Do the news media sometimes provide a distorted picture of the world around us? Undoubtedly, and social media even more so. And of course the two interact. Social media comments upon or shares the news, and social media’s comments, memes, and concerns become news themselves. The interaction between the two increases and accelerates distortion.
Often these distortions become embedded in a person’s view of the world, becoming reflexive, automatic, and unthinking. Thus, they are shared again in passing even when journalists or social media users are reporting on mundane, noncontroversial events. Naturally, it’s often these distortions that are the most difficult to spot—particularly when they are distorted in a way that seems to confirm and fit our own preconceived biases and views of the world. And many of these are rooted in fear.