Blog Post 1  

Guy Williams and the advent of fake journalism:

This article shows how out of hand the spread of misinformation has become which aligns with my own views.

We’re suckers for headlines, reading 15 words and making our minds up on the whole piece without seeing the bigger picture, this is a part of the problem towards the mis spread of information with people not referring to the article for information but instead towards the headline, a 2000 word piece summed up in mere 15 words. We as a society now and especially the new generation, have such a short attention span towards everything, flicking from one 15 second video swiping up to watch another is what is consider “entertainment” a very hollow, dumbed down version of what has been an art form for centuries reduced to a mind numbing, void less form of time wasting polluting the minds of all that consume it worldwide with too many outrageous, misinformed opinions which kids gravitate towards as they “saw it online” with people such as Joe Rogan and the despicable Andrew Tate influencing kids with cut up 15 seconds videos which again like headlines for news articles does not represent the whole picture. This wild misread of information whilst already big blew (just look to ridiculous flat earth theory and the media surrounding that) up with the covid 19 pandemic. Guy Williams a beloved New Zealand comedian most well known for his comedy show “New Zealand Today” with such well known stories such as 

“ Hunt for the Invercargill Pool Pooper” and “Huntley Dildo thief”. But make no mistake Guy Williams isn't a journalist with Williams stating “Because I'm in a suit and I’ve got a microphone, a number of people call me a journalist when I think it's obvious I'm a comedian,” Williams told Mediawatch, It's just another example of seeing something at face value with us being the self proclaimed ‘headline generation’.Willaims intention first and foremost is to entertain and second to that being showing just how stupid some of the wild mispread information can be especially towards the covid 19 pandemic. In the video titled “5G search for the truth (Flat Earth Part 2)” Williams reports on claims of 5g towers from anti vaxxers stating that'' 5g towers are used to track and control people with secret microchips in the covid vaccine” or even that the “5g is the cause of the covid 19 pandemic”. Typing that felt ludicrous as it such a ridiculous theory, and Guy of course pokes holes into their theory calling them out on how stupid what they just said sounds. But as much fake journalism Guy Williams reports on he recently got into some hot water surrounding one of his latest new Zealand today segments. In the episode Guy interviews restaurant owner and former mayor candidate Leo Molloy. In the interview Molloy comes off as brash and abrasive, as guy interrupts him he states “should we get a talking stick” and “i'm not used to being interrupted”  later dictating the interview be coursing guy into asking a question Molloy came up with, not a good look. Molloy’s reasoning for running for mayor is to stamp out the “soft cocks”. It's a rough interview for Guy to conduct and he gained media attention for “giving Molloy the oxygen of publicity”, Which while i can see that criticism at face value when you watch the interview you can clearly see who has the upper hand, Molloy thinks he's winning but Guy is running circles around him, poking at and frequently joking about Molloy’s ludicrous stories or his abrasive, distastefulness towards the modern world exclaiming multiple times exposing the so called “soft cocks”.To me the backlash that Guy Williams received due to this piece much like Molloy is very face value, tunneled visioned on their ideas and ideals. They don't see the bigger picture, Williams wasn't there to publicize Molloy he was there instead to show just how ridiculous Molloy looks,its frustrating that people didn't see it for what it was instead of how it was perceived.

Overall both the article and the video its based upon show to me and reconfirm my beliefs in the self titled “Headline generation”, we are so obsessed with people hearing our opinions and other people sharing theres and people getting angry at the others beliefs.The video the article is based on got more attention surrounding the interviewer Guy Williams with him digging into the world of political journalism after Williams repeatedly stated in at the start of every New Zealand today video that he is not a traditional journalist  “All the journalists have been fired. Ironically, I - a pretend journalist - am still there. Is that a good sign for society? No.” Williams told media watch. I think that we need Guy, his humor while obviously subjective, shines a light on journalism frequently poking jokes at the common traits of media journalism. This article in particular goes to show that people confuse parody with reality, again just reading the headline without reading the main body of information. Williams is an advocate for stamping out fake news spreading misinformation but doing so in a way which does not look down upon it but instead just revels how bizarre and ridiculous some stories come out of all the fake news and fast its spreading with a rate people believing it. It's a scary reality with Williams exposing it with humor and wit for at the end of the day he is an entertainer.

Blog Post 2

The growing concern of Fake news:

The rise of fake news and social media go hand in hand in creating a world filled with misinformation.

Our society nowadays is riddled with opinions. People have an opinion on everything and now due to social media these opinions are becoming more and more accessiblefor the mainstream to read, listen, or see. With a click of a button your thoughts and feelings towards a certain topic are out there in the wildlands of the internet. Apps such as facebook, twitter,i nstagram and tiktok have becoming increasingly flooded with these opinions most of which have no solid ground to back them up, but yet they advertise these facts for their followers to see. It scares me to think that with the rise of social media there's also a rise in misinformation. Theres always been outlandish thoughts and opinions some of which are parody such as “the onion” a famous “news” publication which frequently pokes fun at the trials and tribulations of modern day media.But that's a whole other beast, I see that as nothing more than a joke but of course other people see this differently. It's a hard line to draw between fiction and reality nowadays due to so much false information online because more often than not people blend these two together to enlist their vision, it's psychopathic in nature manipulating others to fulfill your vision, and your opinion. The article “Mediawatch: Mounting fake news prompts calls for action” highlights these issues and raises concern for the lack of oppression on these fake news outlets. Tova O’Brien of radio fm stated in the article that ““There is no minister or government agency specifically tasked with monitoring and dealing with the increasing threat posed by disinformation and misinformation. That should change,”.(Mediawatch: Mounting fake news prompts calls for action,Peacock,2022)While I can see why the government may be cautious of this with minister Willie Jackson stating “I suppose so  . . . and we're trying,”  you can see his hesitation in this because by banning impendent news outlets your effectively censoring their “free speech” which in turn would cause more problems than there already is. It is a problem especially with covid, There was so much misinformed information its absolutely ridiculous ranging from there being microchips in the vaccines to the newly installed 5g towers having a part in the spread of covid. Misread information got so out of hand that the government had to set up a page on their covid website dedicated to reporting false or misleading information surrounding covid. The website breaks down in detail in steps on how to protect yourself with false information. The fact that this had to be said is a clear sign of how out of hands things are getting in the journalism world. Part of this same website states “Every New Zealander has the right to freedom of speech.  Challenging misinformation is a way to ensure New Zealanders have access to the facts.”(COVID-19 vaccine misinformation,2020)which i absolutely agree with, of course we have the write to say what we want to say but it's the way people go about nowadays by click baiting their content with just a straight lie, it's a scary time as you've got to sift through all the hay to find the needle, the needle being truth which is hard to come by nowadays. It's something to absolutely afraid of because the media is what we rely upon for information on current events of any category, and to have this being tainted in order for someone's own personal gain is scary. We as people have more power than we have ever had due to social media, our voices heard and read on a screen and spread all across the world for people to consume. The website “Netsafe.org” has broken down all the different types of information those being clickbait, satire,i ncorrect facts, commercial agenda, manufactured pictures and unconscious bias In my experience Clickbait and incorrect facts are usually together to heighten one another, with the clickbait usually being a title or phrase just made up for the sake of generating ad revenue. There's a clear rise in misinformation with the BSA (Broadcasting standards authority) sending out a survey which stated that “New Zealanders are worried about digital social media platforms’ misinformation “making it harder to identify the truth.” All of this isn't widely discussed which I think is a huge issue as you have people believing things that aren't true because “they read it on the internet” is an all to common phrase nowadays. Overall there is a growing concern more this huge influx of misread and misguided information. In my opinion its scary as oppression this fake news can and will be seen as censorship on people's thoughts and feeling towards the world and the realities in it. But people are frequently blending these realities with fiction and twist a narrative to better suit their ideals of the world. Its a problem that I see has no end to it, it only seems to be getting worse, and with little government involvement on the matter we should be prepared to experience fake news for a while to come. Social media will never die, its flame burns to bright into the modern world, and with that each person who access social media without realizing it has so much power and can rally their voice online typing behind a virtual keyboard. It has to get worse before it gets better, but the worse is still yet to come.