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In the midst of the government shutdown, journalists and political analysts have appeared to stay busy by informing the public of essential “facts” and developments regarding the shutdown. As with any political crisis, the public is bombarded with a ridiculous amount of information, as well as misinformation. Where major news outlets exist, misinformation runs rampant.
A problem that faces many Americans is distinguishing the difference between actual information and misinformation. In fact, most people are unaware when they’re being fed lies. And why wouldn’t you believe your favorite news station? They’re reputable, your whole family pays attention to them, and they’re INSERT POLTICAL PARTY just like you! But alas…when a news source labels itself in accordance to a political party, chances are, you’re probably not receiving consistently good information. “Conservative” news and “liberal” news is biased news. Biased news is not good news; it’s just opinion spattered with selective facts.
Nowadays, straight, unbiased news is hard to find in mainstream media. News outlets such as Fox and CNN don’t actually care about informing you. They prey upon your particular political association and hope to get all of your views, clicks, and shares. Bob Jones government teacher, Jason Edwards, comments on the ridiculousness, “News is no longer there to inform you. News is there to make money.”
Can you believe that people walk the streets thinking that the Obama administration intends to plant microchips into everyone? And can you believe that according to a study done by Farleigh Dickinson University, Fox news viewers are the least informed of all news viewers? If you answered yes to both of these questions, you are aware of the supreme ignorance that exists in the United States.
If you are still skeptical of mass amounts of political misinformation, I suggest you log on to a social networking site and let the ignorance flood in. Unfounded, absurd political claims are shared and tweeted daily. An example of this ignorance comes from a former Facebook friend of mine, “So when Obama Care hits, people that are FORCED to have it, will also be FORCED to have chips with a certain number placed inside their arms.. Read your bible’s people! Chapter of Revelations. #GodIsMyRock.” This status left me, along with others, begging for a source that could prove this claim.
If you find yourself watching the news and have an inclination that something might not be true, I suggest you verify it with an online fact checker. Due to the outrageous amount of misinformation being spread by major news sources, websites dedicated to fact checking policies and statements made by major politicians have been established. www.factcheck.org and www.politifact.com are great sites to supplement your preferred news source with.
In the end, it all boils down to the fact that many politicians and their affiliates have deceptive tendencies. No political party is “right” or sacred; they are all apart of the conglomerate evil that is modern politics. Because of this, question everything regardless if it coincides with your particular ideology. It never hurts to fact check, but it does hurt to be misinformed in this supposed “Information Age.”
