Critical Thinking in the “Fake News” Era

People of Earth, you’re starting to worry me. During a time where real, honest to goodness, truthful information is available, many of you are choosing to believe nonsensical news items simply because it suits your agenda. You’re closing your eyes to the truth because it’s easier not to believe it.

You must stop this.

Back in the day, the majority of us could look at the tabloids in the supermarket checkout lines and know at a glance which ones were far fetched. It’s just as easy to tell which online news stories are shady now, but some really smart people are pretending they’re not because they don’t want to admit to problems with this new administration.

I’m not a journalist nor do I play one on TV. However, as a patriotic American who cares about my country I also care about the truth — and so should you. It’s not disloyal to your party to want to understand what’s going on, but it’s disloyal to your country to suspend your belief in the truth because it doesn’t suit your party’s purpose.

This is where your critical thinking skills come in. Love them. Use them. Embrace them. Don’t let go of them for a second.

• Yes, news organizations are supposed to be unbiased. However, just because they lean one way or another doesn’t make them “fake news.”
• A news organization that reports unfavorably upon the current administration isn’t necessarily fake news. It’s a journalist’s duty to provide honest reporting even if it doesn’t paint a rosy picture.
• If a news organization always had a reputation for honest reporting, probably it didn’t change to become a shady fake news tabloid because someone new is in office.
• On the other hand, if a shady, online tabloid always had a reputation for providing fake news, it’s probably still reporting fake news and has no place in the White House press pool.
• A news item isn’t “fake news” because it doesn’t fit an agenda. A news item is fake because it isn’t true.
• A news item isn’t fake news because a politician labels it thusly. It’s better to understand why said politician doesn’t want you to believe said news item.

It’s not fake news to say all politician’s lie, and it’s not being disloyal to your party of choice to admit politicians lie — even if it’s a politician you really wanted to see in office. People who use their critical thinking skills can see through the lies and understand how they affect the current situation. It’s up to every individual to do their due diligence and draw their own conclusions.

The days of taking information at face value are long over.

• It’s up to us to do our own research and fact checking. If facts disagree with our beliefs, that doesn’t make them less factual. That we don’t like something that’s reported, doesn’t make it “fake.”
• If our leaders throw out information that contradicts all data and research, someone’s lying. It’s up to us to research the facts to determine the truth.
• Shocking headlines are fun and all, but it’s up to all of us to read and understand the information under the headline before sharing it with our social media friends.
• People who share and believe fake news are a bigger part of the problem than those who write and publish fake news. Without one, there wouldn’t be the other.
• If all news outlets are reporting on the same important story, it’s not fake news. Main Stream Media doesn’t all get together to make up stories.
• Real news organizations have fact checkers and editors on staff. If articles have frequent misspellings, uncorroborated data, and lots!!! of!!! exclamation points!!! it’s probably fake news.
• Understand who’s writing or reporting your news. Don’t be afraid to look up reporters and journalists to see if they’re legit. Someone with years of outstanding service is more believable than Joe Off the Street who has no credentials.

I’m not here to tell anyone what to read. However, I’d like to encourage my fellow Americans to think about what they read. Legitimate news sources take care in hiring journalists with integrity. Fake news sources hire $15 writers and care more about sensationalism and pushing an agenda than truth.

Critical thinking is important in the fake news world. Don’t push aside your ability to look at the bigger picture so it can suit your agenda. Stop sharing, discussing, and believing fake news sources.

If you don’t want a fake news problem, stop being part of the fake news problem.