What are the main sources of news in today’s world? Can they be trusted? Is there a place for them still with the advent of immediate and informal news sources? Should we leave news to crowdsourced outlets or is that not sufficient? All of these are valid questions to ask today.

Things have changed much in the last few years. We should be asking ourselves these and other important questions. We cannot just leave this kind of issue to chance. News outlets are not just there to fill us in on whatever it is that interests us. They provide a valuable service. They are also an integral part of the checks and balances system of any healthy democracy.

Today we are going to discuss this new trend of fake news. What it may mean to us and journalism. Also, we will try to find ways to stay ahead of fake news.

A world with infinite news sources

It used to be the case that news had a lot fewer sources. It was up to journalists to find news, check sources and provide the information. That is no longer the case. There are so many different ways to get news today that it is impossible for us to know if they have been checked or not.

People report on blogs, their personal websites, and podcasts. Also small news outlets, social media platforms and any other form of communication available.

No more gatekeepers

For good or for ill big broadcasting companies used to be the gatekeepers. They would make sure that by the time content was on people’s screens it was ready and checked. Their reputation was on the line.

Broadcasting today is practically free. You just need your phone and access to the internet. You could post your own content in minutes for the world to consume. This has led to a flooded market in the information and news field.

Competition and options are always great in any market. The problem is that we now have the responsibility to filter the content we consume with much more care. There are services such as cnn live that will provide live coverage from a reputable source. If you plug into a cnn live stream you will get to watch cnn live just like you would on the tv. All the weight of their brand is on that broadcast. You can trust that they have done a better check on their sources than many other unknown news outlets.

Support trustworthy publications

We as consumers need to do our part. In this case, we should try to support the outlets that go out of their way to provide professional reliable content. This is not easy to do all the time. We are all pressed for time and we can’t always go to another source when we see something pop up. As we mentioned above, if it is live coverage you are looking for you have a good option in cnn live. You can watch cnn live at any point of the day and during the cnn live stream you will get quality information.

Do not add to the noise

Maybe checking your sources is too much to ask. That could very well be the case. There is something much easier that all of us can do, though. That is to abstain from sharing things that we are not sure about. In this way, we at least do not give strength to claims that may not be well supported. This is a good option for those of us without the time to do research about everything we read or hear online.