Malignant Misinformation in Media

Additionally, once someone places their trust in a handful of media sources, they cease to question and critically analyze that information at all, or at least as carefully as they do with media that does not align with their personal and political values. This is dangerous because a misinformation radar is a necessity when engaging with media from any source, especially the ones that we commonly depend upon.

These issues have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and cast a spotlight onto the unreliability of modern media. That all media being produced nowadays is labeled “fake news” by some group or another suggests that, as a society, we need to re-evaluate the ways that we produce and consume media. In a profit-driven media market, which depends on the number of subscriptions and clicks, accuracy is superseded by sensationalism. Media companies need to stay competitive in the 24 hour news cycle and the ever-growing media landscape, and, to do this, they must churn out content all the time and differentiate their media by often using sensational and misleading headlines and statistics, inflammatory language, and embellishments. Such tactics perpetuate misinformation, and, during a global health crisis, this is particularly important because circulating false or exaggerated information fearmongers, creates a misunderstanding of science and medicine, circulates conspiracy theories, and affects public behavior and opinion in significant ways (e.g. hoarding toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and food products; ingesting disinfectants; and promoting anti-immigration policies and racism).

Despite all of this, hope is not completely lost, and we, as a society, can counter misinformation in the media. To do this we must always question the information we read and watch; seek out expert opinions (based on objective and scientific information) whenever possible; and hold all media producers to a high standard of accuracy and honesty in reporting of events and statistics. Obviously, the public’s ability to hold media producers accountable can only go so far, perhaps with organized boycotts of certain media outlets. We must also encourage media producers to make corrections (above the fold) and not shy away from admitting mistakes in reportage, which, although somewhat counterintuitive, would actually strengthen their credibility.

We will never be able to define a single narrative or standard of objective truth that everyone agrees upon without using media censorship, which is undemocratic and un-American. As such, we must instead turn to science to fight “fake news.” It is important to keep in mind, however, that science, like most things, involves uncertainty. In fact, the scientific process itself depends on trial and error. Scientists make observations, ask questions, develop a hypothesis, make predictions, test those predictions, evaluate results, and develop new hypotheses and predictions. In an ever-evolving situation, like a global pandemic, there is a lot of uncertainty, and even the best and the brightest do not always know what the best protocol is, which can feel frightening at times. Scientists and public health officials can, however, offer their expert suggestions based upon the most recent data available. This is something in which we can take comfort.

Although not the central focus of this project, it is also important to look beyond news media to fictional pandemic narratives from film and television and counter-narratives on social media that often inform our perceptions of the real and present crisis in erroneous ways. Social media, especially, is the perfect breeding ground for global health misinformation and conspiracies, but social media platforms and users also have the power to correct health misconceptions and refute false information by referencing expert sources and health organizations like the CDC and WHO. For example, Facebook has been providing Covid-19 updates and prevention tips from the CDC website via its COVID-19 Information Center, which is available to all Facebook users. Instagram has also been working to contain the spread of false information on its platform by including educational resources in the Instagram Search, marking posts that contain accurate information with stickers, and removing Covid-19 accounts from recommendations unless they were posted by credible health organizations. If we all do our part to promote accurate information on social media and remain vigilant about holding news media outlets accountable for the information they produce, we can, with patience and determination, begin to correct the chaos that is our modern media system.

About the creator: Beatrice is a junior at Scripps college dual majoring in Media Studies and Biology. She is interested in the intersections between media and science, particularly the ways in which the media often misinterprets or misrepresents scientific data and then circulates misinformation globally, which has a variety of negative consequences. She hopes to continue exploring this trend and identifying possible solutions in her future classes and also as she writes her thesis next semester.