“Fake News”.
You mean like, “Dewey Defeats Truman”? (Chicago Tribune 1948)
Or “Hands up, Don’t Shoot”? (all network TV outlets, 2014)
Or maybe, the scary “Another Ice Age” (Time 1974)
How about the story about the hot air balloonist who crossed the Atlantic in 3 days in 1844 reported by the New York Sun?
I remember Dan Rather waxing eloquent in 1991 about how the US Military could not win (Operation Desert Storm) against Saddam Hussein’s “battle hardened warriors”. It took all of 100 hours to annihilate the “elite Republican Guard”.
I heard a caller last night on a radio program advocating for Congress to pass a law requiring journalists to “give only the facts”. That was supposedly a “conservative” caller. He echoed Hillary’s call for Congress to act against the “epidemic of ‘fake news'”.
First of all, any such law would be un-Constitutional according to the 1st Amendment. Second, do we really want a “Bureau of Media” policing the content of newspapers, TV, and internet news sources?
Oh, I agree, there is a lot of BS out here in cyber-world, and one must be eternally vigilant when “reposting” or passing on “news” or other opinion/editorial information. Little aggravates me more than really smart people passing on “fake news” that comes off some parody or satire site, thinking it is valid. I don’t often post these sites, for this reason, but I have done it on occasion, if particularly entertaining, with a “disclaimer” comment, and have still had well meaning folks comment as if it were a true article.
There has been “fake news”, “false stories”, or “hoaxes” since Gutenburg invented the printing press (I imagine; don’t quote me on that – it’s just a figure of speech!). Let’s all “take a chill pill” here and breathe deeply for a few days and consider the risk of a “Free Press” as opposed to a restricted State run media (something like PBS, or Prada).
No, Hillary, “fake news” did not cost you the election, but you can help the President push the “fake news” narrative that Russia hacked our polling places. In fact, I would venture a statement here that Donald Trump did not even cost you the election… The President’s policies, your failure as Sec of State, the Democrat National Committee, the Republican National Committee, and an establishment controlled Congress, along with a very friendly media complex, all cost you the election. Donald Trump is not a creation of redneck America; He is a creation of “Establishment Failure”. That establishment includes the “Media Complex”.
However corrupt that media complex may be, restriction of the internet, media police, state approved networks, or whatever other enemies of free speech may be presented, cannot be considered as the answer. Free speech restricted is not free speech at all. On the other hand, freedom requires responsibility; something not many in today’s society are willing to bear. But responsibility lies not only on the writer, reporter, editor, but responsibility must also be borne by the reader, listener, the consumer and user of the information provided.
In this little essay you will find facts along with some opinion; some immutable truth and objective reporting woven throughout some subjective editorializing.
So you decide: “Fake News” or worthy of a “Share”.
Frankly, I do not care what you think. I have just exercised my God given freedom of speech as enumerated in the 1st Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America!
