Suspicious Media

http://mediamatters.org/items/200608080001

I almost feel like I'm being redundant by looking at this in particular, simply because it was a case of fraud found by bloggers. However, I'm hopefully going to be able to tie these incidents into a larger picture.

The above link is to a website reporting on fraud in the media. It focuses on two examples; the documents dealing with President Bush's service in the Coast Guard, and an obviously photoshoped image from Iraq. These two items bring up a larger question. If these things are frauds or at least suspect, then what about other images and articles in the media? In fact, what can you trust?

Our whole country is educated on national affairs via the media. ABC, CNN, MSNBC, and FOX are everywhere, telling us what is going on in far away places or at home. Either way, the events they describe are usually things that he cannot verify though personal experience. We take their information at face value, believing that if the news reports it, then it obviously must be true. So what happens when the news becomes something we must scrutinize? If other fakes are out there, then how much of the news should we believe? These questions are serious and very dangerous. If people cannot trust the news then their knowledge will once again be limited to what they have personally seen and heard. Much depends on knowledge that we do not gain first hand. Politicians, defense policy, economics, immigration, and a host of other important issues are explained to us via the media. How will we decide what to do in these areas if we are not informed correctly of the current situation with each? We must do something about this. What exactly, is a question I hope to find the answer to.
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