Fake news and the masses

Retired_Can_Soldier

The End of the Dog is Coming!
Mar 19, 2006
11,282
479
83
59
Alberta
It's strange that North America suddenly finds itself caught up in this whirlwind of sexual harassment. I am quite sure that many of the cases are legit, but I would hazard a guess that there is also some opportunism at play here as well. As usual the media is going to run with all the dirty laundry they can find. Especially the larger networks, like CNN, MSNBC, and Fox.

I don't buy all the FAKE NEWS propaganda, but there is a very clear cycle happening in the 24 hour news business. Right now, sexual harassment, #me too, and tainted politicians sells advertising products. People are tuning in to see who Roy Moore molested or who Harvey Weinstein threatened to black list if they didn't give him a bit of service on the casting couch.

Heck, we're talking about it on this forum.

Prior to this, the big draw was cop shootings. Isn't it amazing how many cops were allegedly shooting innocent people when the media had it's camera eye focused so steadfastly on them? Or school shootings and lock downs. When that was the media's focus, there also seemed to be an epidemic of school shootings?

Does anyone remember the SARS panic in Toronto? That was the horrible disease that was killing healthcare workers and it was linked to China. What was interesting about that, was the 24 hour news cycle went nuts with the story. Especially CNN and Fox. Worldwide 774 people died as a result of SARS, the line share of deaths were in China and Hong Kong, but there were 44 deaths in Canada and a number of people under quarantine. The United States had 27 cases of SARS, but zero deaths.

Talking heads were screaming at the top of their lungs about closing the border. Talking heads like, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh, and any other opinion (Left or Right) you could find behind a radio microphone. This was fueled by CNN showing hundreds of people in China and Hong Kong wearing face masks while equating it to Toronto's Chinatown. It was insane.

While I don't buy into the FAKE NEWS mantra, I do know that organizations like CNN, Fox and MSNBC have come by this reputation because they are geared more to sensationalism than presenting the boring facts. Sensational sells soap and cars and pickles and any other commodity that pays to be advertised.

When I hear President Trump say, "That's fake news." I shake my head, because even though the mainstream media networks can be pretty over the top, the President himself is a part of the problem. Through social media he sends out tweets that are so unbelievably kooky that I sometimes wonder if we are living in a real-life rendition of a dystopian Roger Corman film like: Death Race 2000. What I find equally hard to believe are the people who lap all this crap up. And I'm not just talking about Trump. I'm talking about all of it. CNN, MSNBC, Hillary Clinton's reasons for losing...

Anyway, I thought I'd spread a bit of Christmas cheer and ask anyone on the forum what they think about the above subject.

Agree? Disagree? Thoughts? Observations?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mowich

Corduroy

Senate Member
Feb 9, 2011
6,670
2
36
Vancouver, BC
Just to get it straight here, your point is that the media sensationalizes the news flitting between subjects to keep people watching?
 

Retired_Can_Soldier

The End of the Dog is Coming!
Mar 19, 2006
11,282
479
83
59
Alberta
Just to get it straight here, your point is that the media sensationalizes the news flitting between subjects to keep people watching?

I think that's a fair interpretation. But not just the media. Politicians and anyone who has access to an outlet that spreads information.

Members here on Canadian Content perpetuate misinformation. What I wrote above could be interpreted as such.

I just don't see things as black and white as some people do.

But, there are those who would accuse me of being extreme right or even a lefty.

Fake thread



That's funny coming from a Faux fan.

Move along then.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mowich

Danbones

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 23, 2015
24,505
2,197
113
There is a war on...A war for your mind...




They are after cannuck too!



:)