Lying about lying: Why we must revisit the definition of “fake news”

April 4th, 20230 The phrase “fake news” continues to be deployed routinely in U.S. politics. In a polarized political atmosphere, both Republicans and Democrats distrust media organizations affiliated with opposing parties. This means that most of what is uttered or written by CNN is “fake news” for Republicans, and much of what appears in...

Media burdens run two ways

May 25th, 20180 I was chatting with a group of students the other day when one of them looked me in the eye and commented, “You’re very tough on journalists.” I had to plead guilty. Of course I’m tough on journalists. Maybe even as tough on them as they are on politicians. Our representative democracy depends on journalists doing their...

What are our true priorities?

April 6th, 20180 There are many times we need to ask ourselves, what are our true priorities? A couple of weeks ago, thanks to social media, and fake news, we were all made aware of a suspicious flyer that supposedly originated somewhere in the United Kingdom, but no one was able to determine who was behind it. The “Punish a Muslim Day”...

The call to shut down Al Jazeera must be condemned

July 7th, 20170 It has been more than a month since four Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia decided to cut off ties with their neighbor, Qatar.  Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the UAE imposed severe diplomatic and economic sanctions on the tiny Gulf state that heavily depends on imports for its daily consumption of necessary goods. The...

CNN won’t air Trump’s ‘100 days’ ad

May 5th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C. — An ad by Donald Trump's campaign that featured the president jeering at the mainstream media network CNN for being "fake news" will not be aired by the station, sources said Tuesday. In a statement addressing the ad, CNN said that they "requested that the advertiser remove the false graphic that says the...

CNN won’t air Trump’s ‘100 days’ ad

May 4th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C.-AN ad by Trump's campaign that featured the President jeering at the mainstream media network CNN for being "fake news" will not be aired by the station, sources said Tuesday. In a statement addressing the ad, CNN said that they “requested that the advertiser remove the false graphic that says the mainstream media...