Since 2020, news has been seen in some eyes as misleading or fake. In 2023, I predict more trust in the news by citizens and more propaganda “news” outlets popping up.
It is no surprise: the news has gone digital. While some still rely on the paper boy every morning, others get their news from Twitter, TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. Most news being consumed in America is from online, with 82% of Americans saying they get their news from their smartphones.
Since the pandemic hit, younger people’s lives were being carried out largely through social media as a way to interact with others and entertain themselves. Being involved with social media so intensely for so long may be a contributing factor as to why people under 30 believe social media as much as major news outlets.
As for older generations, they have always been more trusting of the news.
Over the past 5 years, it seems more and more highly specialized “news” outlets have come onto the average person’s radar. The Daily Wire, famous for its co-founder Ben Shapiro’s unhinged rants on woke society, claims to be a news outlet, but is really an over-glorified opinion forum curated by editors. On television, Newsmax and Fox News are similarly opinion based. Recently, a clip of Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson complaining about the M&M candy mascots has gone viral online, only adding to the credibility of the network.
More and more of these extreme opinions from conservative news anchors have gone viral, including the co-founder of The Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro. The more clicks the clips get online, the more these companies will be able to pump out new content that will continue to go viral for how ridiculous it is, leading to an influx of copycat companies trying to cash in.
Audrey Leib 