Two Reasons Fake News Is Good For Society

1729 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Propaganda being potrayed by media

Dominique Nguyen Professor Olson EWRT 2 March 23, 2017 (Insert creative title here) Within the past couple of months, fake news has begun to emerge as a significant issue within our society. I have become aware of this due to my active presence online. Whenever I am scrolling on my Facebook feed or perusing through my Twitter log, I constantly see articles with over tens to hundreds of thousands of views being shared/retweeted. However, at least half of the articles end up being “clickbait” or entirely false, which can be extremely misleading and is one of the main catalysts as to how misinformation is spread. The most absurd aspect is that many people end up believing the fake news, easily influencing their thoughts and actions. Fake news …show more content…

He claims that fake news allows us to appreciate “good quality accurate news” and causes people to become “more skeptical of what we’re told” in his article “Two Reasons Fake News Is Good for Society.” However, his argument is invalid in the sense that inaccurate news does more harm than good, for instance, the A Dog’s Purpose incident and the pizzeria shooting. McGregor seems to be trying to get society to perceive the pros that can be taken away from fake news. Additionally, there are a few cases in which fake news can positively influence the mass, such as when it was used as propaganda during World War I and II. The British government subsidized the Overseas News Agency (ONA) to “feed manufactured stories, often couched within factual material, about German atrocities...and Hitler’s threats against the Americas, to its New Jersey Radio Station, which tagged them with the news agency label.” The British’s intention was to turn the American “population against Germany” so the U.S. would join the war and side with the British. As months progressed, the United States eventually did join the war. This demonstrates that fake news can have a positive impact on the mass. However, this could have not gone as planned and could have upset the Germans even more, making matters

Show More
Related

  • The Story That Got Away Summary

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another reason why people, especially publishers, might find fake news appealing is from the amount of money they can earn from something that is not true. In the first article, it states, “When you click or share a story, the person or company that created the site gets money. This money comes from advertisers who pay sites based on the number of views their ads get. That’s the point of shocking or outrageous headlines: to get you to click,” (Lewis, 11). This means that, for every outrageous news story that is clicked on, whether it is real or fake, it gets a lot of money. Anyone can become rich from starting a fake news business, and that is what many find appealing about the business. All in all, whether it be the thrill of telling a story, or doing it for the money, there are always people who are interested in the fake news

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Brooke Gladstone's The Influencing Machine

    871 Words  | 2 Pages

    In The Influencing Machine, Gladstone argues that the media focuses on putting out news that remotely threatens viewers. In the text she states, “emphasizing bad news is good business…world [seems] more dangerous…actually is.” It is good business considering that it keeps the audience on their toes and makes them think about what is going on. When you visit news sites or look at news stations

    Read More

  • Corruption and Bias in Media

    1072 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyday people around the globe watch countless hours of television. Many of these hours consist of fictional entertainment shows that have no bearing on the outside world. Although many people do watch local news networks, most of these stories do not effect people around the globe. Only a few networks such as The Cable News Network (CNN) and Fox News are around the clock news networks. These networks are able to pick and choose the information in which they make available to the public and spin the stories to form a bias of the people. Many times this is done without viewers knowledge as they do not have time to check other news sources to back the information up. News broadcasts benefit the public in that they are able to relay information and make it easily available to the public. These stories are then able to help combat corruption, as viewers are then able to use their voices to take action. However some news outlets misinform people by giving out wrong information, as well as twisting the facts to create a biased viewer.

    Read More

  • Informing America: 'Fake' News Programs

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his essay, “The Good, The Bad, and The Daily Show,” Jason Zinser explores the vices and virtues of so-called “fake” news programs. “Fake” news, as Zinser explains, are those programs that blend newsworthy events with comedy. By examining The Daily Show, Zinser reveals both positive and negative impacts that “fake” news could have on society. As a result, Zinser concludes that there are benefits as well as potential problems with “fake” news programs but insists that the true challenge is determining the net impact on society. The essay, which first appeared in The Daily Show and Philosophy: Moments of Zen and the Art of Fake News in 2007, challenges experts on both sides of the argument who either claim fake news is for entertainment only or that fake news is an acceptable source for information on current events. On one hand, Zinser uses expert testimonies to support his argument that the end result is a better informed public but on the other, he makes logical arguments enhanced by examples to illustrate the potential impacts “fake” news can have on its viewers and mainstream media.

    Read More

  • Fahrenheit 451 Propaganda Analysis

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    Media platforms like television and radio primarily spread propaganda created by the government. Citizens spend a lot of time watching television or listening to the radio and it’s a big part of their life. Almost everyone in the city owns a television or radio and believes things they see and hear from them. Montag escapes the police, but the T.V. chase is still playing out because they don’t want people to know that they let a fugitive get away. They found an innocent man on the street, labeled him as Montag, then killed him on the broadcast. “‘They’re faking. You threw them off at the river. They can’t admit it. They know they can hold their audience only so long. The show’s got to have a snap ending, quick!’... ‘The innocent man stood bewildered’… ‘The victim was seized by Hound and camera in a great spidering, clenching grip’” -Granger (Bradsbury 142). Media propaganda is so powerful today because everyone is susceptible to it. The press (newspapers, magazines, and T.V.) uses their tactics to shape people’s opinions. According to Johnnie Manzaria, the press is important because the most current news and info is spread through them everyday. People can believe anything the media says, because they have a popular opinion or reputation. Even if they spread propaganda, some people will inevitably believe it because “the news said so”, and is a very influential resource ("Media's Use of Propaganda to Persuade

    Read More

  • Fox News Bias

    847 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fox news has been known to have controversies on whether or not they can be trusted, and where they stand in certain situations, stirring many articles and researchers to determine their reliability. It has been researched that approximately sixty percent of all “facts” reported by Fox news are false (Mintpress News Desk). The Network has become one of the biggest sources that lie to the public, beating numbers even from CNN and MSNBC. A poll from the Pew Research Center Project for Excellence in Journalism was determining the percentage of commentary/opinion and factual reporting for three different news groups: Fox, CNN, and MSNBC. Fox news has been shown to be forty-five percent factual reporting, but fifty-five

    Read More

  • Sheila Gribben Liaugminas How The Media Twist The News Bias

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through manipulation and lies, media manages to modify objective news into biased news in order to convince the public of what the media wants them to believe. The article, “How the Media Twist the News”, by Sheila Gribben Liaugminas discusses the major influence that news has on readers based on their choice of stories and words. “How the Media Twists the News” has borrowed from multiple other texts such as the books like Public Opinion and Liberty and News, news magazine writers such as Ruderman, and news networks like CBS through Bias, A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News and CNN to make her arguments valid and prove that the news is biased and that it does influence readers significantly because of it.

    Read More

  • The Mandela Effect Asma Summary

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    One cure that can be administered by teachers is too simple to provide more information on the subject at hand. Another cure may be to add more sources, therefore, reducing the psychological malfunctions that filters out much of the information by source instead of by integrity (NPR “Fake or Real”). Eli Pariser describes this best “filter bubbles”, in this Ted Talk and states that “lives are being insulated from an opposing viewpoint” that shelter us from alternative opinions. He explains. “Some of these problems that our fellow citizens are having kind of disappear from view without our really even realizing”. The invention of fake news has exposed a much deeper problem that he called a “crisis of authority” (Pariser). When people’s belief systems are hindered in a way that secludes information, as in places such as North Korea, they become hard to correct. Having no alternatives. Most will follow what is being said as truth. Also being stuck in the “information bubbles” online many will not see the true information needed to form an accurate argument (NPR “Fake or Real”). From stories of bad sources and fake news to conspiracies and psychological retraining nothing seems to be worse than just outright deception. This is explained by author Eli Pariser and he lends even more insight to this problem in the Ted Talk, “filter bubbles”, in this

    Read More

  • Fake News In 1984

    394 Words  | 1 Pages

    An example from “60 minutes” is “Bots”. “Bots” is a program where you pay a price and multiple fake social media accounts will be created. These accounts will not only read the articles, but also share, like, and retweet the posts. As a result of this the articles will become more popular and people will be more interested in reading them due to its popularity. As a matter of fact, it was “Bots” that made the article about Clinton’s health go viral. As a conclusion “Fake news” relates to the world of 1984 because the separation of the powers are similar in today's world and in 1984. “Fake news” make the people aware of the actions that take place and make them aware of the decisions that are being made, which might have negative consequences. The reason to why the president does not like “Fake news” is because the reality is no longer hidden from the

    Read More

  • Importance Of Spot Fake News

    755 Words  | 2 Pages

    1 If I had to help somebody spot fake news, I would tell him/her to consider and investigate a number of things in the story. The characteristics of a fake news article include too many exclamation marks, an unnamed author, written in capital letters and misspelled, starts with appeals such as “This is NOT a hoax!”; having links to sources which are a complete contradiction and do not support the statements being made (Kiely & Robertson, 2016). In order to identify news as fake, it is important for the reader to have fact-checking and critical thinking skills.

    Read More

  • Media Bias Problem In America

    495 Words  | 1 Pages

    From politics to weather, anyone who works for news media knows that they have to be unbiased on the information they report to millions of Americans. As citizens with little free time,we have no choice but to trust what information is given in newspapers, radios and televisions. However, only 4 out of every 10 Americans say they truly believe what their news channel televise, a historical low in America. News channels, especially in the big corporations, are being corrupted with prejudice information, imbalance of news coverage, and distorted stories.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Accuracy in Journalism

    1913 Words  | 4 Pages

    The introduction of the internet to modern society has brought about a new age of information relation. Since there is no longer a need to wait until the next print day, news from all over the world is available at a person’s fingertips within hours or even minutes of the event. With this advent of such easily accessible information, new problems for the news media have also arisen. Aside from potentially losing good economic standing because newspapers are no longer being purchased in the quantities they used to be, the credibility of the information itself is also put into question. No one would argue that credibility of news sources is unimportant, but there is a discrepancy in what takes precedence; economy and speed or getting the information out correctly at the first publishing by taking the time to make sure all facts are checked. The importance of having a system of checks on all information submitted is paramount. People trust what they read and believe it to be so without always questioning. If all information were to not be checked thoroughly, there would be instances where people read an article only for information included to be wrong and they go on believing such information. This can be very dangerous as misinformed people make misinformed decisions. With an increase in errors being made by citizen bloggers and even major publications, many are worried that journalistic ethics and credibility in the news media are being sacrificed in order to maintain swiftness in the news circuit and to retain personal profits. Though getting information to the masses quickly is a major part of the media’s importance, this should not mean that the credibility of that information being presented should be sacrificed for it...

    Read More

  • Keeping Society Informed with Journalism

    1979 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...d them, a functioning society is formed. Citizens have the right to be informed on everything that goes on and this is achieved with the help of journalists. It would be chaotic if people weren’t aware of national occurrences and they wouldn’t be able to work together to resolve an issue. Journalism provides the public with a sort of structure that allows people to combine their knowledge and help society progress. Being the most diverse and free country in the world, America sets a great example for the rest of humanity. People aren’t afraid to speak their mind and express their thoughts with thanks to journalism. It’s important for every citizen to be treated equally and feel like they’re included within the whole of the nation. If there was no journalism, the world would be completely different than it is currently and society would be lacking in strength.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay About Fake News

    1503 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fake News is constantly being written, permeating through television broadcasts, internet sites, and magazine articles. It seems that the amount of false news in the world is starting to overtake the amount of genuine information. This is indeed a problem, but not as much as people make it out to be. This is for a few reasons. Fake news is much like bacteria, there are both beneficial and harmful types of fake news. Beneficial fake news is usually

    Read More

  • The Powerful Effect of Fake News

    2875 Words  | 6 Pages

    Wolper, Allan. “Ethics Corner: Did Critical Media Send Dean Packing?” Editor & Publisher March 2004: 25.

    Read More

More about Two Reasons Fake News Is Good For Society

Open Document