Recently the term Fake News has come to be used to describe news on a sliding scale, at one end a story that has no connection to reality and at the other end simply blowing up something that might be based in truth from the mole hill to mountain status. The use of the term is new but the fake news has been around forever. Without doing any research, just off of the top of my head here are some examples. The Onion in here on the internet, and there are sites that allow individuals to create their own fake news in a way that makes it look real. But, Mad magazine and the National Lampoon were doing that when I was young and I’m an old man. Lots of amusement places had the fake Front Page of a newspaper in the old days that you put your name and picture on. On the other end of the spectrum, the basis in truth but hyped up to give it undue weight, which is always the subject of much debate as one man’s “no big deal” is another man’s “this is huge!” has been around since cave paintings.
But, I told you I had news for you. I had better qualify that. Maybe you already know, but for the many out there that don’t this is for you. Media is fake. All of it. All of it, you ask? Every bit. Orson Wells used radio when he broadcast his fake news, War of the Worlds, which had people committing suicide rather than submit to an alien invasion. Wally and Beaver, June and Ward were fake. The family was fake. The problems were fake. And looking back, you see quite easily the social agenda being presented. The medium was new, and subtlety was not a strong suit. Well… actually that was a strong suit, too. Remember when Archie Bunker was cutting edge? We could spend all day naming them and what they were promoting. You see, all media gives you things from a perspective, and with a purpose. It is in those two that the producers do their work. It is what the consumers demand. It is what allows the producers the capital to produce.
As for news, I love when the “news” media tells you have to be careful in avoiding fake news. And the way they do it is jaw dropping. Dan Rather, who had to resign because of his not accidental fake news is out warning about fake news. Where would you find real news? Let me simplify. Let’s take it to Thanksgiving Dinner at your place. Ask each family member to write a report on the meal and they will all be different. Perspective and agenda will come into play. “Real news” is like “the truth”.
So, everything you see, hear, read, whatever is “fake”. The truth is what you call the truth, and real will be what you call real. What you can do is look for the perspective and agenda. When you identify that, you can at least make adjustments on the weight you give it. The same as with the families’ reports on dinner, there will be some that you can see clearly the two factors showing and maybe others where you can find little. You know who shoots pretty straight. Pretty straight. We are all human.
Finally, you are the other half of the circuit. Your desire to seek the real news or the truth will be filtered. You will filter it the way you filter, too. Perspective and agenda will be one filter you use. At dinner, after many dinners, Aunt Edie has shown to be untrustworthy-according to your perspectives and agendas over the years. Her son Eddie’s opinion of Edie is much different. Each of you will filter Edie differently. So, the more you can identify your own perspectives and agendas the more you can properly filter things on your end.
Good luck. It is harder to question than to just sit back and take at face value, but life is kind of like that.