Excessive news consumption leads to serious mental health problems
Says about 1 in 6 study participants show signs of mental health problems due to excessive news consumption.
Bad news sells
Business news reporters, who generally do a good job, also admit they believe “unfavorable articles were more likely to attract readers”. The result, across all news media, is that the news focuses on negativity and what is perceived as wrong with the world. There is rarely, ever, good news. This results in entire societies living in an unnecessary culture of perpetual outrage, fear and anxiety. This is not healthy.
Social media users photographing people in public with skin sores, and posting accusatons online that they have monkeypox
People are photographing others in public, who have sores on their skin, and then posting these pictures or videos online, accusing them of having monkeypox and being in public. They don’t have monkeypox – they have other non-infectious conditions. Can social media users stoop any lower?
Government propaganda at its finest
Official propaganda poster on NY City Subways.
The news is endless speculation
Endless and frightening speculation by “experts” and the news media gave us a disinformation campaign leading up to May 9th – when nothing changed.
Yesterday’s hyperbolic headline: “Plasma ejections could impact Earth, wreak havoc today” – but we survived
Ridiculous and pointless frightening headline keeps everyone in a state of anxiety and acts as click-bait. This was from more than a day ago. A day later, we – surprise! – survived.
No it didn’t: Story of cute missing white woman “became a national obsession”
In missing person case after case, the media provides saturation coverage – but only if the victim is an attractive, young, blue-eyed blonde woman. The inherent racism and sexism of media news directors is astounding.
Oregonian ripped for misleading headline
The Oregonian’s “Hospitalized kids at record high” headline was false, and is ripped by a letter to the editor.
Quote by H.L. Mencken: “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep …”
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by an endless series of hobgoblins, most of them imaginary.”
Classic media manipulation of your viewpoint – SF Chronicle had to rewrite headline and replace photo illustration
Over the span of a few days, the SF Chronicle went from a headline emphasizing “Winter Covid surge” to a new title emphasizing “the endgame”, and a new illustration, removing the fear and negativity focus. Sadly, the media always goes for fear and negativity and manages to spin good news into bad. This time they got caught at it.