Fake, Real, or Somewhere in Between?

Fake, Real, or Somewhere in Between?

How to Self-Check the News and Get to the Facts

Dr. Joe Alain, December 10, 2019

Introduction

It seems that there has been an uptick of biased, distorted or outright fake Christian news being reported online on pseudo news sites and in social media. While we hear much about media bias in the regular media sources (print, television and radio), there is also bias, distortion, and outright falsities in Christian media too. How do you know what is fake, real, or somewhere in between? It’s not always easy and it does take some digging but following are some ways that you can perform your own self-check so you can get to the facts. This self-check list will work with any form of media.

How to Self-Check the News and Get to the Facts

1. Question the source. With the proliferation of technology today, anyone anywhere can set up a webpage and claim to be a credible news site or source of information. The old adage applies, “Don’t believe everything you read.” Also, pay attention to the domain address. Fake sites will often mimic legitimate sites and if you don’t look carefully you might not catch this.

2. Read the “About Us” section. Who is publishing or promoting the site? What are the credentials of their author(s)? Reputable news sources are glad to tell you who they are. If you cannot find information on who is writing or publishing the articles, that’s a red flag.  

3. Look at the quotes in a story, or lack of quotes. Many websites simply republish material from other sources and quotations are often lacking or material is misquoted. Try to determine the original source that is being cited and question the source. Sometimes an article from a dubious source will reprint an article from another dubious source, so you have to trace the lineage of the story.

4. Look up the original source for context. Context is everything to the actual meaning of a story. Unfortunately, the meaning of a story can be easily twisted by people with agendas who quote words out of context. Unless an article goes to great lengths to give you context (not likely) you will need to look up the original source to find out the actual meaning.

5. Are reputable news sites carrying the story? Look for confirmation. If only one outlet is reporting something, it could be highly questionable whether it is actually true or not and it probably is not.  

6. Does the story make you angry? Many less than reputable individuals and organizations traffic in anger and sensationalism. People with agendas typically want to bring out the worst of one side to stir up feelings of anger so that their weak argument looks impressive.

7. Avoid or be suspicious of news sources with bias in the title or tagline. If the title or tagline of an article sounds like something that would come from The National Enquirer, you might want to proceed with caution. Many news sites that traffic in sensationalism have loaded “red meat” titles and taglines designed to draw you in to read the article.  

8. Diversify your news intake. Don’t live in a bubble. The surest way to stay in the dark is to limit your news intake to one perspective. Understand that all news organizations lean in some type of direction and the best way to get the full picture is to read or listen broadly.

9. Make a serious effort to understand the other side. We would all be better off if we practiced this; unfortunately, many people do not really care to understand the other side of an issue but making the effort to understand other perspectives will help us determine what is actually true.

10. Check the comments. Who is saying what? Sometimes you may find comments that disaffirm the article such as “I checked this out and it is false.” Other times you may get a cue about the credibility of the article by the tone of the comments.

Why is the accuracy of media such an important topic of discussion?    

It matters for at least two reasons: (1) The Bible has a lot to say about the use and impact of the tongue for good and for evil. (2) And the Bible also has much to say about how we as believers are to treat one another, even those who we disagree with.

The Power of the Tongue

Here are a couple of passages of Scripture that stand out on the power of the tongue.

²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Ephesians 4:29-31

“Unwholesome talk” is literally “rotten” speech. Paul tells us that when we use our tongue to tear others down, speak evil of them, or speak lies, we “grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” Believers should “rid” themselves of all such truly “fowl” language. Instead, we should “build” others up with our tongue.

³ When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴ Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.  James 3:3-6

Although such a small member of our body, James says that the tongue is extremely powerful. So much so, that the tongue has the power to steer human affairs for good and unfortunately for evil too. The uncontrolled tongue is scorching in its destructive power, setting “the whole course of one’s life on fire.”

What Does the Bible Say about Slander?

Much of what follows on the Bible and slander has been compiled from the site, Got Questions.org. The old adage “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” is not true. Words can do a great deal of damage to those who have been slandered. Slander is making a false verbal statement that damages someone’s reputation. Slander differs slightly from libel in that libel is a written defamation of character; slander is only spoken. The Bible says a lot about slander, in both Old Testament and New (Proverbs 10:18; 1 Peter 2:1). Slander is so high on God’s list of wrongs that He included it in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:16). The ninth commandment says, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Bearing false witness includes slander because of the untruths being spread. Slander is simply lying about someone with the intent of causing others to view that person in a negative light.

Slander is malicious lying, and God hates lying (Proverbs 6:16–19; 12:22). Since God is the author of truth (John 14:6; 1 John 5:6), anything untrue is in opposition to His nature and therefore repulsive to Him. Both slander and gossip are wrong, and Scripture often condemns them together (Leviticus 19:16; Proverbs 16:27; 2 Corinthians 12:20), but slander takes gossip to a whole new level. Gossip collects someone’s secrets and passes them to others; slander makes up its own secrets and broadcasts them wherever they will do the most harm. A careless and false accusation reported on a news site or shared on social media has the power to impact how you feel about a person or issue, whether what was said is true or not. And when something hurtful or false is shared, we become spreaders of gossip and slander.