The internet has undoubtably revolutionised the way we receive information. Not only has it created a huge number of new sources of information but it has effectively deregulated the traditional media sources too. With so many sources of “news” competing for your attention it is inevitable that said competition will change the quality of the information we are being provided. When it comes to quality, few would argue that greater volume is better!
But realistically, what are we actually using this information for? We may use it to adjust our lifestyles, support or find new interests and hobbies and adopt new fears and prejudices. Still the most important function of news in our democracy is informing our voting choices. And the news outlets (or the people that own them), and politicians know all too well how the news can influence the way we vote! For example, the majority of working class people in the US, UK and Australia vote for right leaning parties, although it is surely in their best interests to vote for left leaning parties who support greater redistribution of wealth. Two liberal Australian governments have been voted in based on misrepresentation of information about “illegal” immigrants arriving in the country. In the UK the administration of Tony Blair won support for a war based on blatant lies published in the press regarding the government of Saddam Hussein, non existent weapons of mass destruction, and the ability to attack the UK within 45 minutes.
So with all of this information readily appearing in front of us, on TV, in the papers and on our smart phones, how do we know whether what we are reading is of use to us in our search for the truth? I thought I would have a go at creating some simple questions to ask ourselves when reading any news article but most of these questions apply to any information you receive. I’m sure we could collectively add to this list almost indefinitely, so I present this for discussion and amendment.

Does the article you are reading sound probable?
Seriously! Read it. Does it actually make sense? There have been innumerable stories in the press over the years that are simply not true, and even more don’t make much sense. Such as various stories in the British anti European Union press that EU officials want to ban bent bananas, want to change the name of Bombay Mix to Mumbai mix or that they were going to legislate on how much cleavage a barmaid could expose. More seriously, as mentioned above stories in the British press regarding the Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. This story continued even after the Hussein regime had been overthrown. Now to believe Iraq was the treat to the UK took a stretch of the imagination and a complete ignorance of history. But to believe an insane dictator had a huge stockpile of weapons and didn’t think to use them when a foreign army was invading his country, is plain gullibility!
The positive thing about the volume of information that is now available to us is that we can quite easily check the validity of the information we receive. A few minutes on Google will give you more information as to whether a story is real or a twisted mass of misinformation. Those few minutes may save you from looking like a fool, and actually make you look quite clever when you rebut the fool that is reciting the story without checking.

Do you have any empirical evidence of what is being reported, (does this story fit your own experience)?
Have you, personally, experienced evidence of what you are reading? Many of us are quite happy to believe what we have read even though we have no personal experience to back it up. I have read numerous stories of schools banning nativity plays at Christmas or councils refusing to fly a national flag so as not to offend immigrants. Firstly, does this sound probable? Only because we keep reading similar stories. But I have yet to find a single example of someone I know actually experiencing this phenomenon. Surely any headmaster or council would be inundated with complaints, protests and trouble if they were to propose such a policy.
Another example is the reports of Muslims who have immigrated to western countries and want to impose sharia law. I’m not saying that they don’t exist but have you ever met one? What was your reply when they told you of their desire? Does it make sense that someone would escape a country only to wish their new country to be like their old one? That’s like me moving to Australia and then wishing the weather was shittier! Unless you are regularly bumping into Muslims campaigning for sharia law in your country, then these news reports are more likely a massive exaggeration intended to stoke your fear and hatred of other cultures.

Why has the source reported this particular story to you?
In the modern age of 24hour instant news and instantaneous global communications there are huge numbers of news stories that could be reported to you each day. So why has this particular story been reported? Why is it of more importance than the other stories that could be reported to you? Right leaning media sources tend to report much more crimes committed by people with a different skin colour or culture than the masses, but rarely report crimes committed by someone from the majority. Environmentalist news sources will enthusiastically report to you stories of governments and big businesses abusing and destroying the planet, but almost never report on successful environmental progress if it was championed by the same government. This selective reporting has two purposes. Firstly it aims to influence your voting choices by only revealing information that will encourage you to vote a certain way. Secondly it appeals to your existing values and aims to maintain your patronage.

What is the agenda of this particular news source?
Rupert Murdoch, arguably the most powerful media tycoon in the world openly supports right wing parties in democratic elections, and therefore will more likely report stories true or twisted, that present a better picture of the conservative movement or demonise the opposition. In fact most media these days is partisan. Fox is blatantly right wing whereas CNN and MSN are almost as passionately left wing. So any information that is received must be considered in the context of the agenda of the reporting organisation.
But does this make the information worthless? No, is the simple answer. Firstly, just because the information is biased it doesn’t mean it’s untrue. Also, the stories reported give the reader insight into the reporting organisation and their leaders. You can quite easily establish their agenda and that of their cohorts.

Does this information help to inform your voting choices?
With regards to all of the celebrity news we receive, obviously not. It serves to distract you from the information you need to make voting choices. Other news, may seem relevant to voting but on further investigation is not. Reporting on crime takes up a huge amount of news space in the modern media and as a result many people live in fear of being a victim of crime. The truth is crime rates have been steadily dropping in most western democracies for decades. Which means that you may be tempted to vote for a party which promises to be tough on crime, when in reality it’s a non issue.
The constant media debate about immigration, when viewed with the knowledge of statistics, how much of the population is actually immigrant, where the bulk of those immigrants come from etc, is revealed to be a non, or at best minor issue. But  said media coverage did wonders to distract from the Australian Liberal Party’s questionable economic policies during the last election campaign, and is still distracting people from other, much more important issues.

So there are some questions to ask ourselves when we are scanning the news. But a no answer the any of the above doesn’t render that particular article worthless. The article is still providing you information on what a certain organization wants you to read, and therefore gives you clues as to their agenda or often gives you clues as to what they don’t want you to think about.

Please, don’t believe everything you read, question it all! Even what is written here! And especially if what you are reading happens to support your existing biases, fears and prejudices. There’s a fine line between informing and indulging yourself.