Source’s credibility must always be considered

According to reports, a surge of COVID-19 cases has hit the Bay Area. Based on the research that I have done, I believe the lack of nationally set rules has resulted in the prolonged surge of cases.

In 2020, all reports must be scrutinized. As a student studying history and psychology at Dominican University in San Rafael, I think that the spread of misinformation during the pandemic has decreased the trust that we have in the media and people in leadership positions.

This is, of course, not the first time that questions about media credibility or public-figure reliability have come under scrutiny. Famously, the Chicago Tribune printed incorrectly that Thomas Dewey beat Harry Truman for president in 1948. Another example that came up recently was President Donald Trump suggesting he won reelection. His tweet was eventually flagged for dispute on Twitter. Recounts in many states where Trump has claimed “fraud” on Twitter have solidified Joe Biden’s win. It further made the case that Trump will continue to spread whatever news he may feel like through his Twitter account.

In his first interview since losing the reelection with Maria Bartiromo on the Fox News channel, he continued to claim that the election was rigged by the Dominion voting system, and called it “garbage machinery.” However on Dec. 1, Attorney General Bill Barr reported that the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department found no evidence that the Dominion machines skewed the election results.

The complication of inaccurate news that spreads quickly can detrimentally affect our society as a whole. Facebook announced on Dec. 3 that they were going to go through and delete all of the false information off of its media sites.

— Simon Stewart, Santa Rosa