No, the BBC did not report Ukraine was sending arms to Hamas. The video was fabricated. And no, migrants don’t receive $2,200 each month from the federal government.

These were all fake headlines that spent quite a bit of time circulating through the Internet recently, garnering the attention of people everywhere, raising several questions and concerns. 

Fake news seems to seep into our lives, worming its way into our typical media consumption. Misleading headlines, false claims and decreasing media literacy constantly play with our perception of issues that really matter. The deeper you go, the more convoluted and twisted the stories become. Separating fact from fiction becomes harder and soon enough, the headline you thought came from a relatively straightforward place turns into a discordant, polarized and garbled knot of information. Whether that information is true or not, you can’t tell. 

Instances like these aren’t uncommon. As mainstream news media become increasingly twisted, they start to lose the trust of American citizens, turning them to social media and frantic Internet searches that only worsen the spread of misleading claims and media polarization.

As trust and adequate sourcing diminish, being aware and making educated decisions get more difficult. 

However, the widespread access to the Internet and social media platforms are easy to accuse. Hiding behind a screen and anonymous username enables people to voice their beliefs and advance rumors without any direct consequences. Word spreads and not long after, misinformation begins to plague the Internet. 

With so much power at just the tip of our fingers, anyone on social media can be a “credible journalist” if we let them. 

But that's not all there is to it. Sure, utilizing social media platforms as scapegoats for increased media and political polarization in the nation is convenient, but it also goes beyond the seemingly unlimited access we have to the Internet. 

Recent studies show that the correlation between social media and political polarization is consistently inconsistent, making it a lousy claim to abide by. 

In fact, sometimes, the Internet seems to be a better source of information than any other cable TV news. Switch the news channel from Fox News to CNN and suddenly the story is no longer the same. One station details some pieces of information others ignore, leaving important stories half-covered. 

According to a 2023 poll from the Associated Press, 45% of those surveyed reported having little to no confidence at all in the news media’s ability to relay information transparently and accurately, disregarding social media. Nearly three in four American adults believe the media is increasing political division rather than decreasing or stabilizing it. Republican and Democrat lawmakers haven’t been further apart on the ideological spectrum in the past 50 years, swaying the perception of the public. 

If misinformation and a consistent lack of transparency permeate news channels everywhere, where can the people go? Who can we trust? 

The fact of the matter is that deliberate attempts to stay informed go a long way. Consuming both sides of the issue being covered, asking questions and thinking critically is a sign of proper media literacy. 

Be it social media, newspapers, or TV news channels, thinking about what we read is critical to our decision-making. Looking at ideas objectively is a recurring topic of discussion in the world of journalism. Most journalists are bound not only by ethics and press laws but also by the journalistic standards of retaining objectivity. 

However, confining these standards to just journalists doesn’t help encourage thought and educated decision-making. In the growing partisan echo chambers of media and political polarization, stopping to see the multifaceted nature of every issue has the potential to raise awareness the way most journalists do.