Pope calls for 'journalism of peace,' shuns fake news
Published May 12, 2018 12:12 pm
By Christina Hermoso
As the Roman Catholic Church marks the 52nd World Communications Day today, Pope Francis called attention to the proliferation of fake news as the Pontiff encouraged the promotion of journalism of peace.
Pope Francis speaks as he leads the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, April 25, 2018. (REUTERS/Max Rossi / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a message for the event, Pope Francis called for the promotion of “a journalism of peace. By that, I do not mean the saccharine kind of journalism that refuses to acknowledge the existence of serious problems or smacks of sentimentalism. On the contrary, I mean a journalism that is truthful and opposed to falsehoods, rhetorical slogans, and sensational headlines. A journalism created by people for people, one that is at the service of all, especially those – and they are the majority in our world – who have no voice. A journalism less concentrated on breaking news than on exploring the underlying causes of conflicts, in order to promote deeper understanding and contribute to their resolution by setting in place virtuous processes,” he said.
The timely theme for the 52nd World Communications Day is: “The truth will set you free” (John 8: 32).
With faster and wider means of communication, the Holy Father acknowledged the alarming proliferation of fake news. He said, “In today’s fast-changing world of communications and digital systems, we are witnessing the spread of what has come to be known as ‘fake news,’ This calls for reflection, which is why I have decided to return in this World Communications Day message to the issue of truth, which was raised time and time again by my predecessors, beginning with Pope Paul VI, whose 1972 message took as its theme: Social Communications at the Service of Truth. In this way, I would like to contribute to our shared commitment to stemming the spread of fake news and to rediscovering the dignity of journalism and the personal responsibility of journalists to communicate the truth.”
He added, “The term fake news refers to the spreading of disinformation online or in the traditional media. It has to do with false information based on non-existent or distorted data meant to deceive and manipulate the reader. Spreading fake news can serve to advance specific goals, influence political decisions, and serve economic interests. The effectiveness of fake news is primarily due to its ability to mimic real news, to seem plausible. Secondly, this false but believable news is captious, inasmuch as it grasps people’s attention by appealing to stereotypes and common social prejudices, and exploiting instantaneous emotions like anxiety, contempt, anger, and frustration. The ability to spread such fake news often relies on a manipulative use of the social networks and the way they function. Untrue stories can spread so quickly that even authoritative denials fail to contain the damage,” Pope Francis said.
The Pontiff warned that fake news only leads to the spread of arrogance and hatred, “The difficulty of unmasking and eliminating fake news is due to the fact that many people interact inhomogeneous digital environments impervious to differing perspectives and opinions. Disinformation thus thrives on the absence of healthy confrontation with other sources of information that could effectively challenge prejudices and generate constructive dialogue; instead, it risks turning people into unwilling accomplices in spreading biased and baseless ideas. The tragedy of disinformation is that it discredits others, presenting them as enemies, to the point of demonizing them and fomenting conflict. Fake news is a sign of intolerant and hypersensitive attitudes and leads only to the spread of arrogance and hatred. That is the end result of untruth,” he stressed.
Pope Francis gave credit to institutions that try to curb the spread of fake news.
“Praiseworthy efforts are being made to create educational programs aimed at helping people to interpret and assess information provided by the media, and teaching them to take an active part in unmasking falsehoods, rather than unwittingly contributing to the spread of disinformation. Praiseworthy too are those institutional and legal initiatives aimed at developing regulations for curbing the phenomenon, to say nothing of the work being done by tech and media companies in coming up with new criteria for verifying the personal identities concealed behind millions of digital profiles,” he said.
The promotion of truth and people who are ready to listen, Pope Francis said, is the only way to put a stop to fake news. “The most radical antidote to the virus of falsehood is purification by the truth. The truth is not just bringing to light things that are concealed. Truth involves our whole life. The best antidotes to falsehoods are not strategies, but people: people who are not greedy but ready to listen, people who make the effort to engage in sincere dialogue so that the truth can emerge; people who are attracted by goodness and take responsibility for how they use language,” he said.
Pope Francis speaks as he leads the Wednesday general audience in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican, April 25, 2018. (REUTERS/Max Rossi / MANILA BULLETIN)
In a message for the event, Pope Francis called for the promotion of “a journalism of peace. By that, I do not mean the saccharine kind of journalism that refuses to acknowledge the existence of serious problems or smacks of sentimentalism. On the contrary, I mean a journalism that is truthful and opposed to falsehoods, rhetorical slogans, and sensational headlines. A journalism created by people for people, one that is at the service of all, especially those – and they are the majority in our world – who have no voice. A journalism less concentrated on breaking news than on exploring the underlying causes of conflicts, in order to promote deeper understanding and contribute to their resolution by setting in place virtuous processes,” he said.
The timely theme for the 52nd World Communications Day is: “The truth will set you free” (John 8: 32).
With faster and wider means of communication, the Holy Father acknowledged the alarming proliferation of fake news. He said, “In today’s fast-changing world of communications and digital systems, we are witnessing the spread of what has come to be known as ‘fake news,’ This calls for reflection, which is why I have decided to return in this World Communications Day message to the issue of truth, which was raised time and time again by my predecessors, beginning with Pope Paul VI, whose 1972 message took as its theme: Social Communications at the Service of Truth. In this way, I would like to contribute to our shared commitment to stemming the spread of fake news and to rediscovering the dignity of journalism and the personal responsibility of journalists to communicate the truth.”
He added, “The term fake news refers to the spreading of disinformation online or in the traditional media. It has to do with false information based on non-existent or distorted data meant to deceive and manipulate the reader. Spreading fake news can serve to advance specific goals, influence political decisions, and serve economic interests. The effectiveness of fake news is primarily due to its ability to mimic real news, to seem plausible. Secondly, this false but believable news is captious, inasmuch as it grasps people’s attention by appealing to stereotypes and common social prejudices, and exploiting instantaneous emotions like anxiety, contempt, anger, and frustration. The ability to spread such fake news often relies on a manipulative use of the social networks and the way they function. Untrue stories can spread so quickly that even authoritative denials fail to contain the damage,” Pope Francis said.
The Pontiff warned that fake news only leads to the spread of arrogance and hatred, “The difficulty of unmasking and eliminating fake news is due to the fact that many people interact inhomogeneous digital environments impervious to differing perspectives and opinions. Disinformation thus thrives on the absence of healthy confrontation with other sources of information that could effectively challenge prejudices and generate constructive dialogue; instead, it risks turning people into unwilling accomplices in spreading biased and baseless ideas. The tragedy of disinformation is that it discredits others, presenting them as enemies, to the point of demonizing them and fomenting conflict. Fake news is a sign of intolerant and hypersensitive attitudes and leads only to the spread of arrogance and hatred. That is the end result of untruth,” he stressed.
Pope Francis gave credit to institutions that try to curb the spread of fake news.
“Praiseworthy efforts are being made to create educational programs aimed at helping people to interpret and assess information provided by the media, and teaching them to take an active part in unmasking falsehoods, rather than unwittingly contributing to the spread of disinformation. Praiseworthy too are those institutional and legal initiatives aimed at developing regulations for curbing the phenomenon, to say nothing of the work being done by tech and media companies in coming up with new criteria for verifying the personal identities concealed behind millions of digital profiles,” he said.
The promotion of truth and people who are ready to listen, Pope Francis said, is the only way to put a stop to fake news. “The most radical antidote to the virus of falsehood is purification by the truth. The truth is not just bringing to light things that are concealed. Truth involves our whole life. The best antidotes to falsehoods are not strategies, but people: people who are not greedy but ready to listen, people who make the effort to engage in sincere dialogue so that the truth can emerge; people who are attracted by goodness and take responsibility for how they use language,” he said.