Roots of Fake News

<p><i>The Roots of Fake News </i>argues that ‘fake news’ is not a problem caused by the power of the internet or by the failure of good journalism to assert itself. Rather it is within the news’s ideological foundations – professionalism neutrality and most especially objectivity – that the true roots of the current ‘crisis’ are to be found.</p><p>Placing the concept of media objectivity in a fuller historical context this book examines how current perceptions of a crisis in journalism actually fit within a long history of the ways news media have avoided obscured or simply ignored the difficulties involved in promising objectivity let alone ‘truth’. The book examines journalism’s relationships with other spheres of human endeavour (science law philosophy) concerned with the pursuit of objective truth to argue that the rising tide of ‘fake news’ is not an attack on the traditional ideologies which have supported journalism. Rather it is an inevitable result of their inherent flaws and vulnerabilities.</p><p>This is a valuable resource for students and scholars of journalism and history alike who are interested in understanding the historical roots and philosophical context of a fiercely contemporary issue.</p>