We hear the term “fake news” thrown around a lot. Our president is particularly fond of saying the phrase. What is fake news? It is deliberate misinformation presented to the public with the intention of misleading readers to skew their opinions in favor of the writer’s or organization’s opinion. As long as articles are being written by human beings, there is always the chance for bias because nearly everyone has an opinion. The goal of a legitimate reporter is to give the facts without swaying the reader toward any opinion. Fox News and CNN are both known to lean askew from unbiased reporting. Facebook is famous for being the playground for satire sites which many people believe to be legitimate news organizations. The dark side of fake news is deliberately-misleading websites and memes that slander political candidates for the sake of generating more likes and shares, or worse, to sway the electoral process, which was the case during the 2016 presidential election where it was proven Russians were trying to sway votes.
Aside from foreign entities attempting--and perhaps succeeding--to confuse our country, a main goal for most fake news mediums is, of course, money. People like Alex Jones, who hosted InfoWars, make their money spewing conspiracy theories, pandering to extremists, while selling their products. The more outrageous the claims, the more people fall for them, and the more money the fake news people make.
Yet, there is still a darker, more sinister side to fake news. Photo altering, also knowns as Photoshopping, is nothing new. It’s been around for years, and still tricks people into believing what they’re seeing on the screen is the truth. Think Hillary Clinton posing with Osama Bin Laden or Donald Trump with his arms around KKK members with a burning cross in the background. Neither of these images is true, but many people believe they are.
The scary part is technology is moving at lightning speed. The spread of misinformation is rampant, and the public is already confused as to what constitutes real or fake news. What is terrifying is the new wave of technology which uses video of famous people that seamlessly alters their words, making it seem as though the person said something they didn’t. It looks absolutely real. Many of us can spot a fake image, but are we confident we can spot a fake video? If there is a video of someone saying something, that’s all the proof we need, right? Wrong. Imagine an altered video of the president of the U.S. saying he’s declared war on Russia or North Korea. Imagine a video of him saying he’s ordered missles to be launched toward these countries. At the very least, fake videos could damage a candidate’s reputation during an election. To be honest, candidates do that easily enough by themselves.
Thankfully, counter technology is being created to keep up with this potentially damaging trend. Programs are being created to digitally spot fake videos. But is that enough? It seems as though nearly everyone knows about Photoshop and how it can be used to make outrageous pictures, but there is still a multitued of people who believe every picture they see is fact.
Whom can you trust these days? Contrary to what the president says, the mainstream media is “mostly” trustworthy, because we follow a set of principles and are committed to factual reporting. Like I said, any time you have humans writing the news, there is a chance for bias, so yes, you should always remain critical of what’s being said/printed. Afterall, all news organizations are owned by someone. Ask yourself if what you’re hearing/seeing is an opinion or is it actual reporting of the facts. CNN and Fox News do have “real” news reports, but they are also full of opinions, and we all know the old saying about opinions.
So, can the masses be taught to see what’s in front of them with a critical eye? Only time will tell, but we should all stop and ask questions before we rush to judgement. In this day and age, that’s easier said than done.
June 13, 2026
