Millennials Insist We Tackle Truth in an Era of Fake News

Each year, the Chicago Community Trust sponsors On the Table, an annual forum that invites Chicago residents to participate in elevated civic conversations. These forums took place at various organizations around the city on May 10th. The Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (ICPR) hosted an On the Table discussion with student journalists and academics to address the question: How can Millennials tackle truth in an era of ‘fake news’?

Everyone at the table agreed that news organizations are seeking ways to engage young readers. Older, more established organizations attempt to increase their appeal with social media. College students see this attempt as disingenuous. They said that in order for news outlets to gain credibility among younger readers, they must substantiate articles with impactful reporting and visually stimulating data. Data delivers a truthful accounting of issues and helps readers distinguish between commentary, fake news, and fact.

It’s Time to Break up the Echo Chambers 
Students also shared that they are turned off by partisan rhetoric, especially when cable news present issues as black or white. Millennial readers strongly believe this hyper polarization of the issues sensationalizes the news and goes against a key principle of effective journalism: establishing truth.  While students acknowledged that most people gravitate toward information that strengthens their beliefs, they also experience how extreme partisanship makes it increasingly difficult for voters to discern fact from fiction or news from opinion. How do we tackle this? One student summed it up by saying, “It’s up to our generation to change the conversation and use more fact-based reporting to eliminate the partisan divide. Our focus should be on truth as we increase our ability to access, analyze, evaluate the news.”

On the Table Participants
Michael McDevitt, news editor at the Loyola Phoenix at Loyola University at Chicago; Euirim Choi, editor-in-chief at The Chicago Maroon at the University of Chicago; Savannah Eadens, metro reporter at The Columbia Chronicle at Columbia College Chicago; and Suzanne McBride, chair of the Communication Department at Columbia College Chicago and a part-time editor at the Chicago Sun-Times.