Mainstream media no longer report facts - they report opinions

Question

A lot of people believe the news today feels more like opinion that straight facts, and research actually backs that up. The RAND Corporation talks about this idea called “truth decay”, which basically means facts and options are starting to blur together in the media. The study points out how news outlets now mix more commentary and emotional takes into their reporting instead of just presenting information. According to RAND, this shift has made people argue more about what’s true and what’s not, and it’s also lowered trust in the media overall. So while not every outlet is biased, it’s clear that factual and neutral reporting is becoming harder to find.

This connects to how people feel about the news in general. A Gallup poll found that only 28% of Americans say they trust media to report news fairly and accurately. I would say that number says a lot about how skeptical people have become. Interestingly smaller news outlets tend to be trusted more than big national ones and that is probably because they stick to community stories and less option heavy content. So while it might be an exaggeration to say mainstream media never report facts, there is definitely truth behind the claim that opinions now dominate how stories get told.  

Answer 1

The claim itself of saying the media no longer reports facts but only opinions, is most definitely exaggerated, but it wouldn't be exaggerating to say that trust in the media has steadily gone down hill. According to Pew Charitable Trusts, distrust in the media has lessen thanks to things like the polarizing of politics, news companies increasing the number of ads in their stories, and the teaching of critical thinking when it comes to finding credible sources. The Annenberg School for Communication also had similar things to say, but they also included how news outlets have been relying more on sensational news for more money and viewership. They also said that distrust in the government seems to also leave people with a bigger distrust in the media.

https://www.pew.org/en/trend/archive/fall-2024/media-mistrust-has-been-growing-for-decades-does-it-matter

https://www.asc.upenn.edu/research/centers/milton-wolf-seminar-media-and-diplomacy-24

Answer 2

The claim put forth by Janiya is an inaccurate description of the claim being made by the article he or she linked. I believe its claim is better described by the article's opening statement: "Over the past two decades, national political and civil discourse in the United States has been characterized by 'Truth Decay,' defined as a set of four interrelated trends: an increasing disagreement about facts and analytical interpretations of facts and data; a blurring of the line between opinion and fact; an increase in the relative volume, and resulting influence, of opinion and personal experience over fact; and lowered trust in formerly respected sources of factual information." This article has not one claim, but four, each deserving of its own fact-check.

1. There is an increasing disagreement about facts and analytical interpretations of facts and data.
The Pew Research Center has found that around 60% of the American population believes that we disagree on basic facts. This is supplemented by current popular political issues, such as Yale's polling showing disagreement on the existence or severity of climate change or Pew Research Center's poll on whether gender is equivalent to sex assigned at birth.

2. There is a blurring of the line between opinion and fact.

A Harvard study has found that 45.7% of Americans cannot differentiate between opinion and fact. A Pew Research Center poll has also found that, although different variables such as political awareness and digital savviness may vary the result, 26% of US adults are capable of differentiating opinion from fact 100% correctly of the 5 questions presented.

3. There is an increase in the relative volume, and resulting influence, of opinion and personal experience over fact.

The aforementioned poll also shows that political orientation biases their views on what counts as opinion and fact, depending on whether a statement appeals to their side. The existence of confirmation bias is also heavily studied and has an abundance of evidence backing up its existence, such as in Kandeers et al.'s scientific paper.

4. There is lowered trust in formerly respected sources of factual information.

As shown in the Gallup poll Janiya mentioned, only 28% of Americans trust the media to report the news in an objective manner.

Thus, all four claims are true.

Answer 3

This statement is widely true. There is growing evidence that mainstream media increasingly blends facts with opinions, rather than strictly reporting objective information. For example, a 2018 study by the Pew Research Center found that sizable portions of Americans misclassified statements: many could not reliably distinguish factual statements from opinion statements. Similarly, the American Press Institute reported that 42 % of Americans believe much of the news they see is “opinion and commentary posing as news reporting,” while only a third felt the coverage struck the right balance between fact and analysis.

More broadly, the term “truth decay” has been used to describe how the volume and influence of opinion in public discourse has risen, while the role of objective facts and analysis has diminished. Additionally, a survey by the Gallup Organization in collaboration with the Knight Foundation found that 62 % of U.S. adults believed the news they consumed was biased and 44 % believed it was inaccurate.

Together, these findings suggest that the media landscape faces a meaningful shift: rather than clear-cut fact-based reporting followed by separate commentary, many outlets are increasingly mixing interpretation, opinion and fact within “news” articles. This blurring of boundaries makes it harder for audiences to discern what is verifiable fact and what is interpretive or subjective.

Answer 4

This is more of an opinion than a fact. Our media exists in a free-market setting. Anyone can create a news organization and become a semi credible source as long as someone is listening to them. There is a case to be made that news has become more sensationalized, like this study by West Virginia University. They found significant evidence of sensationalism in every level of news media, which may be the result of our free market setting. When news becomes entertainment, you have to compete for attention. But sensational does not necessarily mean factually incorrect. Your source, the Rand corporation, seems to suggest we go through cycles of "truth decay" and that by their own logic we will soon shift back to more "fact-based media". The Gallup poll you listed was conducted on a small control group, and it can't be assumed that their group opinion is indicative of the entire United States. The question of "trust in media" is also greatly affected by the media you consume. If the opinion of your favorite broadcaster is that every other network only shares opinions, then they must be the only person still reporting the facts, and all their listeners will have that much less trust in the media as a whole. 

Answer 5

This user is claiming that the partisanship of media is no longer, and all media outlets post biased information. While politics have become wildly polarized in recent years, let's take a deeper dive into the "parties" behind the posting. The user draws their claim from a source called Rand.Org, which is known for posting research reports. After doing a deeper dive, I found that they are a reliable source that is known for posting unbiased media information. They have a positive reputation among news outlets for producing truthful reports. This means that their claim of unbiased media declining may have some truth to it.

To look for better coverage on the topic, I went to another source for deeper information. I was able to find a report from the Pew Research Center discussing media bias. The article does a wide, deep dive into everything news-related, and how Americans view each party and the information they produce. Their ultimate conclusion was that the definition of unbiased media has changed in recent years, and it depends on how citizens view certain media outlets and how they align with their political beliefs. They stated that "Our surveys regularly ask Americans how closely they are following the news, where they get their news, and how much they trust the news they see," (Pew Research Center, 1). The term "journalist perspective" is also used in the article, and they discuss how a differing perspective can truly alter media perception. However, the majority of news articles do try their best to produce unbiased reports and fact-check their sources.

Speaking of fact-checking, it is always important to check your sources to see that you are making a claim based on a reliable source. It seems that the Pew Research Center is drawing some of its data from Sage Journals. According to the Google AI Overview, Sage Journals is "a large independent academic publisher with a strong focus on the social sciences and humanities, publishing over 1,100 peer-reviewed journals across a wide range of subjects like business, law, and medicine." (Google). Sourcing information that will be used in a news site from a peer-reviewed journal is a strong way to ensure you are making highly educated and unbiased claims.

While it is a scary time in this current political climate, the claim that the user made in saying that unbiased media is now dead is false. Some outlets may produce political propaganda, some may produce slightly biased articles, and some may produce 100% unbiased information. It is always best to do your own research, however, and look further into the sources to make sure you are consuming as much unbiased information as possible. Then you can make the best educated opinion based on true facts