How much of the media do you believe?

I learned at a very early age that far too many (dare I say “most”?) individuals took anything and everything written on newsprint as The Truth. That “truth” extended to anything said on the radio or TV (or a pulpit) by a man in a serious voice.

My grandmother scoured tabloid newsrags, believing and repeating what she read. Even at a tender age, I would look through the same publications, studying how words and images were used to manipulate perception and “the truth”, and wonder how people could believe what was written. My father — who must have thought I was reading for “news” — would berate me for reading those same papers as he was turning up the volume on his radio to listen to Paul Harvey — not knowing I was listening to Harvey’s unmistakable voice in the same way I was reading the newsrags: to understand what and how these media were arresting attention and manipulating perception.

Too many individuals believe what is in print, on TV, or on the radio is The Truth, and this misconception has spread to believing in the veracity of what’s online, whether the source is a blog, a social media site, or a “news” website. One would think perceiving the biased, the uninformed, and the off-balanced story or source on the web would be easier than doing so in print, yet many are mislead by web content. Just because a name, a TV studio, a website, a Twitter handle looks nice, professional, and legitimate does not make it so. Just because a story or fact comes from a source with a large audience does not make the fact true. PR, advertising, the companies funding media companies and bloggers, lobbyists, the need to turn a profit, personal opinion (more and more of that online!) and more drive what is printed, posted, and broadcast. Even if a story does come from a respected source aspiring to true journalism, information is still clouded by editorial-point-of view, male dominance of the media, and popular trends (The Christian Science Monitor continues to adhere to its roots and standards, and I still consider this the best source in American journalism).

The above offers no new insight or knowledge; I write because I’m sadly surprised by the number of recent encounters I’ve had with individuals, including friends and colleagues, who have missed or ignored the seemingly obvious danger signs of “this is not true”, and have been scammed, mislead, or hurt by what’s come to them in the media. Often, this happens directly, when someone acts upon content they received via the media; sometimes the content works more subtly, affecting thoughts. Since thoughts ultimately create our reality, the subtle manipulation of thought can be far more dangerous than presenting blatant misinformation or thinly-veiled opinions.

I could take a number of tangents here, either to discuss ideas of “what is truth” to creating a how-to- factcheck tutorial. I’ll do neither, yet I encourage you to consider more deeply how you perceive and are affected by the myriad messages coming your way through the media:

What level of comfort do you need to believe something?
Is the level of comfort you need the same for a news item as it is for a company to which you’re going to give your credit card number over the phone or the web?
Is your level of belief the same about media reports, ads, or stories supporting your beliefs as it is for information that counters what you personally believe?
How much credibility do you give organizations or individuals that have an impressive name, logo, or brand?
Do you give yourself a lag time before acting on information that engages your emotions, whether it’s the text message on your phone about an overdrawn credit card account (common phishing scam) or a “news” item about a supposed misdeed committed by a group or individual you don’t like?
When you’re having a rough time emotionally, are you more or less influenced by the media or other individuals?
Do you often bow to public opinion, or the opinion of strong personalities?
Are there any sources — websites, news sources, TV or radio stations, personalities — you accept as presenting an unbiased opinion?
Were you taught to question what you read, hear, see? Or were you taught to accept unquestionably?
Do you use your intuition and gut feeling to factcheck?
How do you factcheck what you read, hear, see?
How often do you fact check?
Do you know how to fact check?
Do these questions make you uncomfortable?