Busting Bad Journalism That Seeks to Mislead Us

Last updated on: January 13, 2025 at 2:36 pm by Michele Howe

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Busting Bad Journalism That Seeks to Mislead Us 2025-01-13T14:36:04-06:00 Michele Howe

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Digesting News Wisely

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

How do I figure out if this is true or not? How many times have I asked myself that very question today? This week? This month? This year? Kelly sighed and pushed herself away from the computer screen before walking away in sad resignation. As she opted for something more pleasant than rifling through dozens of online articles all stating with 100% assurance that their news reporting alone held the correct data, Kelly couldn’t get her mind off of her problem. She was assigned a research paper to write but for the life of her, couldn’t decipher truth from flagrant (or otherwise) untruths. So what’s a person to do?

Digesting News With Discernment

As Kelly turned her thoughts to another college assignment, she remembered a conversation she had with one professor from the semester last fall. His words? Whenever you’re trying to figure out if a company (or person) is bent on selling you something (or swaying you in their direction) take a look at the site itself. Sometimes, often, most times, it’s more obvious than you think. Whenever an internet address ends in (.com) beware….somebody affiliated with the site is trying to make money off of you.

Becoming A Wise Consumer Of Daily News

Okay, Kelly thought, at least I can avoid the (.com) sites. What else did my professor tell us? Another good way to find reliable info is to do a search using the same phrase and check out at least six different accounts of the same event. Click and compare. Kelly smiled as she recalled her professor’s final bit of advice. “Use your brain people. Think for yourselves and stop believing everything you read! Oh…and pray for a discerning mind while you’re at it. Your grade and our future society depends upon it.” That, I can do, Kelly thought.

* * *

If you’re anything like Kelly, you too, have been wondering how to discern between the overwhelming news events, historical happenings, medical findings, and most recent discoveries’ factual truth. Me too. I’ve often pondered the sometimes crazy accounts I come across as I listen to the nightly news, read a story in a magazine, or come across a trending internet tweet. Like most folks I know, I only believe about 20% of what I read and hear. But the problem remains, what 20% is true?

There’s Always An Upside

Sometimes as a writer and book reviewer, I get an assignment that helps me in ways I didn’t expect. This is exactly how I felt when I read a book that equipped me to “listen, read, and hear” the news with far greater discernment than ever before. Because the premise of this text is learning to accurately “read” the state of our nation and is titled, “UPSIDE: Surprising GOOD NEWS About the State of Our World,” I was already prepared to push past my discomfort and find something positive (or at least extract a teachable moment) from this unexpected event.

Author Bradley Wright, PhD, discusses how essential embracing an “UPSIDE” mentality is for individuals since viewing the world as getting worse bears many personal costs. Wright says, “Constant negative thinking can result in a shorter life span, increased depression and distress, less resistance to the common cold, worse psychological and physical well-being, increased risk of cardiovascular disease, and diminished coping skills during times of stress.”

Learning To Reframe Hard News

Wright offers many stats on the true state of our world which will have readers shocked (in the best way possible) and then rethinking where they get their information and more important, why are they believing these glib negative statements without checking to be sure they’re true?

To get all the “goods” this book has to offer, you’ll have to read it for yourself.

Wright offers a few “send-off” suggestions for handling media related reports like a pro.

Be aware of good news.
2. Be skeptical of what you hear, especially negative news.
3. Distinguish “is” from “ought.”
4. Match resources to problems.
5. Simplify, consume less.
6. Entangle yourself in social relationships.

As we know, knowledge, insight, experience, means nothing until it is “applied” to our lives. So, before I begin my daily stint of news ingestion, I remind myself of the above six rules…and it’s made all the difference in the world (my world to be exact.)

General Christian

Family, Parenting and Religion

About Michele Howe

Michele Howe is the author of 29 books for women, children, and families. She has published over 3000 articles, reviews, and curriculum. Her book Giving Thanks for a Perfectly Imperfect Life equips Christians to read, listen, and digest hard news by reframing everything through the lens of faith, hope, and love. Read more about Michele's work at www.michelehowe.wordpress.com. You can read more about the author here.

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