A world minutes from manipulation

 Wesley Minke

wm598119@ohio.edu

wesleym1211@icloud.com

Source: https://twitter.com/pfpicardi/status/977959864042491905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E977959864042491905%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirstdraftnews.org%2Farticles%2Fhow-journalists-can-responsibly-report-on-manipulated-pictures-and-video%2F

    In the world today, with the media in the position that it is forced into, people must make quick decisions and choose to either believe something, or take time and potentially lose a big story. In this process, mistakes get made, and sometimes deep fakes are not detected. All in all this just leads to more and more mistakes with the media around the world, causing more mistrust amongst the nation, and all viewers of these news outlets. 

    

    In our culture with the technology we have in our power it is made easier for people to get "exposed", when in reality they may not have done anything or played any part in whatever might have happened. Which is why as NiemanLab says, we need to examine the source to find out where it started.

    If we do our due diligence on stories that may seem fake, and find them to be fake, we can cut them off before they gain enough traction. However, the reverse is also true, if we promote something without checking its factuality, it may lose us, or our news outlets, all reliability or credibility for seeking the truth and reporting it. 

https://www.niemanlab.org/2018/11/how-the-wall-street-journal-is-preparing-its-journalists-to-detect-deepfakes/

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/01/viral-clash-students-and-native-americans-explained/580906/?utm_source=eb

    The Atlantic also goes on to show us how viral videos cannot be trusted in some circumstances. When some high school kids were going on a March for Life, they ran into a March for Indigenous Peoples that was taking place on the same day. In the videos many different messages are conveyed, and disrespect from the high school students is what many thought was taking place. 

    When you take a deeper dive while watching these videos, you have to learn how to be able to find the correct information from the right camera angles to tell the most true story. With all the information we are able to consume in today's era, we need to take it a step farther. It is our job to hold the world accountable for information that is spread around the world. Whether accurate or not is the job we are handed as consumers of mass media, to decide for ourselves whether we want to believe it or not. 

    So, this should be a call to action for our world. Take you time, read everything from multiple outlets or angles, and do your due diligence on everything you read. Hold everyone and everything accountable, because that is the only way our issue of fake news can ever be fixed. When we finally gain full faith in our media again, we will finally have the ability to truly trust what we see.