Image by MTV Audience Cam via huffingtonpost.com.
On August 24, 2013, Miley Cyrus shocked fans around the world with her revealing performance at the VMA awards. Her performance held such an impact that it prompted the release of a picture of Will Smith’s family reacting to Cyrus’s performance. However, the family photo, as it turns out, was not even taken during Miley Cyrus’s performance. According to huffingtonpost.com, the picture was caught on the MTV Audience Cam during Lady Gaga’s performance of “Applause.” What’s more, the photo itself was taken from a video segment, which hides the family’s true reactions to the performance shown in the duration of the video. Nevertheless, this picture was passed off as a result of Cyrus’s performance, despite the fact that it was taken out of context.
Lately, social media has shown not only how gullible the American people have become in receiving news, but also the measures and tactics media posters will take to get a reaction from viewers. News has become so easily accessible that anyone is able to post anything on the Internet and know it will reach a certain audience to an extent. The easy accessibility also forces professional reporters and journalists to be last on the scene to tell news since they take time to credit their sources. Though citizen bloggers may post the news first, their sources and information may not always be true. Yet, it is passed off as sincere evidence to the American people and questioned afterward regarding its validity.
As for the American people, the freedom of social media is slowly causing them to lose their ability to take news with an open mind. The easy accessibility of the Internet allows them to search for articles and evidence that contributes to their own beliefs rather than seeing issues all around. For instance, at the close of Osama bin Laden’s death, a false photo was used to identify his corpse to the public, according to washingtonpost.com. The devastating 9/11 attacks left an impact on the American people so powerful that many took any evidence of bin Laden’s death as the truth in order to settle their own personal feelings. The photo, even though it was fake, provided physical proof to Americans that bin Laden was dead, and for many, that was enough proof for them.
Theatlantic.com describes another example of several false photographs depicting Hurricane Sandy that were mainstreamed in the news and passed off as actual evidence of the hurricane. Even though many photos were false or not properly sourced, the American people believed the photos to be real simply because they related to Hurricane Sandy. Many Americans assumed they were real because they were similar to other pictures of damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. In the end, the photos were passed off as professional pictures depicting the hurricane even though many were not, and only a few questioned their validity.
Though social media has made it easier to create and distribute false news, it still has severe consequences for both reporters and the public. The lack of evidence and credibility in false news can lead to public mistrust of the media, creating difficulties in a time of crisis. It also demotes credibility among professional reporters and journalists who do take time to credit their sources. The false photo of the Smith family was posted as a joke to emit a reaction among viewers who were shocked by Cyrus’s performance. It was posted for public pleasure and enjoyment, meant to summarize the average reaction of the performance. Even though many fans were disappointed to learn the picture was falsified, the correct source and context is best for all forms of media in order to promote media stability and continuance.