The term “fake news” is a catch-all term used to describe a larger problem: manipulation by the mainstream media. If you only focus on the word “fake” you’re missing the larger picture, and problem. In addition to making stuff up, the media uses partial truths and misdirection to influence what you think and how you act.
Example #1:
In a recent White House Press Briefing, the President was asked what he meant by “an invasion into the suburbs” when talking about the Democrats pushing inner-city problems to the suburbs.PBS White House Correspondent, Yamiche Alcindor tweeted him as having answered:
“They’re going to destroy suburbia. And 30 percent of the people in suburbia are minorities. They say 35 percent, but I like to cut it lower.”
The implication here is true, that President Trump wants to reduce the number of minorities in the suburbs. The implication is that President Trump is a racist. This got picked up by other news outlets who repeated her message.
But this is what he actually said:
“They’re going to, in my opinion, destroy suburbia. And just so you understand, 30 percent plus of the people living in suburbia are minorities, African American, Asian American, Hispanic American, they’re minorities, 30%. The number is even higher. They say 35, but I like to cut it a little bit lower. “Do you know why? That way I can never get myself in too much trouble with the fake news.”
It’s easy to see, when quoted correctly, that what he was saying was pushing inner-city problems to the suburbs is going to affect more than just white people. He also clearly said that he rounds the number down so that the media can’t pick at the percentage he uses.
So, while he did indeed say the words Ms. Alcindor claims, it’s the words he also said, that she intentionally left out, that convey the full message he was sending. That is media manipulation.
Example #2:
Think back to last year. Nearly every time someone was killed by a gun, it was font page news on all the major news outlets. If a child happened to be among the victims, it made an even bigger splash because dead kids are news gold. The message was that guns are bad. Today, little children are getting shot and killed nearly every week and it barely gets mentioned. Because today, the message is that white people are bad.
Remember 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant from North Carolina? He was playing in his front yard a couple of weeks ago when a man walked up to him and shot him in the head. This story is unique enough that it should have been everywhere. No one simply executes a kid. But this story wasn’t big news. Because Cannon was white, and the shooter is black.
Did you know that there have been nearly 90 homicides in Louisville, KY this year? Louisville is on track to surpass its single-year record of 117 homicides set in 2016. Most of these murders have been black people killing black people and most of them have involved guns. Try and find more info and you’ll see that this is considered a local story and gets virtually no national press.
How about 3-year-old Trinity Rudolph of Louisville? Trinity and her father were killed this week when a drive-by shooting occurred in front of her home. I could find no mention of Trinity’s death other than on the local Louisville news. Why? Because Trinity and her father were black. And talking about their deaths would bring attention to all of the black-on-black killings happening recently in Louisville and that doesn’t support the message that white people are bad. Those are examples of media omission.
“Fake news” is a catch-all that includes all types of media manipulation. The media gets to decide what you hear and they sometimes use lies, misquotes and omission to reinforce their message. Don’t blindly believe everything you’re told, because every news outlet has bias and an agenda.
And, the next time you see someone quoted and find it hard to believe that someone would say that, keep in mind that there’s a possibility that they didn’t.
