Local panel offers thoughts on 'fake news'

The same day a new national survey was released on the public’s confusion and distrust toward media outlets, more than 60 people gathered in Kalispell to listen to Montana journalists and editors give their take on “fake news.”

ImagineIF Library Director Kim Crowley opened the conversation Wednesday night with the library’s understanding of the now widely used term.

“We define ‘fake news’ as published information that is deliberately false or misleading,” Crowley said. “... ‘Fake news’ isn’t merely a story that you disagree with ... It may be uncomfortable for you to hear it, but it’s not fake news if it’s backed up by facts.”

ImagineIF hosted the panel discussion at Flathead Valley Community College. Panelists included Daily Inter Lake Managing Editor Frank Miele, Montana Public Radio News Director Eric Whitney and Flathead Beacon Senior Writer Tristan Scott.

The crowd submitted written questions like “Do you believe there are no more ethics in the media” as well as how important is the freedom of press while “all types of media are being demonized?”

Hours before Wednesday night’s discussion, a national survey was released that reported 17 percent of people judged the “news media” as very accurate. That number doubled when people were talking about news sources they rely on most often.

The survey was done in a partnership between The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the American Press Institute.

The poll of 2,036 adults was conducted in March with funding from the American Press Institute. Respondents were randomly selected using address-based sampling methods and later interviewed online or by phone. Half were asked about “the news media” and half were asked about “the news media you use most often.”

DURING WEDNESDAY’S conversation, panelists talked about how some sources can mislead the public for political or financial gains — and how easy it can be to hide that motivation online.

Clarice Ryan, 88, was in the crowd taking notes.

Ryan said she feels like she’s able to tell reality from a twisted story. But she said with the words “fake news” being used more often, she takes longer to share articles with her friends.

“I live on this, I’m at my computer constantly and I’m at the TV during the daytime watching what’s going on,” she said. “But there is a fear, ‘what if I pass along something that’s not true?’”

Presenters stressed readers’ responsibility to look for attribution and confirmed information in the stories they pick up.

They also said it was important for readers to understand where they’re pulling information from — both as far as who is reporting the news and what section of a paper or website it’s posted within.

The survey released Wednesday uncovered a significant number of people — one-third of those who responded — said they have difficulty distinguishing between news and opinion.

Simultaneously, four out of five people reported they check the news at least once a day, and 58 percent said they follow news several times daily.

MARY RUBY said she attended the panel to pick up cues on how to recognize false information.

She said as the pace of dissemination of information has quickened and media has grown, being a consumer has become more difficult.

“I remember when people wondered how they were going to fill a 24-hour news cycle, seven days a week,” Ruby, 65, said. “It was almost scary… it’s been explosive in the way they disseminate information to the average person. And now, we are inundated.”

After the panel, Ruby said when she comes across statistics emerging from a survey, she’ll be looking for things like how it was conducted, who paid for it and how participants were selected.

James Conner, 69, said he didn’t know if “fake news” was intensifying or if people were just talking about it since the term became popularized during the last presidential election.

He said either way, he wants to learn more about people’s motivation to throw falsehoods into the sea of consumers — and why some readers take a bite.

“How can you be a discerning consumer of news? How can you learn what to trust? How do you recognize the warning flags?” he asked. “They’re not easy things to do.”

But he said it’s important that people are looking for those answers.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.