The media has been able to create fear in the lives of civilians for just about as long as it’s been in existence. And no, I’m not talking about the media actually getting facts right to expose horrible truths to the public and shed light on real issues. While this might have been something the media did in its very early days, it’s just not true anymore. I’m talking about fake news to distract people from real issues and to create panic by blowing up and distorting small bits of fake or unimportant information. Fake news is floating around in every corner of the internet. All it takes to spread is for someone with influence to share it with their followers, or an article getting passed around many, many times for fear and panic to take root in the minds and hearts of people like you and me.
Fake news has been a hot topic since President Trump began using the term very frequently during his candidacy and presidency over the past few years. It has become a familiar term for most Americans. And while some of President Trump’s fake news claims have been misleading and incorrect, the term still correctly applies to a wide variety of ‘news’ that has malicious intent when it comes to informing the public. We’ve all seen this numerous times in our lifetimes and already too many times just in 2020 alone. On the day that Kobe Bryant died in late January this year, there were a flurry of fake and ill informed news stories storming the internet. I remember seeing multiple articles that got the amount of people and who was in the helicopter with him wrong. These articles were horrifying to read and I had no idea what story to believe for the whole day. When it comes to deaths, especially those that are made public, the media does not always do a great job of covering the story while being respectful to the person who died and their family. We are seeing this pan out even now as the coronavirus takes its toll on the United States.
While the COVID-19 pandemic is not something that should be taken lightly, there is a lot of false information floating around with the intent to scare and control civilians. For example, the panic that led to the toilet paper shortage had to start somewhere. There were false symptoms reported online that the coronavirus would give you diarrhea, and everyone freaked out and stocked up on toilet paper to make sure that their behinds would be okay just in case they caught the virus. This is just one example of how false reports by the media have caused unnecessary panic. There have been multiple deaths that have been reported as due to COVID-19, while in fact the people who have passed in fact died of other causes but it just happened to be during a pandemic. Journalists have taken these deaths and eliminated the true cause of death and blamed it on the coronavirus. The stories of people dying in freak accidents but being said to be related to COVID-19 have added much unnecessary panic to the lives of those that read and hear about their stories. In times as dyer as this, we must be careful of the information that we let into our minds.
While it is important to stay connected to news sources to know about further developments with the pandemic, there needs to be a cut off point when someone knows that they have heard enough for the day. A person can only take in so much negative information at one time before it starts to become a burden, and most of the information that is connected to COVID-19 is being portrayed in a negative way with little to no hope shining through. Find a reputable news source and check it once or twice a day tops. Take a break from the nonsense on Facebook and quit looking at the doomsday links that your aunt keeps sending you every other day. Worrying cannot add a second to your life. Instead of living in fear of the outcome of the pandemic, make sure you have enough essentials to stay at home for a few weeks, but don’t stop living life. Turn off the news on the T.V. and take a walk if you’re able to, pick up a new hobby, or call your friends and family to check on them and make sure that they’re doing okay. If they are the one sending you false information online, use this as an opportunity to share with them a good, quality news source that is producing correct as well as hopeful information. Being glued to a screen can be very dangerous, especially in a time like this. Choosing to turn off, log off, or scroll past fake news is the best thing you can do for yourself right now. Stay informed. Stay safe. Stay home. Stay healthy.
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