Greg's Corner

Misleading Media: Machinations of Malice or Misguiding for Money?

There’s an old adage attributed to Edgar Allan Poe that says “Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.” In an era where the term ‘fake news’ has become so prevalent in our culture that saying couldn’t be any more apropos. Misleading headlines, known as clickbait, dominate social media. They’re used to try to elicit an immediate and emotional response from readers to garner as many clicks and shares as possible. In return higher clicks, likes, and shares lead to increased advertising revenues which keep the lights on for one more day at whatever media outlet is posting the purported content.

For example, there was a recent media kerfuffle in the economy sections of most news outlets stating that the auto loan industry was in freefall due to the number of delinquent loans. However, as the National Automobile Dealers Association points out, when the numbers are viewed in a proper context and given the right perspective, the industry is actually healthier than it has been. But by saying an industry is doing well doesn’t generate any clicks or views. So the facts get a little twisted in order to fit a narrative that the media would rather tell.

So, why is the media doing this? Is it some grand conspiracy to try to hide the truth from an unsuspecting public? No, the truth is a lot less bombastic as that. Traditional media such as print and TV have been on a steady decline for years and were slow to adopt an online strategy and by the time they did, there was already a generation of new media outlets that were taking advertising dollars from them. In order to compete, old media had to adopt new tactics to try to draw readers and viewers back, and if old media is engaging in questionable tactics that gives newer media license to do the same and the cycle continues. However, that’s no excuse for the media’s actions.

So how should you, the consumer, react to inflammatory headlines and stories? When you come across one of these stories you should always take them with a grain of salt. It never hurts to be a little skeptical. If you find a story that particularly grabs your emotional attention try to find other legitimate sources that corroborate or disprove what you’ve just read. And if at all possible, try to keep your political biases at bay as political opinion can often prejudice us against the truth and many misleading media outlets are counting on that.

The media has every right to stay in business short of libel and slander. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be more savvy consumers of content. If the media won’t do it for us it’s up to us to discern the facts from the falsities.