Nothing To See Here, Move Along

Fast paced and furious, the news has increasingly become a torrential downpour. Even though some may say we need the rain, we sure don’t need the flooding. Social media tends to spread nothing more than ridiculous claims that are clearly not true.

Let’s take the polls. 74% of Americans state the country is on the wrong track. But that number really depends on who answers the poll. Democrats think the country is on the wrong track because of the uptick in violent rhetoric from the far right. Republicans think the country is on the wrong track because of the baseless rhetoric from far right media outlets. It all boils down to Americans not checking the facts.

Misinformation and disinformation have become so deceptive that fact checking is required when it comes to political news. How do you do your fact checking? Better yet, do you even fact check at all?

Honestly, there are very good nonpartisan fact checking web sites available. My favorite is https://www.factcheck.org/ which is a project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Something you read or see on social media may be appealing to you, but is it true? When you see a meme about a bill in Washington DC, do you take the time to actually read the bill? Or do you believe a talking head on your television?

Now more than ever it is important to read both sides of any story, especially when it comes to politics. Hold your nose and see what the other side states. You may learn something.

Here is a good article for reference https://abqlibrary.org/fakenews/factcheck

#FactCheck #Misinformation #Disinformation #News