By Liz Hay
Elm Staff Writer
The new owner of the Los Angeles Times, Patrick Soon-Shiong, recently expressed sharp criticism toward fake news and its effect on modern society. He called fake news the “cancer of our time” and pointed to social media outlets as a main cause of this phenomenon. This is a topic of increasing concern, and many people share Soon-Shiong’s outrage at the preponderance of fake news in today’s media.
Although fake news is a relatively new term, it has long been an attribute of American media. Historically referred to as “yellow journalism,” sensationalized news has existed for many years. Joseph Pulitzer, now known best as the namesake for the Pulitzer Prize, utilized yellow journalism to popularize his New York World in the early 20th century.
It is tempting to look to the past for an era free of fake news, but the fact is that there was no time of purely factual journalism. Fake news is, at its core, an inevitable product of profit-driven publications. Sensationalized headlines are used to draw in readers with shocking content so that media outlets can make money on the ad revenue.
Unfortunately, it is true that this practice is made even easier and more necessary by modern conditions. Digitalization and new sources of competition have posed a serious financial challenge to news outlets. With the declining profitability of print newspapers, websites funded by advertisers, paywalls, donations, or some combination thereof have become the modern medium. Social media sites like Facebook have made it even harder for legitimate sources to compete by offering free, but unreliable, news streams.
It’s easy to attribute the prevalence of fake news to a lack of integrity on the part of the media, but we must not ignore the role of consumers. There is a demand for sensationalized news because it feeds into our biases and preferences as consumers. Ultimately, we do share responsibility. We each have to be our own watchdogs and think about our media consumption habits before pointing fingers at the “dishonest media.”
When you spend money on something, you’re making a statement about its importance. If you aren’t spending your money on truth, what could you possibly consider more important?
If something is free, that likely reflects on the quality of the content. Facebook is a free website, but it is not the place to get your news. Sources like The Wall Street Journal require a subscription because the quality of their work is proportionately costly.
Simply put, we need to stop being cheap about things that matter. News sources require consumer support so they can allocate adequate resources to discovering and amplifying truth. So turn off your ad blocker, get an online subscription, or buy a paper newspaper if you’re really feeling nostalgic. Don’t just agree with Soon-Shiong’s comments — do something about fake news. Sensational, distorted articles are a deplorable warping of journalism and truth, and consumers have a significant role to play in combating them.