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Every once in awhile a conversation offers a stated fact that just does not
seem correct. My question then is "where did you hear that?"
The answer is usually "I saw it on the internet."
And we all know everything is absolutely right if it is on the internet.
But is it?
With the introduction of social media and its popularity things can get out
of hand and with this past election it sure did.
Fake news.
No doubt most of us saw the "story" that Pope Francis endorsed Donald
Trump for President.
Not true.
Many also read that Hillary Clinton sold weapons to ISIS.
Again not true.
And recently, as a result of fake news that a pizza place in Washington was
actually a child sex ring (again not true) resulted in a delusional man who
took it upon himself to drive up from North Carolina and take an assault rifle
into the restaurant to "rescue the trapped children."
Don't you think enough is enough?
Here we take great pride in constantly checking our sources and handing
our stories to our associates to make sure they are correct. Any questions or
concerns raised means we check further and make sure we are as accurate as
possible.
But we can't do it alone.
This is the advice Amie Ferris Rotman, who has worked in Russia for
Reuters News Service has for us.
"Going into 2017, we must be more scrupulous readers, listeners, and
watchers. We must double and triple source our news. We must try to restore
trust in the media worldwide."