Written September 27, 2016 by Lynn McMorris

The far right’s continued insistence that we not trust the mainstream media reminds me of the way in which abused women are manipulated and shielded from the reality of their situation.

In order to keep her in line, the first thing the abuser does is discredit anyone who would tell her the truth, to separate her from those she previously trusted. Once the seeds of distrust are sown, the manipulator becomes the truth teller.

And isn’t that the mantra we now hear over and over? “Don’t believe the mainstream media, they lie to you. Believe me instead.”

No media source is entirely honest. But if you are not getting your news from broad and reputable sources where journalistic standards still prevail, and if you are not fact checking that information, you are allowing yourself to be manipulated. Your opinions, no matter how closely held, are not based in reality.

In an age where anyone on the internet can say anything, where spreading gossip, baseless conspiracies and innuendo are rewarded with readership and advertising sales, the truth is harder than ever to discern.

In an information age, there is simply so much more nonsense to wade through. But if mainstream media is discounted, crackpot conspiracy sites, internet memes, chain email and entertainment sites masquerading as journalism become our truth tellers.

Many people no longer bother searching for truth. They just want to be comfortable in their opinions. For those folks the internet becomes an endless supply of validation for their own misguided suspicions. It doesn’t matter how crazy your thoughts, the world wide web will provide you with sources to explain why you are exactly right.

Remember the lone, unwashed man we once saw on street corners with a sign which read “The World Is Ending”? Now he can search the internet and find an entire apocalyptic community. He can share tips on sign construction and debate the most likely dates of our demise. No need to be a lonesome crazy guy anymore. Once ostracized and dismissed by society, the internet gives him solace, a home and even an audience. He doesn’t need a sign. He can have a Facebook page or a blog.

The problem today is many people cannot tell the difference between a website which promotes and nurtures insanity and those which deal in facts. On the internet, what we fear often carries the day over what we know. Even bipartisan fact checking sites whose sole mission is to separate truth from nonsense are summarily dismissed by many simply because their investigation of the facts often disagrees with popular opinion.

The profession of journalism has failed us in many ways over the last 30 years, often prioritizing ratings over substance, profits over principles, but even in their present flawed form they remain a vital source of information. Now more than ever we need the mainstream media to help us separate fact from fiction, to verify the sources, to fulfill their mission of informing a free citizenry.

Instead of dismissing the mainstream media, we should, as Ronald Reagan once said, trust but verify. I use this quote with a sense of irony. It was under Reagan that the FCC abolished the Fairness Doctrine, which had previously required those awarded a broadcast license to devote time to topics of public interest and to present contrasting opinions, allowing viewers to parse the information and form their own opinion. Broadcast news has been sliding downhill ever since.

Had that doctrine been left in place, we would not have Fox News, an entertainment and propaganda site pretending to be news, playing on what we fear rather than what we know. It has been a significant factor in the polarization of our country.

We are all entitled to differing opinions but they should at least be based on fact and should evolve as additional facts become known. Opinions are not meant to exist in granite. The ability to engage in critical thinking is how we grow intellectually.

Truth is harder than ever to find. But it should at least still matter.