Cutting Through Fake News

Fake news is everywhere. Gone are the days when a newspaper stood on its principles and was held to account by a higher authority.

Enter the wild west of online media.

Anyone with a keyboard is a publisher although the concept of editorial policy is rather fanciful. It is estimated that of all content on the web 1% create it, 9% contribute to it and 90% just read it without engagement.

Searching for new luggage the other day yielded the same fake news that is usually reserved for Facebook. Glowing reports of a particular brand contained the same spelling mistakes as the brand’s own website. What a giveaway.

So where can we search for the truth now that TV has become marginalized. The web is a nest of vipers and commercial content is being churned out online at the same rate as fake Gucci bags.

The answer is to invest the time in a range of media, both in the US and abroad, and listen, watch and read different views from different sources.

As far as luggage is concerned, let the buyer beware. Even Consumer Reports uses reader feedback now rather than its own exhaustive testing. And for that privilege the subscription remains the same.

Fake views?