Misinformation!
It’s a buzzword that makes people’s hair stand on end. Depending on whom you talk to, the media, politicians, athletes, even that guy next to you in the supermarket line could be spreading false stories that cause confusion.
Exacerbating this problem is that everything, and I mean everything, has become politicized. And not just politicized, but pushed to the farthest ends of political spectrums. That’s how a liberal gets labeled a socialist and a conservative becomes a Nazi. It makes no sense. It’s misinformation. And yet it keeps happening.
We’re an Angry Lot
A lot (but not all) of the news today is designed to get you angry. That’s why you’ll read other buzzwords in news articles: mandate, insurrection, collusion, racism, homophobia, extremism. These words can be used to get you riled up for or against one side of a situation and for or against an entire community of people. When used too often, they lose their true meaning and instead become catalysts for raising blood pressure at alarming rates.
The news of the day then becomes infested with reactionary words, and the real essence of the story becomes lost. The writing becomes lopsided. If only part of the story is told, it’s assumed that’s all readers need to know. The readers, then, are inadvertently drawn to only one conclusion, instead of having the opportunity to figure things out for themselves.
That’s misinformation.
Middle of the Road Is Okay
There’s a fact about news stories that I’ve gradually come to realize: The truth is always somewhere in the middle. What has bugged me for some time is, why don’t we read more of the story in the middle, the place where lines are blurred?
There appears to be only one likely answer: The middle doesn’t sell.
Oh, yes, there are many great journalists out there who produce well-researched, evenhanded articles, the kind that shed insights and encourage readers to see the story for themselves. But a good chunk of what we’re seeing on cable TV news and in some news publications is about creating pound-fisting reactions from viewers or readers and keeping it up so that they return again and again. This keeps ratings up, keeps subscriptions going. Goodness knows, “No one reads newspapers anymore,” so if you can rope ‘em in with an angle that'll get them all wound up while feeling very well-read, you’ve got a chance at securing advertising or luring online subscribers.
You Know You Can Use Your Own Noggin
We’re smarter than that. We don’t need someone to scream MISINFORMATION! for us to recognize it. We’re perfectly capable of reading all sides of a story and coming to a logical conclusion. And we know that conclusion won’t always be shared by everyone else, but it will be based on our own reasoning skills. We can read that middle story and find meaning and truth.
But where can you locate this type of unbiased, facts-only writing, when there are so many polarized stories published day after day?
Right here.
Become a Critical Reader
Twice a week, we’ll delve into a couple of the biggest news stories and break them down, fact by fact, then build them back up to capture the true essence. After that, it’ll be up to you to interpret the facts and come to your own conclusions. Along the way, we’ll take a look at strategies for uncovering biased reporting, finding those reactionary words that disrupt critical reading and identifying the truth inside the stories.
It’s going to be challenging and engaging and fun. I promise.
Let’s take our reading to the next level and get back to thinking for ourselves. Join me as a Critical Reader.