“It’s about ethics in journalism” they mocked from their ivory towers. Journalists from enthusiast press to mainstream media took jabs from 2014 up until the present day at #GamerGate for wanting better ethics in media, turning the grassroots consumer revolt into a mockery across the airwaves, radio and internet. It turns out that it’s not just gamers craving for better ethics in media… it’s everyone.
In a poll conducted by Gallup [via Wikileaks], they surveyed Americans from various age groups and political stances, revealing that overall only 32% of Americans trust mainstream media. This includes television, radio and newspapers.
Republicans especially distrust the media, with only 14% expressing trust, which is down by more than 50% from last year, where the trust ratio was at 32%.
Only 30% of Independents trust mass media and 51% of Democrats trust mass media. Despite the Democrats mostly having control of mainstream media and online media, the number is still down compared to 2015, where 55% of Democrats trusted the media.
Gallup first questions if the distrust comes from the obvious slant in the Presidential elections, but then goes on to commits mental gymnastics to circumvent a very obvious point by proclaiming that the distrust could be from online blogs, stating…
“With the explosion of the mass media in recent years, especially the prevalence of blogs, vlogs and social media, perhaps Americans decry lower standards for journalism. When opinion-driven writing becomes something like the norm, Americans may be wary of placing trust on the work of media institutions that have less rigorous reporting criteria than in the past. On the other hand, as blogs and social media “mature,” they may improve in the American public’s eyes.”
On the contrary… trust in independent, specialist and non-corporate blogs is where you’re likely to find actual facts and the “truth”. The entirety of the #GamerGate article on Wikipedia is cited mostly from mainstream media outlets and the majority of all those citations are blatant and easily disprovable lies.
It’s been independent bloggers who have been champions of truth and fact-finding recently. In fact, mainstream and enthusiast media were behind backing Crash Override Network, even doing so just recently despite the fact that leaks revealed that the network engaged in harassment, doxing and sabotage. Regardless, they’ve been promoting the organization because some of them are friends with those working there, or have already committed to the narrative that any enemy of #GamerGate is their friend, even if they’re committing illegal acts.
The sad reality out of all of this is that the mainstream media is moving toward its own downfall due to blatant lies and misreporting, such as the recent surge in claiming that Pepe the cartoon frog is a symbol of Alt-Right white nationalists. Some have even maintained that narrative even in the face of their articles being clearly debunked.
There was also the instance of the Huffington Post firing a journalist for reporting on Hillary’s health.
Expect Gallup’s polls next year to slide even further down the scale, which is a far cry from the 72% trust rating that Americans had for the mainstream media back in 1976, when things like the Watergate scandal and the honest reporting on the war opened the eyes of the public to real investigative journalism.
