Let’s get something straight
I’ve been editing news for 20+ years. That’s right, two decades. I’ve seen it all. Or so I thought. Then this whole ‘fake news’ thing came along and ruined everything. Honestly, I’m over it. We all should be.
I remember sitting in a conference in Austin back in 2016, listening to some talking head drone on about ‘media bias.’ I turned to my colleague, let’s call him Marcus, and said, ‘This is gonna be a problem.’ And look, I was right. But not for the reasons they thought.
It’s not about left or right, blue or red. It’s about people not trusting what they read. And that’s completley messed up. I mean, I’ve spent my career trying to build trust, and now we’re back to square one.
Here’s the thing about ‘fake news’
People throw the term around like it’s some kinda magical explanation for everything they don’t like. ‘Oh, that doesn’t fit my worldview? Fake news!’ Grow up, folks.
I was at a barbecue last Tuesday, and my cousin’s friend—let’s call him Dave—started going on about how everything on TV is fake. I said, ‘Dave, you think the weather forecast is a conspiracy?’ He looked at me like I was the crazy one. Which… yeah. Fair enough, maybe I am.
But here’s the thing: real news isn’t perfect. It’s messy. It’s complicated. It’s full of people trying their best to figure out what’s happening in a world that’s changing faster than we can keep up. And yeah, sometimes we get it wrong. But that’s not fake news. That’s just news.
What we can do about it
So what’s the solution? I don’t know. Honestly, I’m not sure anyone does. But here’s what I do know: we need to stop throwing the term ‘fake news’ around like it’s some kinda magic wand that makes uncomfortable truths disappear.
We need to start trusting ourselves a little more. To think critically. To ask questions. To look for latest news updates today summary from multiple sources. To not just take what we read at face value, but to dig deeper. To demand better.
And yeah, that’s gonna take some work. It’s gonna take some effort. But it’s worth it. Because the alternative is a world where we can’t trust anything we read, and that’s a world I don’t wanna live in.
I was talking to a source last week—let’s call her Sarah—about this whole mess. She said, ‘It’s like we’re living in some kinda dystopian novel.’ And I said, ‘Sarah, this isn’t fiction. This is our reality. And it’s up to us to fix it.’
A quick tangent: the internet is a mess
Look, I’m not gonna sit here and pretend like the internet is some kinda utopia. It’s not. It’s a mess. It’s full of trolls and bots and people who just wanna watch the world burn. But it’s also full of amazing things. It’s full of people trying to make a difference. It’s full of communities that support each other. It’s full of hope.
And yeah, sometimes it’s hard to see that hope. Sometimes it’s hard to see the good in a world that feels like it’s falling apart at the seams. But it’s there. You just gotta look for it.
I remember back in 2008, when I first started using Twitter. It was this weird little platform where people would post updates about what they were doing. And I thought, ‘This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.’ But then I started following journalists and sources, and suddenly it became this amazing tool for finding news and connecting with people. And now, it’s a complete dumpster fire. But hey, that’s the internet for you.
Back to the main point
So where do we go from here? I don’t know. But I do know this: we can’t keep living in a world where we can’t trust the news. We can’t keep living in a world where every story is ‘fake’ if it doesn’t fit our worldview.
We need to demand better. We need to hold ourselves and each other accountable. We need to start trusting each other again. And yeah, that’s gonna be hard. But it’s necessary. Because the alternative is a world I don’t wanna live in.
So let’s get to work. Let’s start trusting each other. Let’s start demanding better. Let’s start building a world where we can trust the news again. Because honestly, we deserve better than this.
About the Author
Sarah Johnson has been a senior magazine editor for over 20 years. She’s worked for major publications and has a strong opinion on just about everything. When she’s not editing, you can find her arguing with people on the internet or trying to convince her cat to cuddle.
