#11: Investigate Journalism or Misinformation?

Investigative journalism is an integral part of our media. We depend on journalists to go above and beyond to report their story, and sometimes break the news all together. Investigative journalists have broken some of the most important, groundbreaking news stories that have been released in American history. Watergate is just one example of incredible, dedicated, intelligent investigative reporting. 

Although these days it may be easy to find a story in everything, sometimes, there just is not one. Since 2015, there has been an increase in the right-winged conspiracy theory that elites are trafficking and abusing children, with some going as far as to say they are harvesting their blood and organs. The blood libel is a historically antisemitic rhetoric that stems from almost the beginning of human history. The story was created to accuse Jews of murdering Christian boys and utilizing their blood for ritual. As the pizza gate story, there is no meaning or truth behind blood libel (link). 

These stories sound insane, and are harmless when not believed by people, but they can come extremely dangerous when sensationalized. A recent Fox News headline reads 'Whistleblower to tell House that US govt is 'middleman' in multibillion dollar migrant child trafficking op". The story accuses the Biden administration of intentionally ignoring an increase in child labor in order to profit from an international smuggling ring. 

While the headline and introduction paragraph lead you to believe this is what was said by the whistleblower, the actual quote from the whistleblower refers to the administration as a 'intentional or intentional middleman in a child trafficking scheme'. She goes into describe details of the ring and the effects it has on migrant and missing children, while she considers the administration negligent, the story is overall focused on bringing more awareness to these kids. While the accusation still seems out of the norm and slightly inflated, it is not the same as what was reported in the headline. The Biden Administration recently released a new plan to stop and slow trafficking, this article followed shortly after that announcment. These misinformed, inflated headlines only increase the polarization of politics in America and increase distrust in the government. It is gross negligence to allow a mass media company that holds over 40% of the viewership in our country to continue spewing these lies.