The Blurred Lines Between Fact and Fiction

 Curtis Feder      cf739918@ohio.edu

                                                                        source: AARP

    In the olden days, pure facts were the golden standard of media. That core ethical standard has withstood multiple changes in mediums over time, from print, to radio, and then to television. In recent times, this recent shift in mediums has had that ethical standard become less of a core value and more of a recommendation.

    People do not need a formal education to create headlines, and with this transition into social media, multitudes of information are being shared and spread within an instant. Whether or not the information being put out is accurate is not always a priority. 

    Companies like BuzzFeed are blatantly upfront about prioritizing entertainment with new events rather than the informative aspect of journalism. While some may criticize the company's priorities, their method of doing things has been quite profitable, raising the question of whether or not people really care if the information they are receiving is credible.

    As ridiculous as the question raised may sound, people can sometimes become the living phrase "ignorance is bliss" when it comes to how they interpret information. In times as divided as the current atmosphere society is in today, people tend to alter facts to fit their views rather than alter their views to the facts. For example, in the hundreds of reports of a legitimate election being held, there will be people who will search and find articles and media pundits that will claim with a straight and authoritative face that the election was stolen, and being upset at the result, cling to that claim.

    Those types of people also cling to details to make their grand assumption while neglecting the entire picture. Going back to the 2020 election, people cried foul when some political analysts ran with the minor reports of dead people voting saying that was the cause. Dead people vote in every election; there are attempted election fraud every time. But the number of dead people voting is in the hundreds, maybe low thousands, scattered across the country. Even if all those votes were thrown out, the reality is that it would not have affected the result. Yes, there was fraud with dead people voting, however these people neglect to see the bigger picture and make it a key factor in the election being stolen despite it not making a difference whatsoever.

    Even if people have the desire for pure truth, they have been found to struggle with deciphering reality from fake news. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center showed that most United States adults struggled to discern between statements that were truth-based or opinion-based.

    In order for the chaotic vortex society has created for information reception to cease, the core ethical code of truth must rise once again to become priority number one across all platforms. Those with journalism degrees or those with just a phone and a social media account must learn this code for the blurred line of information accuracy to clear. Whether or not this feat will be accomplished is something everyone must wait and see.