Is there an outrage culture in the media?

[Arkhane]

From the economy to the environment to politics to social dynamics, from both sides and in between, I have been seeing this frantic mentality where the media relays the news/information in a very alarming and concerning fashion with incredible headlines and often pieces that convey an all-encompassing gloom that paints a world becoming worse and worse.

I understand that bad news travels faster than good news, but since we live in an age of clickbaits with eye-catching headlines and breathless, frantic opinion pieces, I am finding it difficult to believe that all of these issues are recent, in fact, most of them have been happening for decades, but the way it is presented makes it appear like it is suddenly becoming a present threat to society/nations/the economy/the planet etc.

The media has been constantly caught exaggerating and overblowing issues and relaying out of context information just to generate clicks, views, audiences, especially when it comes to sensitive and/or controversial subjects. It has caused a general divide among people.

Is there actually a looming threat that people need to personally and emotionally invest themselves over or is this a negative effect of media conflating and making the world seem bleaker than it is, creating an outrage/alarmist culture.

In my opinion, I don't think things are getting worse. Sure, bad things are happening, but are they enough to destroy society/the economy/nations/people/the planet and bring about an apocalypse? I don't think so.

[Hirota]

Q: Is there an outrage culture in the media?
A: Yes

[The Blaatschapen]

YES

[Galloism]

Yes, and I’m mad about it.

[Ethel mermania]

Outrage sells papers, or eyeballs, or whatever the hell else they are selling these days.

[Mzeusia]

Yes, because that's how newspapers sell. That's not going to stop me being outraged about it though.

[Ifreann]

From the economy to the environment to politics to social dynamics, from both sides and in between, I have been seeing this frantic mentality where the media relays the news/information in a very alarming and concerning fashion with incredible headlines and often pieces that convey an all-encompassing gloom that paints a world becoming worse and worse.

I understand that bad news travels faster than good news, but since we live in an age of clickbaits with eye-catching headlines and breathless, frantic opinion pieces, I am finding it difficult to believe that all of these issues are recent, in fact, most of them have been happening for decades, but the way it is presented makes it appear like it is suddenly becoming a present threat to society/nations/the economy/the planet etc.

The media has been constantly caught exaggerating and overblowing issues and relaying out of context information just to generate clicks, views, audiences, especially when it comes to sensitive and/or controversial subjects. It has caused a general divide among people.

Is there actually a looming threat that people need to personally and emotionally invest themselves over or is this a negative effect of media conflating and making the world seem bleaker than it is, creating an outrage/alarmist culture.

In my opinion, I don't think things are getting worse. Sure, bad things are happening, but are they enough to destroy society/the economy/nations/people/the planet and bring about an apocalypse? I don't think so.

Is this a climate change denial thread?

[Arkhane]

Is this a climate change denial thread?

We can use that as a point of example. While I don't deny climate change, the media's recent coverage of the Amazon fires make it appear like it's the very worst case of forest fires in the history of the Amazon, they also started clipping incorrect statistics to make their point seem dire with their "20% of the world's oxygen", "freak fire/direct result of climate change" and "the lungs of the world" pitch added into it. And anyone who so much as point out such inconsistencies or state otherwise is immediately deemed a climate change denier or an anti-environmental nazi. Some who are aware of the exaggeration even insisted that it's "okay to lie for a good cause" which is very disturbing to me.

[Liriena]

Yes. It's kind of the "woke" second cousin of the more reactionary moral panics of decades past. Because media loves ratings and nothing gets ratings like morbidly fascinating things.

But the climate change example is an idiotic one. If anything, media has been beyond neglectful at communicating how much of a very real, very serious problem climate change is.

[Galloism]

Yes. It's kind of the "woke" second cousin of the more reactionary moral panics of decades past. Because media loves ratings and nothing gets ratings like morbidly fascinating things.

But the climate change example is an idiotic one. If anything, media has been beyond neglectful at communicating how much of a very real, very serious problem climate change is.

But there's way more important things. Did you know the president altered a weathermap with a sharpie?

[Europa Undivided]

Yes.

Nothing generates more money than an angry population.

[Hirota]

Yes. It's kind of the "woke" second cousin of the more reactionary moral panics of decades past. Because media loves ratings and nothing gets ratings like morbidly fascinating things.

But the climate change example is an idiotic one. If anything, media has been beyond neglectful at communicating how much of a very real, very serious problem climate change is.

I talked about this in the amazon burning thread; the sensationalism detracts from the real issues - the 20% O2 claim is nonsense, but the loss of biodiversity is serious, but largely unmentioned.

The media has consistently failed to bring the truth to the masses. We know now they are not interested in truth, but in outrage. And the problem is; the next time the media communicates a serious problem, instead of taking it seriously people are going to be skeptical of the messenger.

It's the boy who cried wolf.

[Dresderstan]

Yes.

[Juristonia]

Yes. It's kind of the "woke" second cousin of the more reactionary moral panics of decades past. Because media loves ratings and nothing gets ratings like morbidly fascinating things.

But the climate change example is an idiotic one. If anything, media has been beyond neglectful at communicating how much of a very real, very serious problem climate change is.

But there's way more important things. Did you know the president altered a weathermap with a sharpie?

You're smart enough to know the whole sharpie thing is indicative of a larger problem.
Come on, Gallo.

[Galloism]

But there's way more important things. Did you know the president altered a weathermap with a sharpie?

You're smart enough to know the whole sharpie thing is indicative of a larger problem.
Come on, Gallo.

Of course, but it wasn't worth 5 days of nonstop press.

[Ifreann]

Is this a climate change denial thread?

We can use that as a point of example. While I don't deny climate change, the media's recent coverage of the Amazon fires make it appear like it's the very worst case of forest fires in the history of the Amazon, they also started clipping incorrect statistics to make their point seem dire with their "20% of the world's oxygen", "freak fire/direct result of climate change" and "the lungs of the world" pitch added into it. And anyone who so much as point out such inconsistencies or state otherwise is immediately deemed a climate change denier or an anti-environmental nazi. Some who are aware of the exaggeration even insisted that it's "okay to lie for a good cause" which is very disturbing to me.

So you don't think that climate change is really that bad? Not something to get emotionally invested in?

[Phoenicaea]

you see, it s also true a thing as wider fires in amazonia is a worst of for the living world.

[Cannot think of a name]

Honestly I'm more fascinated by second hand outrage. The idea that I'm supposed to be outraged by the outrage of others.

Organizations like Turning Point USA specialize in this, holding seminars for college students to become field reporters for publications like The Daily Wire or Briebart or even Fox News if you've ever wondered how mundane decisions made by five member bodies about a student union policy on the second Saturday of every month suddenly becomes national news that is an example of 'PC culture gone mad' or some shit, that's it. It's activism turned into an industry to sell the idea that there are these angry mobs coming to take your apple pie and the only way to stop them is to form your own angry mob that's super angry about how angry those people are.

These days most of the time I don't hear from the supposedly outraged party, I hear about the people outraged at the outrage. And it's not really a partisan thing.

When casting for Ariel in the live action Little Mermaid was announced all I heard was mockery of these people who were apparently upset that she was a person of color but had to dig really deep to actually find these people who were actually upset about it. Even following the supposedly relevant hashtag returned almost entirely people mocking the idea and at best a handful of people who were actually against the casting.

I'm over second hand outrage. I'm not signing up for outrage over the outrage, it's too meta for me.

[The Blaatschapen]

Honestly I'm more fascinated by second hand outrage. The idea that I'm supposed to be outraged by the outrage of others.

Organizations like Turning Point USA specialize in this, holding seminars for college students to become field reporters for publications like The Daily Wire or Briebart or even Fox News if you've ever wondered how mundane decisions made by five member bodies about a student union policy on the second Saturday of every month suddenly becomes national news that is an example of 'PC culture gone mad' or some shit, that's it. It's activism turned into an industry to sell the idea that there are these angry mobs coming to take your apple pie and the only way to stop them is to form your own angry mob that's super angry about how angry those people are.

These days most of the time I don't hear from the supposedly outraged party, I hear about the people outraged at the outrage. And it's not really a partisan thing.

When casting for Ariel in the live action Little Mermaid was announced all I heard was mockery of these people who were apparently upset that she was a person of color but had to dig really deep to actually find these people who were actually upset about it. Even following the supposedly relevant hashtag returned almost entirely people mocking the idea and at best a handful of people who were actually against the casting.

I'm over second hand outrage. I'm not signing up for outrage over the outrage, it's too meta for me.

This makes me angry

[NoAvailability]

Yes, it exists, though I can't find much fault in it. It generates clicks and views, more so than the truth does, and because it does so, it brings more money and is thus perpetuated. It's a natural reaction of such outlets to the economic model we currently follow, and faulting them for something that is more or less out of their control seems wrong to me.

[Juristonia]

You're smart enough to know the whole sharpie thing is indicative of a larger problem.
Come on, Gallo.

Of course, but it wasn't worth 5 days of nonstop press.

Can't disagree on that, although i doubt it would've gone on as long if he hadn't kept sticking his foot in his mouth too.

[Pacomia]

Yeah, definitely. Lots of alarmism in the news too. Neither of these are really things that should be there, but they are there, and there’s not a lot we can do about it.

[Cannot think of a name]

Of course, but it wasn't worth 5 days of nonstop press.

Can't disagree on that, although i doubt it would've gone on as long if he hadn't kept sticking his foot in his mouth too.

It 100% would have died had he not kept making it worse. Making the first mistake was a novelty. A minor footnote on the larger chapter of "Trump goes off script doesn't understand his briefings...in other news..." But then he brought out the Sharpie. Again, worthy of laughter and mockery at how bizarrely thin skinned and petty he is...then he starts selling branded markers as if we're the ones making a big deal out of this. And then it turns out that he directed NOAA to just go with whatever he said.

'We're' not the ones making this a five day long story. He is. If they guy hitting himself on the head with a fish keeps finding bigger and weirder fish to hit himself on the head with, it's not our fault for going noting it.

[The Blaatschapen]

Can't disagree on that, although i doubt it would've gone on as long if he hadn't kept sticking his foot in his mouth too.

It 100% would have died had he not kept making it worse. Making the first mistake was a novelty. A minor footnote on the larger chapter of "Trump goes off script doesn't understand his briefings...in other news..." But then he brought out the Sharpie. Again, worthy of laughter and mockery at how bizarrely thin skinned and petty he is...then he starts selling branded markers as if we're the ones making a big deal out of this. And then it turns out that he directed NOAA to just go with whatever he said.

'We're' not the ones making this a five day long story. He is. If they guy hitting himself on the head with a fish keeps finding bigger and weirder fish to hit himself on the head with, it's not our fault for going noting it.

He is doing this on purpose.

It distracts from any bigger news about him.

[Cannot think of a name]

It 100% would have died had he not kept making it worse. Making the first mistake was a novelty. A minor footnote on the larger chapter of "Trump goes off script doesn't understand his briefings...in other news..." But then he brought out the Sharpie. Again, worthy of laughter and mockery at how bizarrely thin skinned and petty he is...then he starts selling branded markers as if we're the ones making a big deal out of this. And then it turns out that he directed NOAA to just go with whatever he said.

'We're' not the ones making this a five day long story. He is. If they guy hitting himself on the head with a fish keeps finding bigger and weirder fish to hit himself on the head with, it's not our fault for going noting it.

He is doing this on purpose.

It distracts from any bigger news about him.

I use to buy that, but he does so much unprompted shit that it's clearer now that he's not some clever manipulator but rather a dude who is all fucking elbows and we've just fatigued out of it hoping he has some more clever well thought out plan.

But he doesn't. He's just an idiot.