There has always been #FakeNews...

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the crucible of history will come to view Social Network sharing of "News" in 50 years the same way we view Tabloids today.

Once upon a time, the "Gossip Column" was the place that everyone got their hefty dose of "what-ifs" and extreme scenarios. Then, as it evolved and the demand for the juiciest rumors became a proven revenue driver, new publications arose dedicated solely to the art of news manipulation. We now call them tabloids, and you still see them in the grocery store line everyday. Every so often they actually manage to break open an actual news story - but most of the time if you are a semi-rational human being, you acknowledge they are nothing more than the original #fakenews. We roll our eyes every time we heard someone say: "Well, I read about it in the National Enquirer..."

History will reveal a similar disdain down the road for the sharing of "News" via social platforms. The networks have not provided any type of verification process or qualifications in order to post news, rather they have provided an open microphone to every single person, no matter their level of sanity.

The wonders of the internet have also provided a platform where people can link and connect to others of like-mind. This is unique and wonderful in many cases, but also terrifying as it enables even the highly unstable to find similarly unstable people to connect with to affirm and empower that same instability.

Let's take a look back at the origins of organized civilization. The phrase "It takes a village..." was an apt description as all were involved in the collective lives of each other. The elders helped steer and guide the younger generation. Thanks to that involvement, problems, concerns and issues were able to be identified very early on and addressed or corrected. Flash forward to today, and the village is now entirely online and consists of practically the whole global population. People have retreated into small cloisters of like-minded groups that they identify with and are refusing to allow any outside involvement in their lives. This type of isolation, I think, is in itself a mental illness.

I could veer off to an entirely different direction here, but let's stick to the topic of fake news. Back in the early days of mass media, there was honor and integrity in journalism due to the very limited number of positions available & the high standards that were established. Many, many people would work their entire careers to break in to the world of journalism and all were held to incredibly high standards! Be it in print, on radio or on television news, the standards and integrity were there because there were a limited few outlets and if you wanted to have a career in journalism, you had to follow those stringent requirements and maintain the utmost in integrity. As a result - we learned to trust the media. We as a society learned to stop thinking critically for ourselves and digest the news as it was given.

Oh, but then we started fragmenting - TV stations and outlets are now seemingly endless, there are thousands of radio stations broadcasting locally-programmed voices across the airwaves, even print was fragmented in multiple options in every city. This led to competition between outlets, a drive to be the first to the story, a drive to "break the news", to make more money by getting more eyeballs or ears, and in the hurry to do so before the competition those rules and integrity were relaxed just a bit here, just a bit there... maybe a source wasn't fully corroborated, but it would steal readers/listeners/viewers so exceptions were made. Eventually eroding the ethics of journalism by over-saturating and over-fragmenting the options.

The fragmenting continued with online radio, and video presenting a whole new frontier to conquer and little to no funding required to get going! Literally ANYONE could now broadcast their opinions! Enter the Social Networks that allow us to share said content, and allows other to share it, and suddenly the entirety of the rule book that once governed good journalism has been tossed out the window. Since society has become complacent as far as research & critical thinking is concerned we immediately grant authority to any content that appears to be from a legitimate source based on a reputation that was created over 50 years ago.

Our villages are now made up entirely of people who share our own level of sanity (determine for yourself at which level of sanity you reside by those with whom you associate) and others with differing opinions shall not dare to bring their opinions into other spheres. Fake news outlets, driven by Pay-per-Click advertising mind you, are highly aware of this. Many penning competing versions of the same story to offend or intrigue and then sharing it appropriately to fuel the fire.

Who is real? What is true? How can you verify the outlet? You don't know, it's probably not, and you can't.

Is it the social networks responsibility to police this? This is a popular argument nowadays - and I say it is not their responsibility. They are merely the platform being leveraged by the voices. On a social platform, a "news" outlet signs up just like an individual. Verifying them would imply a responsibility to verify each individual, as well. All that the social platform should verify is whether or not the person is who they actually claim to be, not what they claim to be.

It is time to wake up and think critically for ourselves. Do your own research. Allow a media outlet the opportunity to earn that trust from you. Do not grant it no-questions-asked. If it sounds like a tabloid headline - it probably is.

This is a tricky situation to navigate, even for mass media conglomerates. It isn't going away, and it is only going to get noisier as time goes on. I'd love to hear thoughts on what could be done. Social News may be the tabloids of today, but what are the next steps and how do legitimate news sources that still pride themselves on integrity and journalistic standards continue to provide quality product in a market that is over-saturated with distraction and mis-information?

When your goal is to provide top-quality, high-standard news and information to as many people as possible, how do you even start to separate yourself from others whose sole goal is to obtain the most clicks at any cost and are doing so by mimicking and making a mockery of something held in such high regard?