Social media/the internet + hyperpartisanship = a lot of inaccurate and unattributable thoughts masquerading as news. What can be done to make what we see/read/experience online more trustworthy and verifiable?
When it comes to any issue in our society, especially politics, people have very passionate but differing views. These differences of opinions can lead to massive political polarization or hyperpartisanship within our local communities, regionally, and more seriously, on the national level. One of the most common forms of expressing one’s opinion in today’s age is through social media platforms. Networks that used to be neutral sources of fact are now emotionally charged and followed by viewers who passionately agree with the presented network biases. Because of this, it can be very easy to skew data or headlines to seem more appealing to audiences when in fact, they may not be as accurate or attributive to the issues at hand. This is an issue that is shared globally and one that many are trying to solve without success. By better educating the public on these biases, and working with the oppositional parties to place restrictions on media opinion, not only would the United States be able to reunite, but also to redeem the trust that has previously been lost in the media and news.
One of the most momentous issues within media biases is the fact that people willingly believe them. Many people don’t even understand that the sources they use for everyday news have any political biases, and in many cases these biases can be difficult to spot objectively. Platforms such as Fox News, CNN, or MSNBC are openly biased when it comes to politics, but in other forms such as newspapers, magazines, and other televised media events, the biases are more subtle. The media can create biases within headlines by merely wording a phrase in alternate manners. People see these headlines and don’t think twice about the wording, or whether they’re necessarily true and many times, don’t even bother to read further than the headlines to find out what the story actually contains. This issue can be solved in a. Simple manner; educate the American people on these subtle biases and give them alternate sources that are more reliable and based upon facts. One example of an alternate source would be BBC which is very politically unbiased when it comes to the U.S because why would they have opinions or biases on foreign political issues? It affects them in no way whatsoever. If people stop paying attention to the biases and ridiculous headlines advertised by media networks, the media will realize that the people much prefer facts and will revert to a more factually based newscast.
In a more restricted approach to this issue, a solution could be proposed in restriction of certain media outlets so that the people have at least one trustable source. If social reform can not rid this bias in the media then the government should take control and do it for us. If a restriction were to be placed on media networks that stated that networks were to state only the facts of the matter instead of placing personal opinion or bias upon them, the issue would be solved. Yes, conservative networks would still choose to cover stories that more benefit their parties and the same would go for the liberal agenda however, at least the people would know they were getting factual evidence instead of personal statements that don’t accurately represent the political crises at hand. An issue with this particular strategy would be the backlash of the American people who particularly like to read stories that agree with their personal opinions, no matter how biased or inaccurate stories may be. To solve this, designate or create one singular newscast or media platform that is solely to state the facts of the matter. This would be the platform shown in airports and gas stations where large groups of people would congregate or overhear political issues.
While there is no exact science or perfected policies to be set in place to fully prevent the biases of the news and media, it is important that the people have trust in their news sources. This begins with an education of the personal opinions presented as facts within newscasts and a personal awareness of how to recognize subtle biases within stories or headlines. If this social reform is not sufficient, the government should step in to protect the public from the dangers of misinformation and inaccurate coverage. Untrustworthy news should not be an issue with which we should be concerned in this day and age but unfortunately it is. Unfortunately, platforms have turned from factual standpoints to posting headlines that will merely attract the most readers instead of summarizing the reality of the story’s contents. In the end, it comes down to the american people. The only way to prevent this from progressing further is to refuse to give power to the media. If we can stop buying into the biases, they will have to reform in order to maintain an audience. If we stop listening, the biases will have no power and fact will return as the most prominent type of news in the United States.
