Non Truth Telling News Sources

Name

Institution

Date

Non Truth Telling News Sources

Cases of news journals or article that do not seem to give complete information has been on the rise in the 21st century. Getting the right and accurate information out there is no longer a big deal as getting a news piece or article that will get more reading and clicks which translates to more money is far much important. The press has often been seen as a corrupt entity just as much as how the government is corrupt. News press accept bribes not a physical way but in a systematic sense. The news should often report the truth as they owe the public however we see that the government and the media are entwined in a circle of mythmaking and manipulation. Certain news articles are often written to propagate certain agendas or to pass a misleading information out there. This essay will look at three news stories that have non truth telling context.

CNN in 2017 reported a story that linked Antony Scaramucci to a Russian investment firm. The story reported that the Congress was investigating a Russian investment fund that had ties with Trump officials. According to the reporter, the information came from an anonymous single source. The story was not really wrong but it did lack enough facts for it to be published. The article reported that a meeting had taken place between Antony Scaramucci and Kirill Dmitriev (Farhi, 2017). This news led to resignation of three CNN journalist who were part of an investigative team that had been created in CNN to look into investigative stories that will be run by the news network. As news network it is important to get the facts right on a story before publishing especially if it involves hefty matters that are likely to get the attention of many. Many news sources know that any link between Trump and Russia is likely to get a huge reading thus there was need to get all the facts right before publishing the story. The fact that a reputable news network would publish a news article based on a single anonymous source without proof is quite saddening and goes against the ethics of journalism. Plato and Aristotle have often been seen as post-truth philosophers. Plato in terms of truth and governance he talks of how to set up a just society and one way of setting it up is having a divided view on what one should let people know. Plato in his argument believes that the kind of knowledge a society needs is the one that is necessary for their lives. In our case, the meeting by Antony Scaramucci and Kirill Dmitriev should probably have been more verified before being published.

In 2016 during the Presidential campaign, a term Pizzagate theory emerged. This was a fake story that had been created on Hillary Clinton Presidential campaign. According to the story, John Podesra who was Hillary Clinton campaign manager had his email hacked. There were speculations that he among other top Democratic officials ran a human trafficking ring. Although this information was not founded there were several mainstream medias that took up the story. According to them two restaurants Pizzagate and DC, Comet Ping Pong pizzeria were where the meetings were held. This story did quickly spread to all social media platforms and even top officials most from the Republican party were engaging in it. Alex Jones who was among those who helped spread the propaganda even in his radio show offered an apology (Rosenberg, 2017). With a lot of engagements, it was getting it quickly did spread although every single accusation was false. This false story caused a lot of damage to the two restaurants and while the news stories were running they were losing profits because were avoiding the place. There was also a shooting as a man walked into Comet Pizzeria with an assault rifle and fired shots because of the non-truth telling news that were being spread.

Mainstream medias have fallen victims of reporting half-baked news that seem to have little lies. Recently Fox news offered an apology on their fake news that was targeting Cal Poly. There was a news headline after they interviewed a conservative student on the plight of conservative that said “CAL POLY PLOTS TO REDUCE WHITE ENROLLMENT” (Sheeler, 2018). This was actually untrue as it was claiming that Cal Poly was using a race-based admission process v which was against Proposition 209 passed by Californian voters in 1996 that prohibited the public universities from using race to increase either the number of Latinos, African American or other underrepresented students. This caused a lot of anger that Fox eventually had to apologize for this mistake. When one got to read the article, the headline might have been misleading but the content gave a little bit of an understanding of what they were saying. With the lie on their headline, they were more likely to get the clicks and more people were likely to read the article as opposed to if they actually used the correct news headline.

When Martha Stewart was linked to the crime of Insider trading at Imclone. In 2001, she sold her shares of the company and just two days later the stock values dropped. By selling her shares before the value dropped she had saved $45,673. However, she was not the only one that had benefitted as the CEO had also sold his shares thus they were faced with the case of illegal insider trading. From Stewart’s case, prosecutors worked hard to try and prove that Steward had sold her shares from nonpublic information. According to Martha Stewart, individuals should never be ashamed of their achievements and achievements are only possible when the right standards are maintained. Stewart is remembered for being an over-achiever and emphasizing that standard should be kept high always. Therefore, for the right information to be communicated to the population, standards should be kept high. As a public figure most thought that she should not have committed the crime and should not have concealed information from the law enforcers. We are often too tough on celebrities and the standards we hold them are too high that we do not often want them associated with any wrong doing. If a celebrity name comes up in a crime people are likely to conclude he is guilty although he may be innocent. This standards are not the same as those we hold news sources.All over the world, there is stiff competition over the very limited resources available. in this overheated atmosphere many media firms may tend to compromise their standards as they try to get an audience and a share of the market. Standards can only be maintained if the organizations strive to develop concrete internal structures that respect good governance, transparency and editorial independence. On Standards in journalism are the values and chords that guide and safeguard the profession. Truthfulness is a standard that should be maintained by any medial house. Accuracy and independence should also be upheld at all cost. The acquisition and the dissemination of the news or information by the media house should be free from bias and fair in every means possible. Public accountability is a standard and a code of ethic that should be respected and should guide any media house or newsroom activities. Professionalism, reliability, and public accountability of any media organization stand out as the three main ethical standards. When the standards are implemented and consistently maintained, the organization will be recognized and will have a strong reputation hence influencing the position of the firm with the public and in the journalism industry.

References

Farhi, P. (2017, June 27). CNN’s Russia story debacle came at the worst possible time for the network. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/cnns-russia-story-debacle-came-at-the-worst-possible-time-for-the-network/2017/06/27/8eb23616-5b3d-11e7-a9f6-7c3296387341_story.htmlRosenberg, E. (2017, March 25). Alex Jones Apologizes for Promoting ‘Pizzagate’ Hoax. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/25/business/alex-jones-pizzagate-apology-comet-ping-pong.html

Sheeler, A. (2018, July 13). Fox News falsely reported that Cal Poly is plotting to cut white enrollment. Retrieved from https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/education/article214844625.html