist, a plumber, a stock broker, and other professions which must guarantee reliability, the journalist world is a free for all. Anyone can create what appears to be a professional news article and post it as truth, even if it is actually a fictionalized conspiracy theory. And, anyone can appear on our screens claiming to be an expert with no publicized credentials and present their opinions as verified facts. Today, the most credible news source is the cell phone video, as demonstrated by the George Floyd murder.

How can we assure accountability on social media platforms and news entertainment shows?  While newspaper print journalism has historically been a self-disciplined profession adhering to universal standards, there are no criteria for identifying oneself as a ‘journalist’ today. Media outlets assume no responsibility for the content:  Facebook claims it is nothing but an open streaming site and hides behind the First Amendment in order to push propaganda for profit; cable entertainment intentionally misleads by presenting provocative opinions as real news and representing their pundits as credible journalists; and, the instant nature of news today makes verifying facts a lengthy, unprofitable process.  We must find a middle ground between censorship and responsible fact checking in countering the confusing and influential power of the open mic nature of news today.  Believe it or not, many people believe anything they read on Facebook or hear on cable news must be the truth, or it wouldn’t be allowed to be publicized on these platforms.  

I want to know where the writer or pundit obtained the information they are reporting?   Would you buy a home without a clean title?  Would you buy an antique without verifying its provenance?  Would you buy a car without checking CarFax? Would you use a surgeon or doctor without a license or documented credentials?  With the endless abilities of the tech world to create apps and algorithms for every need, why hasn’t anyone created a fact checking application called TruFax which could be clicked on while reading an online article (like we apply Spell Check) or while listening to a cable news station pundit (like Shazam identifies songs).  Just an idea!