The Importance of Truth and Accuracy

 

         Why can't news always be accurate and honest?

    When it comes to media worldwide, people are typically looking for two things, honesty in the content they are looking for with little to no bias, and accuracy, is the media they are viewing reliable and trustworthy. Using honesty and accuracy is known as journalism's first principle. This was made up by the RTDNA and their code of ethics. Though in the world of media, it is known that you can get more views and traffic on your websites if you twist your words and use clickbait to get more money and shares. It is a sad reality but is more common than you think, and no piece or topic of media is safe, fake news on presidential elections to conflicts in foreign countries fake media is everywhere. Some websites have been able to profit from the popularity of fake news, such as The Onion and The Babylon Bee intentionally making fake stories as a form of humor. However, the impact of fake news has been much more severe than websites that make up fake stories. Things from ani-vaccines moments to war propaganda on recent Ukraine and Russian situation have caused many people around the world distrust and panic. These fake news stories have led to a distrust in government and the media market as a whole. Should there be laws in place on whether fake news should be allowed? Should news be government regulated to stop the spread of potentially harmful stories? This could all be avoided if accuracy and honesty are always considered when writing media.