Judge Napolitano knows that in this day of age regarding the media, numerous benefits come from the continuing rise of digital media, considering the convenience of tuning in towards these digital media outlets. With that said, as the United States has an on-going problem regarding the dividedness of its people, many attributes to what’s being promoted through popular digital outlets. As people, in general, have grown to distrust mainstream media outlets, a lot of these same people have looked into independent news outlets rather than the media conglomerates.
Although many independent news outlets have stepped up to become legitimate sources of information, there are news outlets, which many of which are on video-sharing sites like Youtube, which have contributed to spreading false reporting. To which in some cases, some of these outlets have openly promoted extremism to a degree.
Sites like Youtube, for instance, have been argued as a safe-haven for radicalized content. After all, it only takes one video to be viral, to which that video can influence a vast number of people who view it.
Many of these outlets who spread false information justify it by preaching an extreme ideology, whether their perspective is on the left or right side of the political spectrum. One of the biggest reasons why false information spreads throughout the internet is the feeling of being misrepresented by mainstream media. That’s because social media makes it much easier to get any type of news information across when it’s uploaded to the internet, where the entire world can see it.
“Today’s news consumer has to do a lot more detective work in order to assure one’s self you’re being informed by legitimate news and information sources,” stated Phil Napoli during an interview.
“There’s more information than ever but people still want journalists to make sense of it for them. They still want us to hold power accountable. They just want to make sure we’re not biased in doing it.”
People need to realize that not everything about today’s media is bad. As it’s mentioned before in this article, the convenience of receiving news through social media platforms is positive to some degree. It’s worth noting that the concept of independent creators in today’s media has risen also. Years, some people wouldn’t believe that ordinary people can be a part of the media and deliver content themselves. Youtube is a great example, as many independent figures made their fame through Youtube’s independent platform.
In conclusion, people need to get the News from a source they can trust.