media101-pippinstubbs-13417-blog

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Fake News

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word ‘News’ as “The report or account of recent events or occurrences, brought or coming to one as new information” This definition is malleable however as news can be disrupted and changed to become many different things. For as long as news has been around, there has also been fake news; fake news is a form of propaganda that spreads false ideas and deliberate misinformation through forms of media. Ever since President Donald Trump first started making waves in headlines leading up to his eventual election the words ‘Fake’ and ‘News’ have been popping up in the headlines more and more. One of the most controversial subjects in recent years has been during Barack Obamas presidency with the ‘birther controversy’ where an anonymous email stating that Obama was born in Kenya started the ball rolling with many people demanding that Obama produced and publicly showed the world his birth certificate. By attracting so much controversy it also attracted a lot of media attention which escalated the false accusations.

This was a very high-profile situation of Fake News as it was in the public spotlight for a long period of time and greatly influenced politics and the social conversations that were happening during the 2008-2009 presidential election. Obama was running for presidency and with these allegations that surfaced, if proved true it would have derailed his presidential career and any future he had in the American political sphere. Because they appeared at a point in time which was beneficial to all opposing political campaigns. PolitiFact wrote an article in 2008 that stated in paragraph one that, “the accusations are explosive and unrelenting, the writers emboldened by the anonymity and reach of the Internet.” Which meant that through unofficial sources the anonymous statements caused the believability of this fake news to grow because it was so highly broadcast to the entire world. People like Donald Trump put their two cents worth into the fiasco, stirring the pot and getting the public voice to grow on the subject, escalating the matter at hand. 

The fact and fiction about whether or not Obamas birth certificate was fake or not became blurred from the get-go, as the original claims were never traced back to an original source. Further escalation of this news story was added after a mention of “Obama‘s birth certificate spurred National Review Online to demand that he produce it to dispel groundless reports that Obama was actually born in Kenya and therefore would be constitutionally ineligible to be President” (Time, 2016, para.4). After Obama produced his Birth Certificate some of the controversy around the  subject died down, but due to social media and the way in which the internet has immortalised every moment in society today it is still a major conspiracy theory that goes around saying the Obama is not officially a US citizen, even though some of the movements biggest supporters against Obama (Donald Trump) have revoked their previous statements.

(Twitter. (6/8/2012). posted by @realDonaldTrump)

Fake News is driven by outlying motives where people manipulate the smallest idea and escalate it into a huge story gaining the attention of as many people as possible. It used to be a fairly easy thing to disprove due to the means in which it was distributed (Newspaper/radio/word of mouth) but ever since the rise of social media the way in which things are shared has caused many sources to be discredited because of inadequate proof. Finding trustworthy sites that haven’t been manipulated are rare to come by and gems within a world that relies on instant news that is becoming mass produced and less moderated.

Bibliography:

PolitiFact. (2008). Obama’s birth certificate: Final Chapter. Retrieved from https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2008/jun/27/obamas-birth-certificate-part-ii/

Time. (2016). This Is How the Whole Birther Thing Actually Started. Retrieved from http://time.com/4496792/birther-rumor-started/

Twitter. (6/8/2012). retrieved from https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/232572505238433794?lang=en

[media101-pippinstubbs-13417-blog]

Media and Identity

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ anthem Same Love is a commentary on people accepting themselves for who they are, no matter how they identify in sexuality or gender. In 2012 there was a popular referendum in America, where the states of Washington, Maryland, and Maine voted to legalise same-sex marriage. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis released this song early 2012 where it became a chart-topper all over the world, here in New Zealand it topped the weekly charts. The person they collaborated with Mary Lambert who identifies as gay and was raised in a Christian family. The identity of Lambert gives this song a feel of a first person’s representation in the media, about how the ideas of homophobia can damage people both mentally and physically. If you investigate Lambert's past she suffers through bipolar disorder and went through a period where she was suicidal (As stated on Mary Lamberts Official Website). All of this impacts a person and having people think less of you because of what your sexual orientation is what I believe this song and music video are trying to get at. It was another three years before Gay Marriage was fully legalised in America but as the lyrics of the song say “a certificate on paper isn't gonna solve it all, but it's a damn good place to start”

(image provided from https://www.deviantart.com/littleruess/art/Macklemore-Same-Love-362480693)

The music video focus’ on a young boy coming to grips with his sexuality, at eight he has a feeling that he might be gay, but his family convinces him otherwise. When looking at the reactions some people have to their children’s sexuality nowadays it has advanced majorly as often it would be viewed as a passing idea. Nowadays children can be who they want, for example, the eight-year-old Drag Queen Lactatia (Nemis Melancon) is taking the Montreal drag scene by storm at such a young age. His parents support him for who he is compared to what society deems acceptable with his mum even doing his makeup for him (Teen Vogue, 2018). In the Music video “Same Love” It shows the young boy struggle with acceptance from parents and friends, thus causing tension in relationships between himself and those around him. His identity doesn’t seem to shape into a person he seems comfortable with until he has left home and has become surrounded people who accept him for who he is, eventually even finding love. The video shows how people’s opinions can change over time, the parents at first are unaccepting and rude towards their son and his partner. However, over time you watch the men’s love grow for one another and as that grows you eventually see the parents understanding and love for their son and his partner grow as well as they attend his wedding.

The music video was an important part of the lgbtq+ community in its advancements in publicly endorsing and pushing for gay rights and the legalisation of gay marriage. Since that music video has been released other videos showing the struggles the community faces have surfaced and become large talking points about prejudices that are held towards the community and bullying that also goes on behind the scenes. Videos and songs such as Logic -1-800-273-8255 ft. Alessia Cara & Khalid have been widely viewed with its music video to date having over 121,139,935 views (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb24RrHIbFk). This video gives the suicide prevention helpline as its title and pushes for acceptance and a safe place to talk about struggles within people’s own minds and their community. The Video for Same Love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0) has 206,291,186 views on YouTube again having a video that endorses identity for those who may feel unincluded from modern society’s ideals of social norms. This song and video were a perfect platform to get the conversation started in a time of tension during the battle for gay-marriage legalisation.

 -Mary Lambert Official Website. (5/8/2018). Retrieved from http://marylambertsings.com/contact/

-Teen Vogue. (5/8/2018). Lactatia, 9-Year-Old Drag Queen, Inspires Us to Live Colorfully. Retrieved from https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/lactatia-9-year-old-drag-queen-slideshow#1 ]

- Macklemore LLC. (2/10/2012). MACKLEMORE & RYAN LEWIS – SAME LOVE feat. MARY LAMBERT (OFFICIAL VIDEO) (Video file). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0

-LogicVEVO. (17/8/2017). Logic – 1-800-273-8255 ft. Alessia Cara, Khalid (Video file). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb24RrHIbFk