LETTER: Living in a world of lies, thanks to Fox News, Facebook and X
Trump’s MAGA fantasies, along with social media, have helped to unleash a disinformation monster that is proving impossible to control
05 December 2024 - 05:00
byRasmus Jensen
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X logo at the headquarters of the messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter, in San Francisco, California, the US, July 30 2023. Picture: CARLOS BARRIA/REUTERS
I am a news junkie — I consume a lot of news. Probably too much. I always try to keep an open mind for the sake of a balanced view of events.
It’s a huge source of frustration and despair for me that I have to live with and be exposed to people who disparagingly call traditional, long-established and reputable publications and media outlets “MSM”, or “mainstream media” — a label given to any news organisation that doesn’t align with their world views or their sources of (mis)information. These people get their news from X, Facebook and that outright propaganda network, Fox News.
Like many, I am extremely worried that Donald Trump and his MAGAism in the US have unleashed and given credibility to a disinformation monster that is impossible to control or bring to heel. Rupert Murdoch, who owns multiple news organisations, including Fox News, has, for the sake of viewership and cash, gone along with the disinformation. Murdoch has set an extremely dangerous whirlwind upon the larger English-speaking democracies of the world and everyone reading this probably knows someone who has swallowed the extremism, conspiracies and lies.
It has torn friends, families and colleagues apart. We can laugh at people who believe that windmills cause cancer, that Bill Gates put trackers in vaccines and that climate change is a hoax. But that only wedges these people further into their own echo chambers.
So how do we get back to some kind of shared reference points where facts and truths aren’t flexible? We should start by acknowledging that people consume news differently from 10 or 20 years ago. Gone are the days where “The News”, with real journalistic ethos and pride, was relied upon as a main source of updating on current affairs.
People now are quick to read headlines, but loath to read whole stories. People now tend to gravitate towards sources of information which align with their own views, perceptions and prejudices.
I blame Facebook, X, YouTube and TikTok for this. How about a mandatory disclaimer on such content: “This content was made without adult supervision or the oversight of a professional journalist educated by deep thinkers to high ethical standards”.
Rasmus Jensen By e-mail
The FM welcomes concise letters from readers. They can be sent to fmmail@fm.co.za
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Living in a world of lies, thanks to Fox News, Facebook and X
Trump’s MAGA fantasies, along with social media, have helped to unleash a disinformation monster that is proving impossible to control
I am a news junkie — I consume a lot of news. Probably too much. I always try to keep an open mind for the sake of a balanced view of events.
It’s a huge source of frustration and despair for me that I have to live with and be exposed to people who disparagingly call traditional, long-established and reputable publications and media outlets “MSM”, or “mainstream media” — a label given to any news organisation that doesn’t align with their world views or their sources of (mis)information. These people get their news from X, Facebook and that outright propaganda network, Fox News.
Like many, I am extremely worried that Donald Trump and his MAGAism in the US have unleashed and given credibility to a disinformation monster that is impossible to control or bring to heel. Rupert Murdoch, who owns multiple news organisations, including Fox News, has, for the sake of viewership and cash, gone along with the disinformation. Murdoch has set an extremely dangerous whirlwind upon the larger English-speaking democracies of the world and everyone reading this probably knows someone who has swallowed the extremism, conspiracies and lies.
It has torn friends, families and colleagues apart. We can laugh at people who believe that windmills cause cancer, that Bill Gates put trackers in vaccines and that climate change is a hoax. But that only wedges these people further into their own echo chambers.
So how do we get back to some kind of shared reference points where facts and truths aren’t flexible? We should start by acknowledging that people consume news differently from 10 or 20 years ago. Gone are the days where “The News”, with real journalistic ethos and pride, was relied upon as a main source of updating on current affairs.
People now are quick to read headlines, but loath to read whole stories. People now tend to gravitate towards sources of information which align with their own views, perceptions and prejudices.
I blame Facebook, X, YouTube and TikTok for this. How about a mandatory disclaimer on such content: “This content was made without adult supervision or the oversight of a professional journalist educated by deep thinkers to high ethical standards”.
Rasmus Jensen
By e-mail
The FM welcomes concise letters from readers. They can be sent to fmmail@fm.co.za
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