The term "Fake News" is the Collins Dictionary Word of the Year for 2017.
Mainstream media, in covering this story, reported that Donald Trump wrongly used the term against their organisations, that "Fake News" applies primarily to 'dubious' online sources, and that Trump is using it to deflect against criticism of his Presidency. However, Trump is, more often than not, correct in his usage against the mainstream press. The corporate media, as pointed out via a myriad of online sources, has a long history of being dishonest. It's not the online media that is the king of Fake News, it's the mainstream media.
It's important to note it is not simply a matter of taking the word of the alternative press at face value when it comes to their reporting - the leading online media outlets DIRECTLY SHOW the audience the nature of the mainstream lies so there can be no question.
If one considers the dictionary's definition of the term: ‘fake news’ that means “false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting” one can easily see how the definition DOES fit the mainstream press.
The term was first used at the end of the 2016 Presidential campaign to smear and essentially ring fence alterative media reporting that had been highlighting the bias and untruths the mainstream media used in helping Hillary Clinton throughout the election process.
The issue we face is that the mainstream media, on matters of war and high level cronyism, is a type of controlled opposition. They frame the debate and consequently your thoughts, concerning selected issues, and are especially active in this regard when it comes to Presidential campaigns. They protect the upper levels of a corrupted system (ie the owners and controllers of wealth and power in the USA).
The various terms used to describe the mainstream press help one understand how and why they operate (as censorship and debate controlling tools) and for whom. This media is know as the corporate press (the are owned and have loyalty to their sponsors), the establishment media (influenced by high level political bodies/lobbyists), the Mockingbird Media (where we have a record of strong media ties and interactions with the intelligence community), and where journalists and editors are often referred to as "presstitutes".
The tentacles of the controlled press also extend into the online alternative media via compromised individuals (moles/ideologues) and via money (sponsorship). This invites varying levels of (including self) censorship, that omits important information, includes outright lying and/or distortions - all of which changes the public perception (just as the mainstream does, although under the veneer of a more critical eye when it comes to certain pet issues that go beyond what the corporate press covers).
As a whole the controlled media creates a false sense of reality. They set the parameters when it comes to public discourse, steering the majority of people away from taboo topics that would expose a highly corrupted establishment.
Because of decades acting as the perceived information authority figure, the trusted mainstream media has this psychological advantage that they can use to hoodwink the public and push whatever spin they desire knowing that the vast majority of the population has neither the time and interest to independently check what they say. They can air stories that omit other views, run with incomplete facts, or push lies from unreliable sources, and people will assume they've done due diligence on the story.
The danger from the alternative media is that it can directly connect with the public and challenge the monopoly held by the mainstream press. They expose the deceptions and undermine their ability to control people's thoughts. This is why an attempt was made to smear the alternative press as "Fake News". The powers that be failed because reality bit them in the arse/ass. When they used the term "Fake News" they overstepped their ability to project propaganda.
For propaganda to work people have to sense that what is being pushed is true. In the case of the US Presidential election many people didn't buy what was being sold. They knew for a fact that the US economy was doing poorly, which was what Trump was telling them, and so their gambit - that things were already great - failed. In the 21st Century, facts on the ground still matter. Furthermore, people ARE turning online to discover things for themselves. Everything is online. People are directly connected via their smart phones. This is the new reality. People don't even have to go searching when it comes to gaining insights on politically charged issues either, especially as social media puts contradictory information right in their laps.
The alternative media in the online age has made a mockery of mainstream media's biased narrative, showing up their ties to corporate and military-industrial interests. It is no wonder that their smear of "Fake News" was easily turned against them.
Spook
Related:
The Truth About Fake News - PJW
Alternative to What? The BFP Roundtable Dissects the "Alternative" Media
[Posted at the SpookyWeather blog, November 10th, 2017.]
