Rhetorical analysis of ‘We’re all responsible for the state of social media’ by Board of Directors in Denver Post.

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Rhetorical Analysis Essay
Rhetorical analysis of ‘We’re all responsible for the state of social media’ by Board of Directors in Denver Post.
The authors of this article wanted to persuade the audience to take action in to reduce the social media propagation of fake news. They explicated how it has become the ‘weapons of choice in dirty politics’ and why they should care about sources of their information. The main argument they have put across is that social media is the best channel they have chosen to bombard the people with misleading information which has detrimental effects on society. The audience addressed by the authors is anyone in the general public who has a social media account. The authors have used rhetorical tools in several and varying ways to package their message and ensure it prompts the audience to take action against fake news on social media. This essay expounds on how the authors have used ethos, pathos, and logos to relay their message.
Ethos
Ethos is when the author relies on his/her weapons of choice in dirty politics perceived credibility from the author’s perspective to get approval. If the writer knows that the audience finds him/her a reputable source of information, he/she can use that perceived power to push his/her information to the audience. In the article, the authors have indicated who they are. They also understand that the Denver Post is a reputable media outlet and thus they draw their authority from the reputation of the company. It is likely that the article was authored by a single person but published as from Denver post editorial team. The position of an editor is a media outlet draws authority and to enhance that authority, they add that it is ‘Board of Editors.’ A board meaning it is a team of the best editors in the organization. The article thus draws its ethos power from the fact that it is authored and published by a reputable media outlet and the people behind the content are the best in the organization. It is also the work of several of the best in the organization.
As the editorial board, they understand that appealing to the people as a team of experts in the field especially on media content would elicit the desired impact. The editorial board notes ‘We call for everyone to exercise more care on this platform, to unfollow those who prove disreputable, defriend those who waste your time with clickbait, and to instead reward the truth and hard work that shines in other sources.’ The editorial board further draws their power from speaking as a unit and imploring their audience to take action to fight fake news. The message is packaged to draw power from the reputation and credibility of the authors which shows they (a team of information experts- editors from a reputable media organization) want their audience to join them and take action to fight the damaging effects of social media stemming from the poor utility of the platform by some people.
The titling of the article also uses ethos. ‘We’re all responsible for the state of social media.’ The title includes the audience into the picture. When the audience shares the thoughts, opinions, ideas of the authors...