March 24, 2018There’s a new “F-word,” and
that word is “fake.”
I am talking about the term “fake news,” which, since 2016, has been the way for
people of prominence to direct attention away from their mistakes,
lies, or flat-out corruption.
For instance, when New Your Times
reporters, including David Barstow, Mike McIntire, Patricia Cohen and Russ Buettner, printed reports with data, names, places, and interviews detailing Donald
Trump cheating on his taxes. Trump could have easily prove the reports true or false by
simply releasing his business tax reports, as other politicians have done, but chooses not to and instead can only
declare, “That’s fake news!”
Oh, what fabulously sweet victory it
would be for the Trump to prove the reports false. But stating "Fake
news!" is the only thing he can do.
It has been pretty
effective, I'm sorry to say.
The President and a few other
politicians have done the "Fake news!" thing so much and so often that the responsible news medias have a
"credibility complex" it has to deal with, according to a report from one
of my online journalism feeds I follow. The credibility the news media is dealing with is due in most to the politicians bleating "Fake
news!"
Here is a simple way I explain to non-journalist how to identify if a news source is commonly reports falsehoods: If your favorite news source has never made a correction or a clarification, they are a source of falsehoods and fake news. You see, even the best news sources sometimes make a mistake, and reliable, fact-checking news sources are quick to publicly correct them. Doing so guards and even fortifies their credibility. Fake news sources, however, don't correct mistakes or false information because, ironically, that would damage their credibility to the kind of audience they seek.
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Update April 2024
"Fake news!" is out. "Political scam!" and "Witch hunt!" are in when someone can't produce evidence to defend themselves against allegations and investigations.
