It wasn’t long ago that many used to spend their mornings reading the local paper to catch up on the news.
But nowadays, we flock to our Facebook news feed, turn on the TV, or check our Twitter to read the news.
It’s a devastating fact, but journalism is truly dead – and the tradition of journalistic integrity died along with it.
The use of social media is nearly unavoidable in this day and age.
While many use it to connect with relatives and friends, some use it purely for entertainment purposes, or to get their news.
Even mainstream media has picked up on the social media epidemic, albeit too late as usual. They often report on the extent to which social media has influenced not only daily life, but the news — both real and imagined.
A prime example of how social media can incite a feeding frenzy in the news occurred late last month.
For months, Area 51 was trending on every major social media site after one individual created a “Storm Area 51” event on Facebook as a joke.
And on September 20th, alien enthusiasts sporting their tin foil hats and lime green alien morph suits flocked to rural Nevada for the event. https://deepstatejournal.com/2019/08/23/nevada-citizens-face-a-state-of-emergency-all-thanks-to-this-joke/
Rachel, Nevada is a small town with under 50 residents who were terrified that 25,000 attendees of “Alienstock” would descend on their small town and wreak havoc. https://deepstatejournal.com/2019/08/28/a-state-emergency-promoted-as-the-next-burning-man-has-government-officials-terrified/
What had started as a joke on social media had gained even the attention of the U.S. Air Force, who promised to defend the base using whatever force necessary.
Despite the media perpetrating this event as a massive festival the likes of Burning Man, there were less than 3,000 attendees, less than 10 arrests, and the music from the “festival” wasn’t even disruptive.
But still, news organizations from the New York Times to CNN to Fox News reported that these Area 51 enthusiasts would storm the government base, simply because social media said so.
Yes, journalism is truly dead, but social media is not completely to blame — it’s the news organizations themselves.
Instead of focusing on the facts and reporting the details, major news networks like CNN and MSNBC report on whatever fits their political agenda.
And oftentimes, the media relies on social media to spread their liberal propaganda — which is why millions trust Alex Jones more than CNN or NBC.
Social media can be a powerful tool in modern times, but it’s certainly a contributing factor to the decline in quality journalism.
On the other hand, many businesses would simply not be as successful without the promotional tools on social media.
Social media has brought families together, connected friends, and even launched budding entrepreneurs into full-fledged corporate owners.
However, users have become so dependent on social media that it’s hard to imagine modern times without it.
And now the mainstream media has latched onto social media as a crutch, thereby destroying decades of journalism tradition.
“Print is dead” doesn’t sound so far off now, does it?
News articles are almost solely available online rather than in a hard copy now and for many reasons.
But the simplest reason is because the highest demand for news is on social media.
It’s a fact of life that from the moment most millennials wake up, we grab our phone and scroll through Instagram, check our Snapchats, and post to Facebook.
Whether we’re checking to see if our friends were “marked safe” during a time of crisis or watching a livestream event in real-time, social media has made it so the news is right there in front of us.
What do you believe caused the end of journalism?
Do you trust the news to provide you with factual accounts of events, or is it just left-leaning and biased versions of reality?
Leave us your thoughts in the comments section below.