Andrew Selepak Comments on Social Media and Trust
Andrew Selepak, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications Media Production, Management, and Technology lecturer and coordinator of the online master’s program with a specialization in social media, is quoted in “Misinformation and the Media” published in CQ Researcher, Vol. 32, Issue 3.
The article focuses on whether legitimate news outlets can regain trust in the “fake news” era.
According to Selepak, many media experts say partisan cable networks sometimes sacrifice journalistic integrity in a bid to increase audience share. “Like less partisan mainstream networks, it’s advertising-based, and it needs to be profitable to exist.”
“You present a partisan with a story that is objective, it’s as 50-50 as possible, that partisan will look at half the story as truth, and half the story as false, fake and a biased story,” Selepak said.
He adds, “The information that we come across on Facebook is posts from friends, acquaintances and coworkers and we are placing our trust in the individual, more than the outlet itself. Social media platforms allow politicians to bypass traditional media filters and address voters directly. The result is often more misinformation, or even outright lies. Without that middleman challenging … it’s much easier to put out spin or lies.”
Posted: January 31, 2022
Category: Alumni News, College News
Tagged as: Andrew Selepak
