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| Photo by Joël de Vriend on Unsplash |
Let me begin by admitting that I am naive when it comes to editorial integrity. As a child, I wanted to grow up to be Lois Lane. I wanted to be a reporter of high editorial authority and integrity.
I started my writing career over twenty years ago and have always been overly cautious to write the truth. Not only did I verify sources, but worked with additional editors whose job was to fact check every word that I wrote. The idea of putting my reputation behind falsehoods was beyond my ken. I owed truth to my readers; it is my responsibility.
When Propaganda became news
“Fake news” is the new term for misinformation. The practice of misinformation (disinformation, defamation, libel, false news – take your pick), has an incredibly long history. As early as the first century BC, political misinformation was used to overthrow Mark Antony in Rome. This is nothing new. Propaganda machines have inflamed elections, religions and opinions as long as humans have an agenda.Not only written words but films have been used to sway public opinion. Just like edited video on the internet today, Leni Riefenstahl swayed sentiment to bolster the Nazi mission during World War II.
The term is attributed now to the media who have personal (or paid) agendas. Even when leaders are quoted, the quotes are appended or abbreviated to match the desired storyline. The news is no longer the subject, building the writer’s fame seems to carry equal weight. Media is now a vehicle for persons to build their personal brands in attempts to become highly paid influencers.
