Fake News - Why are We So Gullible?

It’s certain that you have heard the phrase ‘Fake News’ bandied about these past few years. It seems there is no consensus defining this term. Here are a few differing interpretations.

Inaccurate reporting where minor, immaterial errors appear, but the essence of the story remains true. For example, if an article wrongly names a restaurant where a meeting is held, the article should not crumble.
Deliberately slanted reporting to serve a political agenda. I do believe that this happens daily. Reporters and editors are charged to compartmentalize their own views, similar to judges, but they are human like the rest of us. The next time you open a newspaper, read the headlines carefully and you will find examples of wording that is less than fair and balanced
News reports that are completely on the level, but are attacked by those whom are threatened by the reporting. I don’t feel that I need to give examples here.

Fake or On the Level?

A close cousin of Fake News is gullibility. Folks today tend to believe what they read and hear, even if the position is untested or even disproven. Remember how many diehards maintain that certain vaccines caused autism even though this linkage was thoroughly and repeated debunked by the scientific community?

Several times each week I have to reassure my heartburn patients that their medicines will not corrode their bones or lead them to kidney dialysis. A screaming headline, Nexium Linked to Hip Fractures, may gain clicks, but it is misleading and not based on scientific facts.

Our gullibility is exploited when malicious foreigners and those among us load Facebook and other social media sites with false and provocative information to divide and confuse us. And, it works. We are all too ready to accept as fact what is truly fake news hiding under camouflage.

I am not excusing the purveyors of Fake News or those who falsely assign this label to truthful reporting. But, don’t we – the consumers of news – have an obligation to perform some measure of due diligence?

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