Maria Denny
md964019@ohio.edu
The hit movie, Anchorman, a comedic spoof of American news media, displays a shocking amount of truth about how fake news spreads throughout society. In one particularly telling scene, news anchor Ron Burgundy portrayed by Will Ferrell, depicts what fake news media sources aim for by saying, "I don't know why we have to tell the people what they need to hear... why can't we just tell them what they want to hear?" That is what some media outlets gear for when publishing content. Rather than giving the people the truth, they give the people the twisted truth, or not the truth at all. Reasons for media outlets acting in such a way vary for many reasons. One of which being to make a name for themselves. Accounts like @chnge, @cloydrivers, or @barstool do just this and make millions while doing so. Sources like this navigate their way to fame by sharing relatable, funny, or appeasing content to the viewer. However, some may call these propagandists due to the underlying or false messages being spread. These messages are spread far and wide rapidly because of different networks allowing access to do so, such as Instagram's ability to repost anything on a story or a re-tweet on Twitter.
As messages are being dispersed and a name is being built for the media platform, they are gaining followers, loyalty, partial validity, and what is most important to many companies, money. There is gigantic money in social media, especially TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. According to Instagram for Business' website, you receive 55% of the revenue generated per view and upwards of $10 per every 1,000 followers you may have.
However, there is little to no censorship on these questionable posts due to Instagram rules. That is dangerous to society because, as Burgundy states best, we give them what they want to hear and not what they need to hear. As stated in-class discussion, it is straightforward to read a headline, repost, and continue with your day. It is very few and far between that; a person will stop to read a message in its entirety when on social media.
This continuing issue exists throughout all forms of media that does not appear to be coming to an end anytime soon. Finally, this dangerous trend will conclude shortly with ethical journalism and fact-checking censorship.
No comments:
Post a Comment