Technologies have made it possible for information to be shared all over the planet in a matter of seconds. Information that can be faulty, edited or purposely misleading. The fact checking and the critical receiving of the information has become even more crucial than ever. There are now an even growing movement that doesn’t believe in information from sources that are (or have been) mostly thought of as being trustworthy. What does this mean?
I see that the first thing people seem to trust is their “gut” or “instinct”, but that is wrong to begin with as many of the issues are different than odds, history or the readers own experiences dictate. The second problem I think people usually have is bias. Most people consume medias that go with the person\’s point of views, experiences and values. For example, a Hillary Clinton supporter most likely reads more headlines supporting Hillary than those that oppose her. Thirdly, there are so much information available that the “truth” gets mixed up with other information.
This is a dangerous issue, as people start gathering in groups and once they are in, a group mentality grows. People like to hang around with similar people and when the group decides that Fox News is more reliable than CNN, it could be very difficult to be the one who is different. I would think this goes on to attack the free press, such as the killing of reporters who won’t write as “they should”. Censorship is not the answer, quite the opposite!
People need to have information that they can trust, but people also need to understand that even though something looks like a scientific study, it could very well be a company sponsored study that is made by twisting the truth to fit into the companies’ agenda – there have been examples in the medical sector that show what could happen.
There is no easy answer, as people have the right to their opinions. But there are also things that are definitely wrong and could be corrected: the people in power (politicians, government officials, news corporations, etc.) shouldn’t be able to use information without proper sources – this is very basic, but when you see the president of the United States lying, it becomes all right for others to do it as well.
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