Do you trust the media, do you believe in fake news? Does the fake news happen to always be what the other side is listening to? Is the fake news on the left, or the right? Does it depend on where you stand? Do you know the source, do you trust the source, is it syndicated information, who is the reporter, their background, who pays their salary? Does it matter? Maybe not if you trust your source.
Right now, I trust the media more than those who cry fake media. The standards of the news media may have gone down in the Internet era and with the breakdown of the subscription model and lowered expectations. But guess who will benefit the most from the use of the very word fake news or fake media.
By repeating the term fake media we accomplish absolutely nothing but a further nihilistic dismantling of any journalistic standards - fully taken advantage of by scumbags like Donald Trump. There is no objective journalism and has never been. But the answer is not to cry fake media but for those who feel their political opinions are not adequately heard in public discourse to establish their own outlets. A free market of ideas is always better than anything else.
Not all haters of the press are authoritarian. But for practical purposes they might as well be. Some complaints made by the alt-right may have had some merit until they came to power. These people deserve no charity, no quarter now that their leader holds the highest executive power in the USA.
All claim fake media, no matter what side of any position anyone stands. This is the polarisation of market segments. No matter where one stands they are right and the other is wrong. There is no concession between points, no charity and very few willing to engage in true discourse.
It has been a free market of ideas for a long time but, the marketers control the market, just like advertising that directs people into buying decisions. The news media is a product for entertainment purposes where one can choose what show to watch depending on personal preferences. There is no need to be objective if one always feels right.
The polarization you're talking about is a real thing. You're right about that. Partly, the alt-right phenomenon is the result of progressives and cultural leftists resorting to underhanded tactics. The silencing of professors at universities and crowds of hecklers disturbing lecturers with un-PC opinions is something that we've grow accustomed to hearing about in some American universities. But now that the leading alt-right figure is president in the US, there is an actual anti-intellectual in office who seems to actually want to take measures to silence the critical press.
A free market of ideas is always better than anything else.
So, you're saying that different audiences have been effectively siloed to create echo chambers for maximum marketing efficiency. Ok. What do you propose be done about it?