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‘Fake news’ has an agenda

I have tried for months to avoid diving into the “fake news” fray. Part of that was because I had given up a little. The journalism school from which I graduated no longer exists — it is now a “college of media,” and employs professors who tell students it is OK to write stories with an agenda, and label them as news, as long as they’re reasonably certain the reader knows beforehand what the agenda will be. It tells students who want to be journalists that, instead, they should be “thought leaders.”

So I plugged away, knowing I and the fantastic reporters here at The News and Sentinel do our best to genuinely present an unbiased report of the facts, with input from multiple sides of a story, so readers can trust us and make their own decisions about the information presented. Of course, I’m not talking about what is printed on the opinion pages, here. That is another matter entirely — and we label it accordingly.

A link I saw being shared on social media the other day finally broke me. I had to take off the blinders for a moment and acknowledge this is a problem worth fighting. The item was shared on social media by an organization called “March Against Monsanto,” with the addition “If you know anyone who still doesn’t believe that vaccines and their additives are capable of causing harm, you need to show them this article.” Astute readers SHOULD be able to figure out what the group is hoping you will believe upon reading it.

Actually, I should not limit that to “readers.” What passes for news from some of the big names these days is really entertainment, packaged for people who tend to lean one way or another politically. A glance at the Fox News home page and the CNN home page on the same news day can sometimes give the impression that the reporters and web designers involved are talking about two different presidencies. Conservatives and liberals alike can find a media outlet that provides the news in a way that supports their own belief system — and encourages them to believe viewers of the competition are just plain wrong, or at least, not very smart.

Social media feeds rely on formulas that show you what they think you want to see, based on items you have already viewed. If Facebook thinks you want to see items geared toward a particular special interest, you will see it, you will likely click some more on similar items, and the cycle will feed itself as your perspective narrows — if you let it.

I can pick apart far too much of what I see shared as undisputed fact these days. But, I understand the temptation to seek out sources of information that appear to support one’s own conclusions and beliefs. That it is why it is so important for genuine news organization to avoid the tactics exemplified by agenda-fueled outlets. And, that is why it is important to use a little discretion in sharing — though, again, if you are sharing an item that echoes your own positions, I can certainly understand it. Next week, I will delve deeper into the item I began to describe above, and show you how the writers and presenters of such material do what they do.

Meanwhile, we will continue here at The News and Sentinel, and many other small newspapers across the country, to write the WHOLE story. You can count on it.

Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com

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