The concept of “fake news” has become a major topic in recent months.
There has always been an ample supply of reporting that is demonstrably reality-challenged. Supermarket tabloids breathlessly headline stories that strain credulity, discussing ridiculous topics about visitors from outer space, the whereabouts of Elvis, or other nonsense. Even in more respected sources, unsubstantiated articles devoid of provable facts have creeped into publications, defying journalistic ethics.
But there are two new aspects to the issue. One involves the increased frequency with which many, particularly young people, get their “news” from non-news sources, such as comedy shows. The second is using the pejorative label of “fake news” for articles that reveal facts that accurately contradict preconceived notions based on the ideology of those making the accusation.
Comedy and Satire vs. Real News
A Harvard Crimson analysis found that “Political satire outlets have risen in popularity considerably in recent years. In fact, Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” were the two most-watched late night talk shows among 18- to 49-year-olds in the first quarter of 2013. ‘The Onion’, a well-known satirical newspaper and website with a political section, started with modest beginnings and now boasts 7.5 million viewers monthly. This meteoric rise has led scholars and laymen alike to question the impact humorous news outlets have on politics… political satire chooses reports based on comedic value, which—instead of deviating from essential information… some have argued that political satire encourages cynicism, trivializes politics, and promotes a narrow point of view (stemming from the predominantly liberal leanings of most political satirists and comedians).
A Pew Research study found that a significant portion of Americans get their news from non-news sources, particularly comedy and entertainment television programs. Pew noted that in 2014, 10% overall got their news from the Colbert Report comedy program. Within that 10%, Younger males were “the most likely to use and trust The Colbert Report as a source of news about government and politics.” In the survey of online adults, according to Pew, nearly a quarter (22%) of 18- to 29- year-old males say they got news about politics and government from The Colbert Report in the previous week. That is more than twice that of 18- to 29- year-old women and significantly higher than any other age group. Also, these younger males are more likely to trust The Colbert Report as a source of political news; almost three-in-ten say that they trust it, more than any other age group.”
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The Report also found that Those with consistently liberal political views are the most likely to use and trust The Colbert Report. “Roughly a quarter (26%) of consistent liberals reported getting news about government and politics from The Colbert Report in the previous week. That is far more than other ideological groups. In fact, a mere 1% of consistent conservatives say they get news from the show. The share of consistent liberals who get news from The Colbert Report is similar to that of The Huffington Post (29%) and CBS News (30%), but somewhat lower than its lead-in The Daily Show (34%), as well as a number of more traditional sources including NPR (53%) and CNN (52%). Trust follows the same pattern. About a third (36%) of consistent liberals trust The Colbert Report, more than any other ideological group.”
The Impact on the National Conversation
The impact on national politics, according to a recent review by the Boston Globe, is significant. The Globe calls it “The John Oliver Effect” – an influence on the national conversation that has been known to affect policy.
Joe Hale Cutbirth, writing in Columbia University’s Academic Commons, notes “the blurring of lines between news and entertainment, public policy and popular culture, is not a new phenomenon. Yet, re cent concerns that journalism is being subsumed within the larger field of mass communication and competing with an increasingly diverse group of narratives that includes political satire are well-founded… When Time recently asked readers to identify “the most trusted newsperson in America,” Stewart was the runaway winner… It argues that they seek him out because the para-political talk he offers helps them connect with a larger community of like-minded fellows Early scholarship on the increasingly complex relationship between satire and traditional journalism has focused on the satirists and attempted to define their narratives as something more than comedy – some type of popular journalistic hybrid or emerging narrative that is a new form of journalism.…”
Comedy and satire have always been a part of the political conversation. They play a valuable role in highlighting absurdities and inconsistencies among leaders. However, there is a growing problem in that many if not most of the most popular comedians and satirists of the day tend to be less interested in pointing out hypocrisy than in promoting a particular point of view, generally skewing to the left, rendering them partisan participants in the political process rather than objective critics and observers of that process.
Tomorrow: The Fake News Debate