![]() ![]() Five years later the same paper reported Edgar Allen Poe’s ghost-written account of a successful Atlantic crossing in a balloon. In 1835 the New York Sun published “authoritative” articles about winged, human-like creatures on the moon. Until the telegraph came into use, sources of extra-local news were wildly unreliable, based as they were on reports of travelers, ship captains, and opinionated letter writers.īefore the Civil War, mass circulation “penny” newspapers took hold in major cities, and publishers used hoax stories to compete for audiences, deliberately representing fiction as fact. In the early 18 th century, false reports of the death of Louis XIV, the French monarch, circulated in the transatlantic English language press among colonists who exulted at the death of Britain’s long-time foe. With news passing orally from person-to-person, accuracy could be a casualty. Our current mass media-driven politics, including unverifiable social media reports, combined with skepticism toward our institutions, create enormous challenges for citizens seeking credible news.įor most of human history, news traveled only as fast as a man or horse could run, or a ship could sail. They expected citizens-aided by a vigorous free press-to inform themselves and hold government to account. Over 200 years ago, when accessing news and determining its accuracy was even more complicated than it is today, the nation’s founders understood the hazards of fraudulent, incorrect and incomplete information. But the challenges of fake news, like misleading and erroneous journalism, are nothing new. After Time asked “Is Truth Dead?” the digital giants Google and Facebook stepped up efforts to help readers distinguish genuine news information from unsubstantiated assertions and fabrications. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |