In this current political climate, we have a president who frequently labels the media as “fake.” Biased news outlets push back and overcorrect against the term so often that it does more harm than good. It’s a struggle with no end in sight.
When it comes to the concerns surrounding fake news, we’re asking the wrong question. Rather than, “How do we get people to stop consuming fake news?” the question should be, “Why is it anyone else’s responsibility in the first place?”
Increasingly, social media giants have been asked to address “fake news” on their sites. The results have been mixed. Facebook remains at the center of the conversation as they attempt to do the impossible: deal with purposeful disinformation while not infringing upon free speech. Twitter has also come under fire for its approach to this modern technological dilemma.
“We just don’t think banning Pages for sharing conspiracy theories or false news is the right way to go,” Facebook said in a tweet on Thursday. “They seem to have YouTube and Twitter accounts too — we imagine for the same reason.”
A Twitter spokesman said the company doesn’t comment on individual accounts, but said it “should not be the arbiter of truth.”
That we ask media companies to be warriors on the front lines of such a battle says we’ve missed the mark entirely. These platforms are nothing but general locations where we gather and connect with friends, family, and even complete strangers. Asking sites that boast hundreds of millions of users to be solely responsible for addressing anything outside of the violent/threatening variety is not only entirely impractical but wholly unsustainable. Any solution would be temporary at best.
Overall, there is too much of an emphasis on trying to help people remain comfortable in their ignorance. Instead, we should work at persuading them to better educate themselves that they may set an ultimate goal of getting rid of it on their own. Anything less than that only masks the problem.
Setting aside the obvious issues at hand, one must ask, “Would a preoccupation with the abundance of fake news exist if Hillary Clinton had won the presidency?” The thought is worthy of consideration. This age of Trump brings with it a fair amount of unrest. The Democratic Party is confused as to how a brazen and inexperienced individual such as Donald Trump ascended to the presidential throne.
But we cannot owe his election victory to fake news.
His support remains grounded in the desire for something new and fresh, no matter if he himself is irreverent and often irresponsible. He is well aware of the power he holds, as made evident by this statement at a campaign rally in January 2016: “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters …”
So too was the support that Hillary Clinton experienced. The winner of the popular vote enjoyed a considerable amount of personal and professional praise despite very obvious concerns with a private email server, her time as secretary of state, and the years spent as part of a questionable political duo with her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
A deluge of facts would do nothing to change either tide.
Unfortunately, those who peddle hoaxes and conspiracy theories will always be around. Their customers, ones thirsty for drama and intrigue, deliberately seek out the fanciful. Even if these sites experience limited exposure on popular platforms, their core audience remains. New converts will find their way there, too.
When it comes to mainstream news, we get led by our own bias. Concrete facts don’t change, but how they’re presented, and the opinion surrounding them, shifts based on who is selling. As consumers, we get naturally drawn to that which affirms our beliefs.
So, how do we stop “fake news”? The answer is we can’t. But again, that shouldn’t be the goal in the first place. We can teach and train our fellow consumers who are willing to listen, but ultimately, the responsibility rests upon each individual.
In these lazy times where politicians and the press will mislead for a win, that’s truly a scary thing.
Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) is contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog and a senior contributor at RedState.com.
