More Americans Get Their News From the Internet

Those who use the Internet to get their news have a far greater variety of sites to access, and the majority are not only partisan sites, but also often-funded by questionable corporate interests in order to influence the "viewer." In addition, hundreds of thousands of alleged "news sites" are actually the biased views of ordinary citizens--not news facts. These self-described "journalists," who contribute articles to the Internet, are very capable of just plain fabrication. For this reason, "news" published on the Internet would be the last place I would visit to learn the facts about a news article.

There are, of course, excellent sources that provide investigative reporting, accompanied by citations, and naming primary sources. I love these! I admire these journalists who earn very little money, risk their lives daily because of what they have learned in an investigation, and still adhere to the code of journalistic ethics. There are also sites to access court documents (they still have to tell the truth in court documents). I also enjoy PolitiFacts.org because they go to great lengths to produce citations, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for honest Journalism, and appear to be consistently impartial.

Sadly, by examining hundreds of reader "comments" about news articles leads to great disappointment, inspired by the general public. They can be given the complete facts by a reporter, and, in spite of actual reporting of the facts, the reader chooses to believe, for instance, that President Obama is a white-hating, Muslim foreigner, who has trampled the Constitution, embraced Fascism, Communism, and Socialism.

I KNOW that recognizing propaganda is within the curriculum of every school district in the nation, but propaganda beats the facts--every, single time--for the average Cyber Surfer. Perhaps teachers do not consider the recognition of propaganda methods as a vital part of the English/Language Arts curriculum, and do not dwell on this educational Content Standard long enough for the student to absorb propaganda's monumental influence within the present media industry.

Some propaganda is so obvious that quoted propaganda methods by Hitler, Goebbels, and Stalin are actually used and zealously quoted! The only thing changed is the name of the presently-targeted political candidate and/or incumbent. Yet, this propaganda draws a HUGE following among the general public.

I think a great many people, too, think that if they saw it, read it, heard it--on the "news." it MUST be true. Every single person I know (until I told them) believes that if it is on "the news," it is true. Unless, of course, it is the "mainstream media," who, according to Conservatives, are always liberal. I wonder if anyone has taken a poll to ask just exactly how many citizens are aware that media is a public forum, and lies in the media are NOT against the law.

anna banana of MI 6:58PM January 11, 2011