Think twice before painting all media as fake; journalism is all we've got left

I’ll be blunt: Our country is out of whack right now, and I’m petrified.

One thing that has caused my fear to skyrocket recently is the ignorance that is plaguing the nation. President Donald Trump has decided to castigate the media by calling organizations he dislikes “fake news” and claiming journalists are “the most dishonest human beings in the world,” unless they're treating him nicely, of course. With these allegations and labels, Trump has essentially ignited the first war of his presidency — a war on the media.

What has been troubling me lately is so many people are taking Trump’s words without a second thought. I’ve seen Facebook posts spewing out hateful and uninformed claims that the media is “cancer” and that the “dishonest media” is ruining our country. This misconception about the media is spreading like wildfire and leading to the growth of an even less-informed society.

What Americans need to recognize now more than ever is that the president is simply using members of the media industry as scapegoats. Journalists are not out to get the president, nor do they deem it acceptable to feed lies to the people of this nation. There are, after all, laws in place to prevent lies from going unpublished. Journalists have a thankless commitment to reporting the truth and exist for no other reasons than to keep the public informed and help make sense of what is happening in the world.

With the signing of Trump’s many severe executive orders, the past two weeks have been action-packed and emotionally trying for many Americans.

Members of the media, including those who Trump likes, have done their jobs and told the public what these orders call for and what they mean for the citizens of our nation. They have explored the impacts of these orders and done their duties as journalists to dig deep into the issues and find the most interesting and newsworthy stories surrounding them. These journalists have done their jobs.

Unfortunately, as journalists have reported on what many Americans consider to be the adverse impacts of Trump’s orders, Trump has called for an all-out rejection of the media. Every negative fact printed or spoken now has to be taken with a grain of salt, according to our president. He has warned his constituents that the media is out to get him and they can’t be trusted. As a result, many Americans have started to boycott media sources Trump has deemed untrustworthy.

By alienating the media, Trump himself has become the main source of information for many citizens. Needless to say, this source is a rather biased one. Of course Trump will portray his actions to be nothing short of genius. If people are lead to believe every negative word about Trump is false, he becomes America’s ever-protected golden boy.

It is important to note that some fringe outlets are indeed producing fake news and have been for years. But to paint the entire media industry, including well-established, trusted sources like The New York Times or The Washington Post, as bold-faced liars is wholly irresponsible.

People must learn the difference between the sketchy websites that pop up on our Facebook feeds and the decades-old media companies that have informed generations of readers, including Trump himself. These companies are not going to stop producing news, and they are here to inform.

I encourage you to keep in mind the undying integrity of our nation’s journalists and to remember that, at this point, they're all we have left.

Abigail Miller is a UF journalism sophomore. Her column appears on Fridays.