Cranke Note: This article was originally posted on January 27, 2017 on my personal Facebook page. After yesterday’s events in Annapolis, Maryland, I couldn’t get this article out of my head. Sadly, this article seems more relevant today than it did 17 months ago. I have also added the most current media bias tracking graph at the bottom, updating the original I used in the article. I hope you enjoy.
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When I was a kid, my family would annually attend the Tulsa State Fair. We would ride the rides, of course, but my mother loved to walk through the exhibit halls checking out the vendors and booths inside. All three local news stations would have booths (yes, there were only three back then) and many of their reporters and on-air talent would be there. As a child, it was probably the first introduction to “celebrity” I had experienced; these people were stars, in my eyes. They were on television every day. They greeted fans and even signed photos to give away to fans. My parents would occasionally talk to them about current events and local issues, but I was just excited to get a signed photo. For anyone else close to my age who lived in the Tulsa area, the biggest prize was getting a customized drawing of Gusty from famed weather man Don Woods.
Along with the local news reporters being “famous” in my eyes, I’m pretty sure I was the only kid in my circle of friends who really enjoyed watching Walter Cronkite. It may have been because I used to do a great impersonation of Cronkite in my younger days, but I, like many in the country, also admired and respected Cronkite as a journalist. I, more than likely, would have flipped out if I had ever seen him at the Fair In my youth.
Fast-forward 30 years or so, it seems that respect for journalism and reporters has waned. More accurately, it seems to have all but disappeared. Every news story that is posted online is attacked for being biased, inflammatory or, in recent months, “fake news.” I haven’t been to the State Fair in years, but I imagine the reporters that are assigned to attend the booths (if they even still do this) are almost afraid to meet the general public. I know people on the Facebook comment section feel like the incredible Hulk on their keyboard but are probably more like Bruce Banner in real life, but still these reporters likely do not enjoy going to these public forums as much as they used to.
Journalists are simply doing their job when they report the news every day. Almost all of them, as long as they are on a reputable outlet, are college educated. They went to school for a degree in a field for which they have true passion. If you are writing for a major newspaper or appearing on-air for a long-established news source, whether it be local news or national cable outlets, you have spent years honing your craft because you love journalism and the benefits that it provides to our country. A journalistic job is not something you “fall back” into; you work hard to reach one of those coveted positions. And if you don’t think it is an important job and privilege of the American people, just ask yourself why Freedom of the Press was written into the First Amendment more than 300 years ago. It’s still important today.
But now, “fake news” is the new rally cry of a republic that is forming in front of our very eyes. It’s a movement that began about 9 years ago and the “birther” controversy, but over the last several months it has gained momentum — a lot of momentum. The day before the election, I wrote a long rant about this same topic which included this: “What scares me about this election is that fear won’t subside on Tuesday night, regardless who is elected. The divisiveness will continue after the election. In my opinion, it will only get worse, if that is even possible. That is the problem. That is scary.” Sadly, it appears I was right.
In just a few short months, that division has widened exponentially. I didn’t realize how far it had widened until Thursday night. The screen capture below was an actual comment on a Facebook thread. In it, the commenter is supporting the flagrantly false news the original poster is spreading about how approximately 2.8 million non-citizens voted in the 2008 Presidential election. The commenter says “They invent facts and then call the truth ‘alternative facts’.” Are you serious?
Let me remind you where the term “alternative facts” came from. It was created by Kelly Ann Conway when she tried to defend White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and the blatant lies he told the American people about Donald Trump’s inauguration crowd size at his very first press briefing Saturday. Instead of saying the numbers Spicer listed were incorrect and it was a mistake to make those claims, Conway said Spicer was using “alternative facts.” First off, there is no such thing as alternative facts; those are called lies. Secondly, defending lies by calling them something else is not healthy for this country nor its people. Lastly, the new White House Press Secretary used his very first introduction to the American public to not only defend the obviously fragile ego of our new President, but to lie to fire up his supporters, to only be defended the next day by another high-level White House representative.
This should be fairly easy to understand, but I’ll say it anyway: facts are facts, period. “Alternative facts” are an illusion fabricated by a group of the most talented magicians to deceive us all, the American public. I, for one, will not be fooled, but the screenshot below tells me that many of you will. That commenter truly believes what he is saying and that is sad, disappointing and ultimately scary. Check your news sources before posting something that is potentially a blatant lie. If someone informs you that it is false, and provides facts to back up their claim, investigate it yourself and have a constructive debate about it. Don’t just call them a “snowflake” and move on while huffing your chest out behind your computer. I have also included a convenient chart below to help track some of the most popular news sites online. For a more complete list, check out www.fakenewschecker.com. I hope this helps.
If so many people in this country can’t tell the difference between real news and “fake news,” then we are all in real trouble, folks. Do not attack people for their beliefs, but don’t let “alternative facts” take over. Again, this isn’t going to change anytime soon and “fake news” will continue to spill onto the Internet for years to come, but learn to tell the difference and stop spreading the ignorance. For those of you not keeping track, several of these “news” sites are lying to you, Kelly Ann Conway is lying to you, Sean Spicer is lying to you, and, in another unprecedented move, your President is lying to you. You don’t have to believe it and you absolutely don’t have to support it. Stay safe out there, everyone, and above all, stay kind.
