Propaganda Is Harder To Decipher In Today's Media

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Propaganda is Harder to Decipher in Today’s Media
Everyone today qualifies to be a journalist. The only requirements are that one should have a phone and access to the internet. There have been stories that have gained validity after one person took a photo and shared it on social media platforms. People have become increasingly involved with what is happening around them, and it is incredibly difficult for traditional media outlets to keep up. Currently, breaking news is shared on social media platforms, and by the time it gets to the media outlets, it is already trending or is already circulating the world. Matsa and Shearer (np) note that “about two-thirds of American adults (68%) say they at least occasionally get news on social media.” However, this article continues to say that “many of these consumers, however, are skeptical of the information they see there.”57% of the said consumers believe the information they get from social media is inaccurate while 42% believe it is accurate. Compared to traditional media like newspapers, social media continue to soar in their usage as more people depend on them for news. Shearer (np) from Pew Research Center reports that in America, social media “sites have surpassed print newspapers as a news source for Americans.” However, even as media continues to evolve, it should be noted that propaganda has also grown with the change and growth in media. Today, people are misdirected or are fed with fake or wrong information daily. Media outlets have also fallen victim to the issue of fake news and propaganda. Many have reported accounts that eventually turned out to be propaganda, and this is a testament to the way propaganda has infiltrated media. This essay thus seeks to compare media today and, in the past, compare propaganda today and in the past, and finally explain and justify why it is currently difficult to decipher propaganda.
Media today is more efficient, timely, and is not constrained by things like cost and the realities of printing and creating a big and complex distribution channel. The introduction of the Internet changed how news is disseminated as well as who gets to disseminate the news stories. Because of the internet, news outlets can share their stories with ease and reach many people around the world. A news channel like CNN is available worldwide, and this is mainly because of the availability of the Internet. So, people in America and Africa can enjoy the same stories and follow news that appeals to them. With regards to the argument at hand, this means that currently, propaganda reaches more people than it did in the past. As indicated, access to the Internet has made it easier for news outlets, bloggers, and anyone who qualifies to be a journalist nowadays to share their stories. Silverman and Pham (2018) note that Facebook continues to be the most preferred platform for sharing propaganda and fake news. According to their analysis, “the top 50 fake stories of 2018 identified by Buzzfeed News generated roughly 22 million total shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook between Jan. 1 and Dec. 9, 2018, according to data from BuzzSumo and Trendolizer.” These shar...