Trusting & Verifying News and Sources

In case you hadn’t noticed, there’s been a lot going on lately. From the global pandemic that continues to result in routinely changing protocols, to a nation reckoning with systemic injustice, to online platforms wrestling with the negative power of hate speech – it’s been a lot, not to mention the highly polarized politicism of all of the above.

 And with all of that to consider, chances are you’ve been watching the news unfold a little more closely these days. So where do you get your news? Many of us have experienced a shift in our news consumption, at least in part, from print and TV to online and social media over the past years. However, research from Reuters Institute points to an overall bump in news consumption on every channel lately, with online and TV traffic specifically surging.

Not only is there heightened news consumption, but there’s a notable mistrust of news outlets in general, especially with brands that are known to be polarizing – 

·       41% surveyed said they don’t trust Fox News

·       37% surveyed said they don’t trust CNN

·       35% surveyed said they don’t trust BuzzFeed

·       34% surveyed said they don’t trust NBC

But closer to home, the numbers look a little better, with only 17% of individuals surveyed saying they don’t trust local TV news. And then there’s social media….According to Forbes, when it comes to Coronavirus, 50% of people surveyed said they trust what they see on social media. Forbes noted, “trusting social media is not necessarily a bad thing, as Facebook and Twitter posts can reference fact-based studies, surveys, or reports. Many, however, tend to cite no sources at all, or else a dodgy YouTube video featuring a plausible-sounding but ultimately unverified “expert” who jumps to unwarranted conclusions effortlessly and frequently.”

So the real question might be – do you trust your Facebook friends and LinkedIn connections to share credible news? It’s not that these platforms can’t provide credible information, but with their crowdsourced nature and lack of fact-checking safeguards, it really all comes down to who is in your crowd and how much you trust their credibility. If social media is where you get majority of your news, then you must become your own fact checker. Whether you’re reading news shared by others or sharing it yourself, it’s up to you to go to the source and determine whether it’s credible or not. And one more thing –– don’t fall into the all-too-common ‘headline only’ game. Headlines can be highly misleading. Whatever you do, don’t get your news from headlines only and fail to read the article itself. Headlines are crafted to quickly capture your attention, so they typically have a lot more drama than substance. 

Only you can prevent the spread of fake news. Post, share and read responsibly.