Essay Sample on America's Fake News on Political or Social Issue

Introduction

Fake News has often been considered the greatest threats to democratic ideals. Also known as pseudo-news or junk news, fake news has served various interests all over the world (Klein & Wueller, 2017). The term became the most used word in 2017and has often been cited as Trump's favorite word. Klein and Wueller (2017) argue that the primary purpose of fake news is to deceive readers, distort public understanding, and influence political agenda. According to Tandoc Jr, Lim & Ling (2018) the three main features of fake news are manipulation, misinformation, and mistrust. With increased news and information flow, it is tough to tell a reliable or deceiving press. During the 2016 election campaign, several online and newsletters published fake news to sway political positions. One such is Trump's sensitive position on immigrants. "Trump Offering Free one-way tickets to Africa, Mexico for those who wanna leave America" elicited sharp reaction online from Facebook and Twitter. The twaddle posted by tmzhiphop.com on Nov 2016 alleged that Trump Airlines would offer a one-way ticket to those who would wish to go back to their ancestral lands. A statement read in part,

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"In the wake of my election victory, I have heard many devotees of the liberal establishment whining that they no longer want to live in the greatest country on the planet. Well, now is the time to shut up. I will personally pay for their airline tickets to Mexico, or an African country of their choice, for anyone who wishes to leave the United States. We do not want you here. Leave and Make America Again (Chanrock, 2016)."

The news had over 2.7k shares on social media and elicited sharp reactions from individuals from all walks of life, the business and politicians alike. However, a section of Americans doubted the authenticity of the news with some percentage labeling it fake news. However, in the wake of Trump victory, major news channels reported derogatory remarks from Trump to the effect that immigrants were hurting the U.S. economy. At the same time, Trump, on various occasions, had mentioned that he was going to build a wall to prevent drug traffickers and illegal immigrants from entering America. His critical remarks on deporting illicit immigrants further fueled the situation giving rise to mixed reactions and uncomfortable feelings among immigrants. The media took his hard stance on the subject of illegal immigrants and building a wall between America and the U.S. negatively giving to numerous interpretations.

Rewrite

Immigrants built America. The sudden surge in development and massive growth has often been attributed to the diverse population of the country. As the country heads to the next election, the Trump administration wishes to reinstate its commitment to build America again and make it great. According to a statement from his election campaign secretariat, America's forefathers were from diverse backgrounds from all over the world. The Trump administration committed to opening up its borders to immigrants, investors, and people from all over the world ready and willing to settle in the U.S. In a statement sent to newsrooms; Trump asserted that:

"In the wake of my election victory, I have heard many Americans congratulating immigrants for positive contribution to the country's labor market and economy. Liberals, conservatives and democrats alike have emphasized their desire to strengthen the country's relationship with immigrants to make it the greatest country on the planet. Well, now is the time to legislate on immigrants' contributions and make your wish come true. I will personally pay for airline tickets to all legible immigrants who wish to live and work in the United States. We need you here in the land of opportunities. Come and Make America great."

The Trump campaign secretariat is committed to fighting off and putting to rest Trump's frosty relations with ethnic minorities. He is keen on uniting the country towards making it the greatest nation on earth.

Changing the Core Content of the News

The core content of the subject was changed simply by taking a friendly position of immigrants' issue. The intent was achieved by acknowledging that the Trump administration will focus on working with immigrants and helping them settle in the country legally (Lazer, Baum, Benkler, Berinsky, Greenhill, Menczer, & Schudson (2018). Immigrants' contribution to the country has been very significant towards achieving the country's development milestone. The labor market heavily relies on immigrants from Africa, Mexico, and the Caribbean to strengthen its domestic labor force. Thus, acknowledging their participation and involvement in the country is a step toward making America great again as per Trump's 2016 campaign slogan. Washington post and New York Times would be the best media platforms to publish the rewritten story.

References

Chanrock, S. (2016, November 12). Trump Offering Free One-Way Tickets to Africa & Mexico for Those Who Wanna Leave America. Retrieved from http://thugify.com/trump-offering-free-flights-to-mexico-and-africa.

Klein, D., & Wueller, J. (2017). Fake news: A legal perspective. Journal of Internet Law (Apr. 2017).

Lazer, D. M., Baum, M. A., Benkler, Y., Berinsky, A. J., Greenhill, K. M., Menczer, F., ... & Schudson, M. (2018). The science of fake news. Science, 359(6380), 1094-1096. https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/mbaum/files/science_of_fake_news.pdf

Tandoc Jr, E. C., Lim, Z. W., & Ling, R. (2018). Defining "fake news" A typology of scholarly definitions. Digital journalism, 6(2), 137-153. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rich_Ling/publication/319383049_Defining_Fake_News_A_typology_of_scholarly_definitions/links/5c662daaa6fdccb608c3c381/Defining-Fake-News-A-typology-of-scholarly-definitions.pdf