False and inaccurate information has become e new trend in our society, specifically in news media. We live in a reality where we must be careful about our news source selection. Those responsible for bringing the news to us, are called News Agencies, which are the organizations that gather news reports and sell them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines, radio and television broadcasters. There are numerous News Agencies around the world. Personally, I would even say that there are too many. But the question is, how can we trust these organizations? It is already known that political administrations are promoting their own “alternative facts” into our society through these organizations. So where do we find the truth? Where do we get the factual information that excludes the sensationalism, defamation, fake news, and propaganda?
During the Covid-19 pandemic, I realized that millions of more people are scratching their heads, wondering what to read and where to inform themselves on current developments around the world. I tried an approach to life which became an important principle for me. I am talking about “shaping yourself”. Meaning that I use the privilege of accessibility to decide myself where I get informed, instead of always going with what you get. It is always good to do research, draw conclusions, expose yourself to sources that provide the information YOU want, and for me personally that is the “truth”.
If you have been reading my previous articles, I am here again to provide you some tips. Here are my recommendations on some credible, unbiased, and responsible news sources which I use myself.
THE CONVERSATION
The Conversation is an independent source of news and views, sourced from an academic and research community, and delivers directly to the public. This platform serves as a media resource, a source of ideas, media-ready experts, and free content. What I like about this platform is that all editors are university and research institute experts, which I believe is more reliable than journalists like reporters and anchors. Since it also serves as a media resource, I believe it is better to have the actual source before it gets sensationalized by the next news organizations.
REUTERS
Reuters is probably the source I use the most to inform myself. And I must mention, it is also my favorite news-site to visit. Reuters provides award-winning coverage of the day’s most important topics, including breaking news, business, finance, politics, sports, entertainment, technology, and much more. Always at the forefront of real-time breaking news, multimedia content, and intelligence. The platform employs some 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. And they strictly follow the Handbook of Journalism as a guide for fair representation and disclosure of relevant interests, to "maintain the values of integrity and freedom upon which their reputation for reliability, accuracy, speed and exclusivity relies". I must say that Reuters was my main source of information during the Covid-19 pandemic. I highly recommend this one!
BBC NEWS
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. From my experience, I conclude BCC one of the most unbiased news broadcasters today. I made this conclusion comparing BBC to other big broadcasters such as CNN and Fox. A great example is the division in America between democrats and republicans. As I watch the news on CNN or Fox, I can feel the sensationalism and additional touches on stories to support specific sides. But when I follow BBC, I get a more neutral and unbiased versions of the stories, it gives me an impression that BBC is reporting the happenings in a more factual frame. It is important to highlight two values they have which, I believe supports my conclusion. These values are “Trust is the foundation of the BBC. We’re independent, impartial, and honest” and “We respect each other and celebrate our diversity”. From my experience I dare to say that BCC does act according to these values.
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
The World Economic Forum (WEF), based in Geneva, Switzerland, is an NGO, founded in 1971. It is independent, impartial, and not tied to any special interests. The organization states that moral and intellectual integrity is at the heart of everything it does. The WEF's mission is cited as "committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas". It is a membership-based organization, and its members are made up of the world's largest corporations. I came across this organization on Instagram. Where they have all these short videos covering important happenings. It amazes me how much information and knowledge this platform has in their catalog. I recommend checking out their Instagram page, I followed them because it's nice to always have knowledge on your feed. And the content is presented in a very clear and specific matter. If I were you, I would follow them!
I hope my recommendations help you navigate this sea of fake news. Personally, these 4 platforms meant a lot for me, from helping me keep track of the pandemic to informing myself on new developments in the world, which I did benefit from in multiple ways!
