Misleading News Source

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Misleading News Source

News networks are the closest and easiest way that the public often gets access to information. It is through the news network that we are able to know what is happening around the globe, the government projects. Aside from reporting what is happening, the media is an important tool in helping keep the check and balances of the government. When people news articles 90% of the population will often believe in the news piece. This is because most have put their trust to the journalist to get all the information out there, verify it before printing it. However, in the recent years especially in the 21st century there has been an increase in the number of news that are not entirely true. The sad part is some of these news sources come from reliable news networks such as the CNN or the Network times. When such mistakes are made, the public is left wondering how could such news article undergo approval from the editorial team to printing.

ABC News fell victim of reporting false news. In 2017, one of the ABC reporters reported that Michael Flynn who was a former White House official who had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI officials would testify against president Trump on the issue of Russia. NBC wrote a news article that cited a single anonymous source saying that Flynn would testify that he had made offers to the Russian ambassador to Trump while the presidential campaigns were underway. However, the network would later backtrack stating that Flynn worked on Trump’s orders to approach the Russians but it was after the election and the meeting was to repair the United States and Russian ties as well as to come up with ways in which the two countries would be able to fight ISIS (David, 2017). By the time the correction was being made, the damage had already been done. There was scare that the stock would crash and people were also getting worked up that President Trump had colluded with Russian government to sabotage the election.

During the 2016 presidential election, there were unfounded reports that were going around on President trump and coalition with the Russians. The CNN run a story that linked one close ally to President Trump Anthony Scaramucci who was a Wall Street Financier had met with people who were close to the President of Russia Vladimir Putin. The publication had been made from a single anonymous source. However, later CNN retracted this news piece stating that it had not gone through the right triad before it was published thus they could not stand by it and they also did offer a public apology to Scaramucci. What shocked many was that the three news journalist who have a good track record on doing investigative piece resigned. The damage had already been done and the information was out there to the public (Farhi, 2017).

Daily Mail which was once a reputable news source in the recent past has been found offering apologies for misleading news articles. In 2019, Daily Mail was forced to ask for an apology for his misleading news on a town in France. According to Daily Mail they claimed that there were 300,000 illegal immigrants that were living in Saint-Denis which was a neighborhood in Paris (Shortlist Team, 2019). The article attributed the increase in crime in the area to the illegal immigrants. The population of the entire area was 110, 000 thus when Daily Mail stated 300,000 Muslim immigrants it was already wrong. The article also talked of Sharia laws yet no Sharia or religious courts exist in France. For getting these facts wrong, the Mail offered an apology.

When it comes to reporting of news stories that are false, the public do not seem to judge harshly these news centers and that is why most continue giving out information that is half-baked. Most people often do not really want to substantiate the information that they have been given if it is right or wrong. This however can be explained with Plato’s view oh half-truth. According to Plato, the citizens needed to only know what would be necessary for their lives. During the presidential campaign, what the two parties did would matter so much to the voters and this is why any information that was related to an election campaign would be picked up so fast and when the people realize that the information they had was wrong, most did not take any action against the news network despite the irresponsibility.

Martha Stewart had built a name for herself as a reputable businesswoman. However, in 2001, she sold her stock for a Biotechnology company and immediately after selling her stock the next day the stock value of the company came crumbling down. With this incident she was accused of insider trading although this became hard for the law enforcers to establish. Martha Stewart eventually was charged for lying to the police officers and obstruction of justice into the case. Many tabloids ran the story of how a once loved face of America was now facing trial with others actually stating that her show may never pick up which eventually afterwards picked up and got good ratings despite the case. Standards are held high for celebrities. When most of this celebrities make mistake even before they are found guilty most already conclude that they are guilty. Most forget that most of these celebrities are humans and at times to error is human. The same way we are unforgiving to most celebrities we should also be unforgiving to news networks for feeding us information that is half-truth.

In conclusion, news network often seems to get away with reporting of information that may not be accurate. Back in the days, the standards of journalism were not as they were now. The journalist did their research and before a news piece was published or reported all the facts had to be checked to ensure that they were correct. Nowadays this does not seem the case and the sad part is with technology even misleading news information can be picked up and information spread like wildfire.

References

David, J. E. (2017, December 2). ABC News clarifies, then corrects its bombshell report of Michael Flynn’s discussions with Russia. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/01/abc-news-issues-corrects-bombshell-michael-flynn-report.htmlFarhi, P. (2017, June 27). CNN’s Russia story debacle came at the worst possible time for the network. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/cnns-russia-story-debacle-came-at-the-worst-possible-time-for-the-network/2017/06/27/8eb23616-5b3d-11e7-a9f6-7c3296387341_story.htmlShortlist Team. (2019, February 6). The Daily Mail forced to issue humiliating apology for misleading Paris article. Retrieved from https://www.shortlist.com/news/daily-mail-apology-misleading-paris-article