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What to Make of the "News"
Is it real, simply inaccurate, or fake.
March 2020
A
strength of today’s technology driven world is the
wealth of information provided via news organizations,
social media outlets, blogs, various opinion pieces and
other “informative” web sites. While most of this
"news" is generally accurate, unfortunately much of
what is available can fall into a miss-leading, false
(inaccurate), fake (deliberately inaccurate) or opinion
(possibly inaccurate) category. And we may unwittingly
may exacerbate the problem by first noting the shocking
and nearly unbelievable stories, and then by making them
available our friends and others by using social media.
While it’s in our nature to be trusting and to want to be noticed, and
alerting others to the unusual appears to make us
special, this very act gives unreliable information
some credibility and results in further spreading.
News
organizations can play a somewhat subtle but powerful
role in the reader understanding of news stories, not
just in the way the story is written, but simply by how
the story headline is worded. Too many of us are rushed
for time, and spend too much noting headlines without
reading the story. The result can be a slanted
viewpoint of the core story, instead of a neutral
viewpoint. It sometimes seems that virtually all news
organizations fail to consistently provide a simple,
unbiased lead to their stories. This is understandable
as they want to draw attention to the story and spicing
the lead up a little can entice the reader to read the
story.
This
simply means we must be ever vigilant in sourcing and
evaluating our news. Be aware that the writer may be
attempting to draw attention to the article, may have a
bias, or he may be misinterpreting the information.
Viewing the story from multiple outlets can be very
informative, and should yield the basic facts as well as
bias or distortion on the part of certain writers or
outlets. It must be up to the reader to first be
aware of possible reporting bias, errors or omissions
(both deliberate and unintended), and to then evaluate
and come to his own conclusions.
Another significant factor in all this is you, the
reader. We all have our opinions and biases, and seek
to reinforce those feeling through something known as
confirmation bias. We tend to seek out and read stories
that validate our feelings, and tend to ignore those
stories that challenge our views. It’s important to be
aware of our biases and tendencies, and to always try to
see both sides of the issues at hand. Almost by
definition we have to believe our opinions are true, or
at least are most likely to be true, but in the end we
are all human and are the product of our experiences.
Keeping a corner of our mind aware of and open to other
ideas is a hallmark of exceptional analytic skills.
We
have to have the ability to react to the latest facts
and information be willing to change our views, but we
must maintain the ability to objectively evaluate the
news and opinions presented to us. Over time we will
develop strong feelings about certain subjects, but as
to saying goes “never say never, and never say always”.
We do note that
many current news outlets are quite reliable, although
its not uncommon for an editorial bias to creep in.
Being aware of where different sources fall in the
reporting and leaning spectrum is critical to evaluating
the news. I could list currently reliable and
unreliable sources, but that list is likely to change
over time and it thus a moving target. The message
is to keep an open mind and always be cautiously
skeptical of news stories, and when in doubt seek
corroboration.
A
final message to those in education, our children must
be able to evaluate the myriad of news and information
sources that are currently available, as well as those
that will undoubtedly evolve over time. Please make
thoughtful information processing a priority in the
education curriculum throughout a child’s development,
then future generations will feed off the important
stories and fend off the alternative stories.
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