The Trump Effect: When opinions influence fact

It's high time we accept it, Donald Trump is the President of the United States. 

Finally, a man who's escapades could rival those of the legendary Cory Baxter.

We had our chances at salvation. Maiden Clinton fought valiantly for her people, as did Bernie, wise wizard of the Northeast. Alas, their efforts were in vain as "Donny with the good hair" won the electoral vote and became ruler of the magical land, much to the chagrin of its inhabitants.

At times, it was difficult to differentiate the election from a gritty TV series. All three of these colourful characters deserved their own spin-off series.

Though the election has long come and gone, there is still an enormous outcry from American citizens against Trump and his seemingly diabolical policies. There has been no louder outcry than that from the journalism community as colleagues from across the globe are banding together to hold Trump accountable.

The proof is in the pudding.

Why is this so important? Trump has shown an alarming lack of respect for journalism, both modern and traditional. Popular organizations such as CNN have been shunned by Trump at public events, with the president going as far as to label the brand as "fake news."

Check out this video from BBC News in which then President-elect Trump chastises a CNN reporter. Per the video description, the reporter was asking Trump about a tweet he made referencing Nazi Germany.

In this selection, it's very obvious that Trump believes that he can ignore the negative press and that it will simply go away. He goes as far to package CNN in the same vein as Buzzfeed, again emphasizing the former as "fake news" while identifying the latter as a "failing pile of garbage."

Coincidentally, CNN would later run coverage on what would happen if Trump were to be assassinated before his inauguration. This can be viewed in the below video. Juicy stuff.

Information in the above video is indeed fact, but the CNN coverage is very suggestive. Sharing media such as this is very dangerous. Many have proposed that releasing such information to the public could instigate an extremist response.

Would those at CNN have batted an eye to a presidential assassination? Would they feel any guilt? Any responsibility? All are questions we must ask ourselves.

Effects on online journalism.

So what does all of this mean? 

We live in a new era of media. Instead of turning to the television for our news, many of us flock to our cellphones or computers for a quick fix. This media - like all media - is heavily dependent on traffic, leading many organizations to focus on "click-bait" stories. In the case of President Trump, this is extremely dangerous.

Both anti and pro Trump media exists and while both attract different audiences, they serve the same purpose: to muddy the transparent waters of fact and fiction. This issue isn't exclusive to Trump, it encompasses all media in today's world.

Whether it's a Facebook post, YouTube video or a tweet, we must be able to interpret and understand what we consume. Are we reading someone's opinion? Or are we reading fact?

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