A new book, The Encyclopedia of Misinformation, gives insight into the fake news and how the media environment changed.
The author of the book, Rex Sorgatz, says the book was inspired by the change in the media environment surround the 2016 election. He elaborates that the shift in trust for news has changed through reliance on friend’s inputs on social media, rather than seeking information from trusted media sources.
With the reliance for news being on social media websites and not regulated by credible media sources, leaves a lot of sensationalized stories to be deemed as true news. News media outlets have the means to fact-check truth in stories, that many people who share fake news on social media by-pass.
Another point made about media consumption is that when people want to learn more about something they seek information, while filtering through content that can affirm their personal ideas. News media outlets attempt provide an unbiased opinion with both sides of the story. Sorgatz goes onto say that most people share information that validates their opinion to make a point.
Rex Sorgatz was an internet strategies consultant while writing the book during the 2016 election, providing inspiration for his book. His book has some comedic wit and good references to actual pieces of media.
Imagine if an excerpt of this book will be discussed in future history classes and remember the 2016 election for the era of fake news.
