The Real Deal: A Case for Independent Journalism

In recent years, social media giants like Twitter, TikTok, and Facebook, and huge, archaic, entrenched news conglomerates, have faced a decline in user engagement and trust. Several factors contribute to this decline, prompting a growing movement towards deriving information from non-legacy news sites and independent blogs written from the fresh perspective younger generations of investigative journalists. The pervasive issue of misinformation and fake news on social media platforms - often founded in biased, sensational, and revenue-driven articles provided by more traditional news providers - has eroded public trust. These platforms & providers of content often fail to curb the spread of false information, as they are driven by revenue generation, as opposed to the honest & unbiased reporting of current events. As a result, misinformation can quickly go viral, misleading millions. Naturally, people are becoming more discerning, realizing the importance of verified sources and fact-checked information. In recent years, more transparent investigative news providers, not relying on the outdated model of ad-driven revenue, have emerged. Sites such as The Information and Semafor have surged in popularity as viable alternatives to entrenched legacy news publishers. Sites like Medium and Beehive also offer journalistic dissertations and thought-provoking opinion pieces which explore current events & culture in newsletter formats. These newer sources provide curious readers with deep dives that derive from diverse experience and fact-checked exploration. There is a growing trend toward seeking out information without the distractions and pressures of social validation, data-mining, and incessant advertising, and an increasingly evident desire for verifiable, factual, actual, no-bullshit news. Social media platforms use algorithms that reinforce users' existing beliefs and filter out opposing viewpoints. This has led to echo chambers where readers are exposed only to content that aligns with their preexisting opinions. Even more insidious is the reality that the increasing influence of pay-to-promote content on social media has made it difficult for users to distinguish between genuine information and sponsored content. This blurring of lines has further eroded trust in the content disseminated on these platforms; in many (most?) cases, there is not even a citation or source provided - anywhere in an article - for where the information has come from. In contrast, independent journalistic sources typically offer a broader range of perspectives, fostering a more informed and balanced understanding of the world - and they include valid citations. As a response to these issues, we could be on the verge of a sea change toward independent, investigative news-style reporting and blogging. Oldschool, traditional news outlets which, at one time, had a long-standing reputation for journalistic integrity and fact-checking, have been twisted into revenue-driven fountains of unverified, opinionated, editorialized... stuff.

But bloggers and journalists who are free to explore and investigate our cultures & current events, and are not bound by an agenda, "message" or doctrine dictated by their publishers, are often niche experts and possess a genuine interest in the topic they are covering. They offer specialized knowledge and diverse viewpoints. People seeking knowledge are already gravitating towards these sources to ensure they receive reliable and unbiased information, and this movement is growing exponentially.

Let's hope this is the beginning of a new era of enlightenment.