Fake News: Totally Real

By Ryan Pendleton

Since the presidential candidate run of Donald J. Trump started, he has been a controversial subject among a majority of the American people. When Trump became president of the United States, people thought it was the end of the world… and it really was for some. As soon as he came into office, it was simply outrageous outside the White House. Nowadays since the madness, life is seemingly better.

There are people in America who strongly dislike Trump, but what people REALLY dislike like about him is the fact that he continually talks about fake news. Fake news really does exist out there; the true enemy of the people is misinformation, not the press. There have been stories about Trump and how he did this and that, but who can really prove it? Maybe Donald Trump is not trying to silence the press and the freedom of speech, he’s trying to silence the false information about him, politics and even more.

Credit goes to the University of Santa Barbara

A near-perfect example of fake news goes back to 1938 when Orson Welles went on the air. “War of the Worlds” came on and it spooked and actually convinced some people out in the United States. After the broadcast, radio stations told audiences that it was only a radio play and not real. A lot of magazines nowadays spread a heavy amount of literally fake news with such phony headlines like: “Bat Child Escapes” or “Hillary Clinton adopts Baby Alien” or even “Elvis is Back from the Dead”. Now, I’m not a conservative nor a liberal. I’m simply a news writer, reporting the truth, and right here, this is the truth. I don’t mean to offend those out there, but misinformation is real. Not just fake news about Trump, but fake news in general.

Before the presidency of Donald Trump, fake news and misinformation have existed for years; Adolf Hitler used Nazi propaganda to control the masses of Europe and even convinced most that the Axis powers won World War II at one point. Before Hitler, a popular astronomer and a colleague of his made up six articles about bizarre alien life on the moon; it was called “The Great Moon Hoax of 1835”. Yellow journalism also exists; it has little to no actual proof or evidence and most of it would be exaggerated.

In conclusion, fake news is completely and utterly real. The next time you see a heartwarming story on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or anywhere else, take it with a grain of salt. Before reading any sort of news, please educate yourself; it is very important for someone to tell the difference between real news, fake news, good news and or bad news. No matter what we do in this lifetime and no matter how hard we try, fake news can’t be eliminated. Just like the Terminator, it can’t be reasoned with, bargained with, bullied or bribed. But, as individuals, we can teach ourselves and others to tell the difference and be smarter than before.

Credit for featured image goes to the Education Writers Association