Does the press lie?

By Valentina Giacaman – RumboCierto Chile

We have witnessed recent events in which world leaders openly accuse the press, as never before. Macron in front of Putin himself accuses the Russian press, whereas a person like Trump declares himself in open warfare against the press.

Has the press done something? In my country Chile, as a case in point, a few months ago, during the worst wildfires on record, there were varied unconfirmed theories circulating about who caused the fires: indigenous people, businessmen … even killed for a few hours a media mogul, all claims that the digital media were quick to publish.

I recently participated in a journalism forum with outstanding national professionals, and the main conclusion seemed to be that irresponsible journalism has always existed, that is to say that hurries and does not confirm facts before publishing, or the one that has ideological deviations at its own convenience.

However, the most recent phenomenon that some have dared to call “post-truth” has rather to do with the irruption of social networks and online media.

The positive side to all this is that this phenomenon turns the screw even further to the fear of the end of the written media as we know it. Of course it opens the way for them to worry about professionalism and to confirm the news, and even if it is necessary to wait 24 hours, a reader can wait to know if what circulates in social networks is false.