07 Sep Fake News, Real Costs

Politicians are forever seeking, at the lowest cost to them, the public’s attention. They do so by fabricating for journalists outrageous stories from minor events. Hoping to catch the public’s attention, viewers and in turn advertisers, journalists publish these stories in the free press. Then the politicians act, presumably for the benefit of the public, in reaction to the stories they read. Their reactions make real news, at the cost of making many lives difficult.