Fake News?: The Only Surprise is that We’re Surprised

“Fake news” is hardly new. Journalists, media spokespersons, and school yard gossips have been faking news since the day Eve pointed at Adam and said, “He made me do it.” But based on the attention it has received the last two years, you would think no one had ever heard of it before Donald Trump came along.

Last weekend President Trump revealed that he met with New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger on July 20. According to Sulzberger, he had requested the meeting with the President so that he could voice his concerns in person regarding Trump’s “deeply troubling anti-press rhetoric.”

Sulzberger said that he instructed the President that “the phrase ‘fake news’ is untrue and harmful.” If Sulzberger means that the existence of fake news is “untrue,” well, that’s just not true.

In this installment and the next, I want to consider “fake news” and its counterpart, media bias, and apply a biblical perspective to both. To answer both biblically, we need to understand the difference.

All fake news results from bias, but not all bias is fake news. And yet, for both, the same thing is at stake: Truth. So, first, what is “fake news”?

“Fake news” has been installed as a staple of our public discourse. Twitter rumbles with it and Facebook reeks of it. To me, fake news is intentionally inventing news and dressing it as journalism and doing so toward a determined agenda.

The key to fake news is that it is false information and invented facts intentionally disseminated in an effort to twist opinion or motivate action that simple news reporting would not achieve. Its purpose is not to report, but to manipulate. Disinformation has been a tool of politics and warfare for centuries.

Consider Nehemiah. As he stood on the wall and refused to abandon his post, he stared down at his enemies who greatly miscalculated his resolve and his leadership skills, and he announced “I am doing great work, and I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?” (Neh. 6:3).

So how did the enemies of God’s people respond? They spread fake news. They promoted a rumor that the Jews were in rebellion against the Persian king and that they were not building a city for worship, but they were rebuilding a fortress to fortify their rebellion (Neh. 4:5-7).

Or consider the enemies of the Apostle Paul who, finding no other way to incite public opinion against him, faked the news. “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place. What’s more, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place” (Acts 21:28). And they ignited a riot.

Fake news often burns reputations, incites conflict, and even destroys families and churches. It isn’t necessary, its purpose is malicious, and it is always harmful. But it is hardly surprising. Instead it is evidence once again that people are sinners. We lie and invent the “news” when it suits our purposes.

But the real victim of all fake news is Truth.

So, in the context of the conversation on fake news, as Christians, what should we remember? Let me offer five things:

1. Remember that Christians are guardians and advocates of truth. Our faith is born of truth, thrives in truth, and we worship Him who is the Truth (John 8:31-32, 14:6; 1 John 5:20).
2. Remember to foster truth in your personal relationships. Check yourself. Be sure that you are not disseminating “fake news” against anyone else, no matter their political persuasion or personal agenda. God calls you to a greater stand, one that includes loving people and loving the truth (Prov. 12:22; Eph. 6:14; 1 John 3:18).
3. Remember to advocate for the truth. If you know a Christian who seems to be trading in fake news, confront them. Lovingly remind them to stick only to what they know is true. Healthy Christian relationships depend on it (Eph. 4:25).
4. Remember to stay close to God’s truth. By His truth you can discern what is true in media and culture. Your grasp of His truth shows by your ability to discern all truth (2 Tim. 2:15; Ps. 25:50.
5. And remember that God does not lie. So lying, and a cavalier disregard for the truth, demonstrates a distinct absence of fellowship with God. In fact, the source of lying is the Enemy (John 8:44).

Falsehood is incompatible with your faith. And the closer you are to Christ, the closer you are to the truth and recognize it when you hear it.

Now, what about media “bias”? See my next installment.