Elteto.net

I am repeatedly disturbed by people actually believing that they can in any way verify the authenticity of news online, or that they can do reliable research on the Internet.

This experiment in isolated, social-media-only news reporting is doomed to fail by its very nature. I keep hearing on radio shows, too, that "I checked on this" or "I researched this", but all the hosts did was get on the Internet. If your sole source of research is the Web, then you have not really researched or verified anything at all.

Why do we settle for such minimal background checks? Convenience? Laziness? Are we asking enough questions? Are we approaching news stories with a healthy amount of skepticism? Or do we just believe anyway what we want to believe, or even worse, refuse to consider contrary points of views?

We are carelessly homogenizing our views at a dangerous level of ignorance. Many of us view the world through nothing but a computer screen or the television tube, and allow others to serve as gatekeepers to the truth. If only certain types of news are reported on an issue, media outlets, no doubt more often biased than not, can paint any picture they want, not necessarily out of political or ideological convictions, but for the feeling of power and control that they can make audiences see issues their way.