{"id":1837,"date":"2017-01-27T11:24:53","date_gmt":"2017-01-27T18:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sebersole.wordpress.com\/?p=1837"},"modified":"2017-01-27T11:24:53","modified_gmt":"2017-01-27T18:24:53","slug":"alternative-facts-and-rogue-tweets-from-alt-federal-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebersolemedia.com\/blog\/alternative-facts-and-rogue-tweets-from-alt-federal-agencies\/","title":{"rendered":"Alternative Facts and Rogue Tweets from Alt Federal Agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Journalists have their work cut out for them. With public faith in journalistic credibility at an all-time low<\/a> and a combative White\u00a0House that uses social media to circumvent traditional news channels, journalists are facing\u00a0new challenges that have the potential to either make or break the industry.<\/p>\n

A democracy depends on an information electorate, and information, for most of our recent history, has been the responsibility\u00a0of a free and fair press. Newspapers, magazines, television networks, and internet websites have been the backbone of the journalistic enterprise in recent decades. Investigating and exposing corruption, reporting without bias, holding those in power to\u00a0account…these are the responsibilities\u00a0of a profession that is recognized and protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. But more and more news consumers are turning to alternative sources of information, including social media and internet websites that frequently traffic in a different type of information.<\/p>\n

Not all information is created equal and it is becoming increasingly difficult to ascertain the value and credibility of the barrage of information that vies for our attention. Take for example the estimates of the size of the crowd attending the Presidential Inauguration. Competing claims, some with photographic evidence, were made by partisan sources and reported by journalists…facts and “alternative facts” if you will.<\/p>\n

On Facebook\u00a0the other day I followed a link<\/a>\u00a0to a report of a catastrophic pipeline rupture. A photograph\u00a0was presented as evidence, calling into question the safety\u00a0of the Dakota Access pipeline. But the article falsely represented a photo from 2010 (taken in Texas) as a current photo from a Pennsylvania spill by the company connected to the Dakota Access project.\u00a0Regardless of whether you support or object to a pipeline near this\u00a0Native American community, this is not journalism.<\/p>\n

You may have seen the eruption on Twitter from various “alternative” governmental organizations after President Trump ordered a suspension<\/a> of the official\u00a0social media accounts. While these rogue accounts may be just that…actions of government employees acting on their own initiative on their own time…it is also possible that they are simply fake accounts created by partisans who are participating in a grass-roots resistance to the new administration.<\/p>\n

As such they are newsworthy, but\u00a0not for the same reason they would be if indeed they are actually the work of federal employees. According to one blog<\/a>,<\/p>\n

For now, at least, most of these unverified accounts seem to be pushing positive agendas: the climate change facts that many of them tweet are unequivocal, and the planned march<\/a> of scientists on Washington promises to raise legitimate concerns about scientific progress in the United States. But a dejected left-wing and liberal group should remember that these accounts are emotionally gratifying, not edifying. Embracing such gratification without critical analysis veers close to the Trump administration’s embracing of “alternative facts<\/a>” \u2014 lies that suit the narrative you’d prefer.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Disclaimer: the above quote is from The Verge<\/em>, a website that has a mixed record as a credible source of news\/information.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Journalists have their work cut out for them. With public faith in journalistic credibility at an all-time low and a combative White\u00a0House that uses social media to circumvent traditional news channels, journalists are facing\u00a0new challenges that have the potential to either make or break the industry. A democracy depends on an information electorate, and information, … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Alternative Facts and Rogue Tweets from Alt Federal Agencies”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,11,14,16,18,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ethics","category-journalism","category-media-industry","category-new-media","category-politics","category-social-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebersolemedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebersolemedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebersolemedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebersolemedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebersolemedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ebersolemedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1837\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebersolemedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebersolemedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebersolemedia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}