Special Report: Fake News- The Local Edition

We’ve been hearing it for years but it hit a boiling point in 2016. Ok… I’ll say it …again… FAKE NEWS. But the reemerge of this trending topic has many here at home asking, “Can I trust my local news source?” Let’s take a look. Fake News or hoax news refers to false information or propaganda published under the guise of being authentic news. These websites and channels push their fake news content and attempt to mislead consumers and spread misinformation via social networks and word of mouth. Over the last couple years it was often aimed at stirring the political pot and was even thought to have played a role in the outcome of the 2016 Election, but what about here in Yuma? Everyday your local news organizations are working to bring you the news that you need to know, but how do you know it’s trustworthy? “I’m Eduardo Santiago and I’m the digital content director at KYMA KSWT KECY KESE. As a news organization I feel like we’re really just the messenger. So we get the facts from a fountain of information. It can be a public information officer, a witness, those kinds of things, and we read them in a way that the public can easily understand. We try to source everything and then we try to be consistent,” he says. But as the Digital Content Director, spending most of his time monitoring our social media consistency online, how do we guarantee credibility? Santiago says, “We avoid jumping the gun reporting erroneous news or news we are uncertain of. If we’re unsure of something, we’ll hold on to it until we can confirm it. People can ensure that whatever comes out with our logos, with our name on it, it’s as truthful and accurate as possible. ” Everyday we utilize many resources to to bring the stories that matter to you. These resources must be credible with factual information to make a thorough, well-rounded story. One of those resources, happens to be the oldest news source in Yuma County. So, we headed over to the Yuma Sun to ask what they’ve been doing in their 140 year history, to preserve their credibility. Lisa Reilly, Publisher with the Yuma Sun explains, “So we take a huge responsibility in making sure that what we’re reporting the news is correct.” “Fake news was never a problem for us historically but historically it’s always been an issue. Dating back, to Ben Franklin who wrote satire.That’s still fake news. So it’s a journalist responsibility to know what the accurate and truthful for their community and that’s what we focus” says Roxanne Molenar the Editor at The Yuma Sun. These journalist, share the same core principles off camera when bringing the community the stories they need to know. “We only print information that we verify. We research stories very in depth and we don’t rush to publication. So if we have questions about a story we will hold that story until we’re 100 percent comfortable with it” says Molenar. And now that social media plays a new role for most newspaper publications, they say the same rules apply. “There’s also responsibility on the reader or the viewer to vet that as well. They have to go over it and have that responsibility of not sharing something if they don’t think it’s not true,” says Reilly. “Especially when it comes to sharing something in social media,” says Molenar. Question: Have you ever consider yourself a reliable source of information? Chances are you have, or maybe you haven’t, but when it comes to social media, we are all sources of information and with that comes a certain responsibility of learning how to spot fake news and stop the spread. Eugene Keily, Director of Factcheck.org explains, “There are some tall tale signs on these fake news websites and these articles that are being written. First of all, you have to look at the credibility of the news organization and do a little investigating on your own. Frequently these stories don’t have a byline, they don’t provide any information about where they’re located, who their staffers are and who their publisher is even. It’s all hidden. Also reading through the story what’s the source of the information?” Another key point, knowing the difference between Fake News and Biased News. “People are allowed to have their opinions they can write columns but what we’re talking about, fake news, at least what we’re talking about at Factcheck.org, the quotes are made up, the people are made up, the events are made up. You need to have credibility on both sides,” Keily said. Keily also tells us that news commentators, although well versed in their respective fields, still use some bias, where as reporters are presenting factual findings on their stories. He also adds historically fake news generated is mostly geared towards which ever political party in power.