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Who do you believe?

The internet was always going to change the way that news was published and disseminated.

I recall, way back in 1997, when I first started 7am News, that the traditional media was in for a shake-up.

The fact that a rural Kiwi, operating from an office little bigger than your average broom closet, could create and run what rapidly became at the time, the world's most widely syndicated web-based news service clearly signaled that.

Of course way back then the task of besting the traditional media giants was easy. None of them really had a clue how to harness the power of the internet to their advantage and, perhaps because of their size and hubris, they were incredibly slow to adapt.

Almost 30 years later, things haven't changed much.

As I mentioned a week or so ago, the MSM are petitioning NZ's government to help them out by forcing the likes of Google and Facebook to pay a media-tax to access the content they freely publish online.

That's right... don't bother innovating or lifting your game, just call in your big brother to bully others into paying your bills.

A tragic indictment on the mainstream media if ever there was one.

It really does appear as if the MSM are totally lost right now and the fact that they've given up on the most crucial principles of The Fourth Estate is further proof of that allegation.

So much of what we read, see and hear in the MSM is biased and just plain false.

How do I know this?

Well I am a "subject matter expert" in several fields. Within these fields I know considerably more than 99.9% of the general population. This high level of knowledge allows me to accurately review the accuracy of MSM stories on those subjects and I am increasingly seeing utter crap and misinformation being reported as fact.

It stands to reason therefore, that if the MSM is publishing BS on these issues then the stories they publish on other issues should also be viewed with suspicion and distrust. Anyone who believes all that they read in the papers, hear on the radio or see on TV is an idiot.

I also note that just recently, here in New Zealand, members of the MSM openly admitted that they had planned to not report the allegations made against them by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters. WTF?

It is not the news media's role to hush up "uncomfortable" allegations made against them. It is the news media's role to report the facts, accurately and without bias or prejudice.

Clearly this is an epic fail on their part and further speaks to their utter contempt for the principles of The Fourth Estate.

So where do you go for the real facts, the untainted details and the true story on current events and critical issues?

Well don't rely on social media, that's just as bad as the MSM.

Now that every man and his dog has the ability to share their opinions and perspectives with the world there is even more disinformation than ever. There are plenty of uneducated types that will try to convince you that the Earth is actually flat and that you can run your car on water -- but that doesn't make it true.

Sadly, it looks as if you're on your own, when it comes to figuring out who's telling the truth, who's lying, who's misinformed and who's just promoting an unspoken agenda.

Nothing we read, hear or see today can be trusted. Your only ally is a healthy degree of skepticism that should be applied liberally to everything you're told.

Unless, of course, you read it here. (disclaimer: No, even I get it wrong far too often so my original statement still stands).

Ultimately it would appear that even the venerable "news" has been dumbed down into little more than entertainment. Today's news publishers are fixated, not on delivering the facts without embelishment or taint, but on getting clicks and views to keep advertising dollars flowing.

Even worse, even the publicly funded news sources (paid for by you, the taxpayer) are also untrustworthy, having been directed by governments to follow ideological lines. Do not make the mistake of thinking that a lack of commercial imperatives implies a lack of bias agenda in news reporting.

How ironic it is that at a time when we now have the most amazing communications technology ever seen, we are the least aware of what is *actually* going on around us.

Carpe Diem folks!

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