Fixation on Fake News Overshadows Waning Trust in Real Reporting

John Herrman writing in The New York Times talks about fake news in relationship to real news. Specifically he says:

[The attention devoted to fake news] misunderstands a new media world in which every story, and source, is at risk of being discredited, not by argument but by sheer force.

Media companies have spent years looking to Facebook, waiting for the company to present a solution to their mounting business concerns despite, or perhaps because of, its being credited with causing those concerns. Some have come to the realization that this was mistaken, even absurd. Those who expect the operator of the dominant media ecosystem of our time, in response to getting caught promoting lies, to suddenly return authority to the companies it has superseded are in for a similar surprise.

The two quotes above do not fully capture the arguments and tenor of Herrman’s article, which is well worth a read or two.