It's ironic that as we move into a world where anyone can be a "journalist" and anyone can have a voice, we need professional journalists more than ever.
Now a journalist will not only need training in writing well, conveying a story with facts, and investigating, but they will also need to become experts in identifying fake source material.
In a world where anyone can make a video or photo of anyone doing anything, we'll need to rely on reputable journalists to vet that material for us.
Saw a video on YouTube of the President saying something bad? No idea if it's real anymore.
Sure, a lot of this technology has existed for a while, but it was usually in the fringes (see The National Enquirer). Now it's going mainstream.
And the worst part is, there are a whole group of people who will not trust a professional journalist (sometimes with good reason) but will trust anyone online who happens to provide evidence that boosters their existing opinions.
Now a journalist will not only need training in writing well, conveying a story with facts, and investigating, but they will also need to become experts in identifying fake source material.
In a world where anyone can make a video or photo of anyone doing anything, we'll need to rely on reputable journalists to vet that material for us.
Saw a video on YouTube of the President saying something bad? No idea if it's real anymore.
Sure, a lot of this technology has existed for a while, but it was usually in the fringes (see The National Enquirer). Now it's going mainstream.
And the worst part is, there are a whole group of people who will not trust a professional journalist (sometimes with good reason) but will trust anyone online who happens to provide evidence that boosters their existing opinions.