Don’t expect members of my profession to track down the story. We’re too busy listening to Donald Trump berate NATO, lie about his investments, revive the Red Scare and call Iranian leaders “scum,” while at the same time declaring we’ve defeated Iran in a war everyone believes we shouldn’t have started in the first place. (For those keeping track, Trump has claimed he has ended the conflict close to 40 times. I can’t count how often he’s “completely obliterated” the Islamic Republic’s military, even though they keep firing missiles and sending drones against us.)
I was there in the olden times when “the news” came on at 6p and 11p and could be trusted.
I was there when if someone told you blatant disinformation (we called them urban legends) there was no way to check it.
I was there when people paid money out of their own pockets for newspapers and magazines.
“News” today is no different than YouTubers and TikTokers trying to get views so they can get ad revenue. The more sensational but believable, the better.
We did this to ourselves. I haven’t paid for any news since whatever the last time was that I bought a magazine or a newspaper, but it was not this decade, that’s for sure.
There’s literally nothing left on this here “Information Superhighway” other than disinformation and ads. That’s the only revenue stream there is for “the news” anymore. We’ve incentivized disinformation. We did this.