In the age of information, fake news, real news and every other kind of news inbetween, it’s important to be media savvy. With so many people wanting us to believe their ideas, combined with a highly emotional topic such as a contagious disease, it’s vital to know how to examine what is being presented.
Learning how to discern what is said, what is unsaid and what is true is difficult. We can begin by asking these three key questions:
What is the agenda?
Many have heard the expression “If it bleeds, it leads”, meaning that if a story is sensational or horrific, media organizations are much more likely to make it a front page or leading story.
Some say humans have an evolutionary bias towards bad news, as part of the reason humans have survived so long is by being very risk-averse and avoiding threats. That is what makes news organizations focus on the bad stuff.
If our friends become infected with fear or hysteria from the news, they will also want us to feel afraid, as misery loves company.
Governments sometimes also like us to feel fear, as that can make us easier to control.
Knowing that a source has bad intentions doesn’t mean that they’re wrong, just as knowing someone has good intentions doesn’t mean that they’re correct. Even so, it is useful to be aware of those biases so we can treat the information accordingly.
What is the context?
Let’s say someone tells you about a disease which is going to kill 100,000s of people in the next year. It’s causing people heart damage, lung damage, loss of smell, taste and hair.
If I tell you it’s a new disease, you might be very alarmed. However, if I tell you that these are all facts about influenza - which they are - you might simply say “oh, so it’s fine.”
In many cases, when the news is reported, it lacks key context. That can often, deliberately, make the facts seem more sensational than they are.
So it is important to ask, what information doesn’t this article tell me? Does it tell me what the situation looks like normally, and how the current situation compares?
What is the content?
When we read an article, sometimes the wording can be phrased as to mislead - inciting fear in the audience by allowing them to fill in the blanks.
Headlines are often not representative of the article, and when we read the body closely, we might find that it tells a very different story. Sometimes the headline is an oversimplification, and sometimes it even contradicts the main text.
News organizations are aware that people tune out after the headline and will take advantage of this fact. That’s why it’s important to be aware of what is literally stated.