Today almost anything we want is accessible at the drop of a hat, if you know where to look. Information is quite literally placed in the palm of our hands. With that, an extra amount of caution should be used when going over the latest news. Some people continue to make a living by sharing purposefully deceptive so-called “news” (fake news). Some of it is satire and parody, with the intent to entertain, but others have a more malicious intent or are motivated only by monetary gain.

The birth of fake news

Fake News is the newest buzzword to come out of recent elections. It further divides our already polarized society, leading people to think there is a supposedly clear line between real and fake news. But as in most things, it is never that simple.

I was finishing my degree in Mass Communications and Media Studies during the presidential election. Many of my assignments pertained to the election. Our journalism assignments were to analyze the ethics of different aspects of media coverage. A couple of the major pillars of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics are to seek truth and report it, and be observing accountability and transparency. Members are held accountable to this code. Many media outlets have their own ethics codes that they hold their employees to.

With my new degree in hand and ready to take on the world, I found this new push against the media and journalism increasingly frustrating. The skepticism towards journalists and media outlets is destroying the reputation of my profession.

With the new presence of outright “fake news,” the question that hangs in the air is whether or not what I’m reading is true. But this doubt is unwarranted for many in the case of the major news outlets. I trust that they have done their due diligence, with the processes that I know they have in place. If they make a mistake, they own up and make changes and retractions as needed under the circumstances.

The internet has made everyone a journalist. I become skeptical when people share articles from unknown blog sites, where anyone can publish their opinions, and share it as news.

My friend shared one such post on Facebook. I began to read it, and from what I had been studying in school I began to see red flags. I took some key points from the article and subjected them to a search engine. I could not find any reports or trustworthy articles supporting these points or serving as verifiable source material for the article. I alerted my friend about this, and admitted having some reservations about the piece but posted it anyway, because to her, it made sense.

This is one of the ways fake news is so easily shared. It preys on a belief that the reader may hold. Many people will only read and listen to news that they want to believe or that supports their world view. I try to read articles from sources that share a different worldview from mine. This helps me see things through others’ eyes. While I might not agree with everything they say, I can understand where they’re coming from.

In my everyday social media consumption, I have one practice that I strictly adhere to: ignoring clickbait articles. Clickbait is indicated by an outrageous headline for an article, blog post or web page that is displayed when it is linked to an outside source. The headlines are generated to increase clicks.

Clicks are then used to monetize the advertising viewed on said article. The headlines will exploit a view of the reader and sometimes the issues will never be addressed in the actual article. The comments from the original poster on social media, will many times be better for describing the article than the headlines. If I am really interested in the topic of the article I will then go and find the information from a better source.

Fake news is a frustrating phenomenon. It has made the hard work put into reporting the news by some and made it irrelevant. One can point to an article, media outlet, or journalist and cry “fake news” and it will be believed even when presented with evidence to the contrary. But I still have hope in all that is produced when it has undergone scrutiny and will stand the test of time.

Sasha Maksimik

Sasha Maksimik works as Office Manager and Jr. Graphic Designer at Amplus Agency in Fort Worth, Texas. (Living City)