In “Who’s Really to Blame for Fake News: Look in the mirror, America,”(Moyers & Company, November 30, 2016) Neal Gabler suggests we have a fake news problem as the media caters to the public’s wants because people want to hear fake news and will go as far as pay for those articles. Additionally, fake news does not only rob people of the truth, but also hurts democracy. Not to mention, fake news distracts the public’s attention away from real news. This is what Gabler calls “post-truth disease” as news about fake news outweighs the truth. For instance, a Buzzfeed survey found fake news on Facebook reached more people than real news stories. To add, Buzzfeed conducted an analysis and discovered one viral left-wing fake news story as opposed to
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“This is a frail defense and a conscienceless one, like Craigslist saying it had no responsibility for ads offering child pornography,” Gabler critiques about the lack of responsibility Facebook took for the spread of fake news. Yes, Facebook should monitor hateful speech, but ultimately it is a place of connecting with others. However, that being said, I disagree with Gabler’s statement because to go as far and compare a federal offense to the spread of lying is a bit of a stretch. Moreover, Facebook is unfortunately where most people go for their news, but the company is not responsible for fact-checking the information being spread. Essentially, this makes it virtually simple for anyone to make a fake news account and share posts to anyone who has interest in the matter (democratic/republican). At the same time, Facebook users should be more aware of what a reliable source for news is and what is good political fiction. For this reason, social media and news outlets should warn users on key patterns fake news follow to prevent it from …show more content…
As he blames the American public for being too lazy to seek the truth for themselves. However, unlike Gabler, Nick Robins-Early’s article, “How to Recognize a Fake News Story: 9 helpful tips to stop yourself from sharing false information,”(The Huffington Post, November 22, 2016) he mentions plenty of valid solutions. For instance, he states how Facebook is causing the problem of spreading fake news and suggests to stop spreading them by not posting these stories where friends and family can easily be influenced. Gabler on the other hand, only mentions Facebook take more responsibility, but fails to discuss what it’s users could do. Of course, this will not stop fake news from spreading entirely, but with time, can limit how much fake news is available to people within small social circles. Another example, is to read past the headline as most of the time the headline gives the story away, but in some cases, the content in the article is fake news. This will allow readers to make a conscious decision about the entirety of the article/post and narrow down if it contains true or false information. Again, this suggestion may be able to make readers accustomed to fact-checking and being less lazy. In the case they are lazy, a simple check of when the article was written can avoid a person from thinking the news had just been
“This is a frail defense and a conscienceless one, like Craigslist saying it had no responsibility for ads offering child pornography,” Gabler critiques about the lack of responsibility Facebook took for the spread of fake news. Yes, Facebook should monitor hateful speech, but ultimately it is a place of connecting with others. However, that being said, I disagree with Gabler’s statement because to go as far and compare a federal offense to the spread of lying is a bit of a stretch. Moreover, Facebook is unfortunately where most people go for their news, but the company is not responsible for fact-checking the information being spread. Essentially, this makes it virtually simple for anyone to make a fake news account and share posts to anyone who has interest in the matter (democratic/republican). At the same time, Facebook users should be more aware of what a reliable source for news is and what is good political fiction. For this reason, social media and news outlets should warn users on key patterns fake news follow to prevent it from …show more content…
As he blames the American public for being too lazy to seek the truth for themselves. However, unlike Gabler, Nick Robins-Early’s article, “How to Recognize a Fake News Story: 9 helpful tips to stop yourself from sharing false information,”(The Huffington Post, November 22, 2016) he mentions plenty of valid solutions. For instance, he states how Facebook is causing the problem of spreading fake news and suggests to stop spreading them by not posting these stories where friends and family can easily be influenced. Gabler on the other hand, only mentions Facebook take more responsibility, but fails to discuss what it’s users could do. Of course, this will not stop fake news from spreading entirely, but with time, can limit how much fake news is available to people within small social circles. Another example, is to read past the headline as most of the time the headline gives the story away, but in some cases, the content in the article is fake news. This will allow readers to make a conscious decision about the entirety of the article/post and narrow down if it contains true or false information. Again, this suggestion may be able to make readers accustomed to fact-checking and being less lazy. In the case they are lazy, a simple check of when the article was written can avoid a person from thinking the news had just been