Retired rural reporter criticizes Facebook for allowing fake news; his op-ed is easily adaptable by all news media

Mark Kelly

In an op-ed published yesterday, a retired rural reporter took Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg to task for failing to tackle the proliferation of fake news on its social media sites (Facebook has acquired other popular platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp).

Facebook isn't a news site, exactly, but many people get their news from Facebook because friends use it to share news stories. Zuckerberg has a responsibility to police that content to prevent fake news purveyors from spreading lies, Mikel Kelly writes for the Lake Oswego Review, a weekly just south of Portland, Oregon. Kelly retired from the paper a few years ago but still writes a column.

News media have to stand behind the words they publish, no matter their size, platform or how frequently they publish, Kelly writes: "Even the tiniest weekly and monthly newspapers have to figure out a way to sniff out the lies, mistruths and complete B.S. their readers and advertisers would like to sneak into their news, editorial and advertising content — and block them from public view."

Zuckerberg has argued that people should have the freedom to write what they want on Facebook as long as it's not obscene or illegal, but Kelly dismisses that notion: "The classic cliché used when discussing the freedom of expression that we possess in this country is how we all have the right to free speech, but it does not extend to crying 'Fire!' in a crowded theater. Mark Zuckerberg's response to that is, 'Hey, I'm no fireman — how would I know if it's really a fire or not?' Well, I'm telling you, Marky: It IS a fire. And your failure to deal with it is embarrassing. You are not helping one bit. Please stop your whimpering and take responsibility for the massive role you and your company play in the world."

Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, which publishes The Rural Blog, says Kelly's editorial could easily be adapted by any news outlet, and should be, because journalists and their paymasters need to constantly remind their audiences of the fundamental differences in types of media: "News media do journalism, which emphasizes facts and practices a discipline of verification; social media emphasize opinion and have little if any discipline or verification. It’s important to know the difference."