Social Media and the Truth

Much of what I read on social media I take with a grain of salt, from my "friends" Facebook profiles, to celebrity tweets to news being reported on various social media blogs.  I am not necessarily proud that I am somewhat jaded but I have seen too many times over the years how easy it is to misrepresent the truth and have seen first hand how devastating this misrepresentation can be to people.

I used to be a traditional news girl.  Relying on the television and newspapers to learn the events of the world.  As social media has grown I have adapted a new way of learning what is happening in the world through various avenues of online media.  Today I stay informed using various news sites, blogs and hybrid websites that mix both and rarely use the television for anything other than an escape from the reality of life through my favorite shows.

I have been waiting for September 9th for quite some time now.  I knew that Apple would be releasing the details of the new iPhone yesterday and was so excited to see what this new little miracle of a device would have to offer me.  I have done research for months trying to sort through the rumor mill of what this phone would have to offer.  Being an Apple fanatic I could not wait to finally hear the truth.  I must say that many of the rumors that were put out there over the last few months proved to be pretty accurate.  After reviewing the specs released from Apple I decided to research what the critics thought about what this new phone truly had to offer the public.  I started off at techradar, macrumors and finally ended up at the Huffington Post to determine if I should make the jump and purchase this completely redesigned iPhone.  Even being somewhat jaded, I have found that many times social media sites are accurate in the information they put out to the readers.  Granted the Huffington Post has political undertones to many of it's news stories, it is a source that has been accurate in regards to technology reports and many other news stories that do not involve politics.  It is a hybrid site that has personal blogs and news stories that are linked directly from other credible news websites.  I rely on this site to gain insight on what is happening in the world around me and not always in regards to politics.

"Whatever methods a journalist uses, the resulting story must display sufficient evidence to allow consumers to see the case for themselves and to understand why they should believe the evidence offered" (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2010).  I feel this is the best way to summarize how crucial accurate reporting is because many readers will look for accuracy in reporting and use this to determine the sources they use on a regular basis to remain connected with the world around them.

Blur (Kovach & Rosenstiel, 2010)

Betsy Devillier