Sunday, August 17, 2014

"You Can't Trust the Media"

One thing I am tired of hearing from people is, "you can't trust the media". Well no shit you can't trust the media. The media skews just about everything. They don't even have to lie, they can just report something in a certain tone and make you think differently from what was actually reported. So yeah,believing everything you read or hear or watch is foolhardy.

However, the following blog deals with how the saying is used to make smart, or at least half way intelligent people seem stupid to cover for one's own stupidity. Allow me to explain:

Today I was told by someone that they heard on the news that the protestors in Ferguson, MO had fired shots at police, prompting police to use more force in dispersing the crowd. The person told me this specifically because they side with police in this case, and believe that the protestors are criminals who are outraged by what they believe to be the legitimate shooting of another criminal.
Well at first I had no other frame of reference, so I shrugged and said, "That's just what happens when a large group of oppressed people get together and protest. A small amount of them are just bad seeds, ruining it for the rest of the protestors.

Afterward, I started to think to myself, "damn it man, I wish people could just stick with peaceful protests....because now the conservative media is going to go to town with this one and ruin the perspective of the protest."

Shit like this happens all the time though, there is always some ass-hats who has to commit an act of violence or some other crime. This type of behavior by a few individuals is reflected on the whole group, which makes everyone look bad.

Some time later I read multiple reports from different news agencies which confirmed that the sounds heard were not from civilians firing weapons, but rather fireworks that were set off by an unknown group of single individual. So I went back to this person and showed them the report, and they replied, "That's BS, you can't believe everything you read or see in the media."

This is where I draw the line on ignorant bullshit. You can't believe everything you see or read in the media? Well then how do these people get their information in the first place? You had to have heard it from someone, who heard it on the news, or you yourself heard it on the news. The same media people say you cannot trust.

So why then is it OK to believe what the news says or repeat it if you shouldn't believe everything you hear or read?

I'll explain why:

Because when the media says something you agree with then it's true. When they say something you don't agree with then the media becomes this agency of misinformation and you can't trust them. It just amazes me how many people quote news agencies when it suits them, and then say they are reporting falsehoods when it's not suiting.

Here's the deal; if you think the media can't be trusted than fine. But stop using the media as your source of news if they cannot be trusted. They cannot be right when you believe they cannot be trusted, and that includes stories that you are in favor of. If you cannot believe the media then don't spread the stories you hear. It makes no sense to say the media cannot be trusted and then go off and talk about things that are happening in the world that you heard from the media. If you truly believe they cannot be trusted then by your own admission when you spread stories you hear on the news you are technically spreading misinformation.

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