Case study: The system is designed to defeat media literacy

An odd, perhaps correct (like a broken clock is twice-per-day) story made the rounds this weekend, about a GOP member of the House of Representatives who, retiring this year, was categorized as having gone “missing” for the past six months - and found in an assisted memory care facility in Fort Worth.

The story, linked below, is replete with red flags. That does not mean it is wrong, just that without better reporting there is very little proof it is right.

The original Dallas Express Story.

1. The Express is not a ‘local news site’ it is a political operation funded by a rich donor. (As is his right, but that does not make what it does ‘journalism.’)
2. The story's author is a local political activist who has written some stories that might meet a journalistic standard, and others rife with bias, especially in the language used in coverage of transgender issues.
3. The story has one named source, and not being a healthcare lawyer, I am concerned that the staff of a nursing home facility would confirm the status of any resident. The other sources are an ‘anonymous tipster’ and random social media accounts.

Nothing about this meets any journalistic standard of accuracy and verification. In other words, there is no reason to trust the story without further evidence. But, real stories can emerge from unlikely origins, so the next step is to look for reporting from other media outlets.

The first site I found that picked it up was a conservative talk radio station in Baltimore. Today that station is running a front-page poll asking if Elon Musk should be elected speaker of the house. The station offered no new reporting, it is just a re-write of the original Dallas Express coverage.

Who else is covering this, as of 10 a.m. ET Sunday?

• The Gateway Pundit who recently settled a lawsuit after being accused of publishing mistruths that resulted in death threats directed at election workers in Georgia. Again, no reporting, just a re-write of the original.
• The New York Post No reporting, just a re-write of the original.
• A soap opera site, owned by a sports news network based in India. No reporting, just a re-write of the original.
• Times Now Digital, in India, and picked up by Microsoft News’ very credulous syndication. No reporting, just a re-write of the original.

As importantly, as of now who is missing from the list?

• The Dallas Morning News
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram
• The Fort Worth Report
• Any of the many TV stations in the region
• Any other news source that offers original reporting

None of those other local newsrooms have even gone as far as “reporting on the reporting” to either support or debunk the story.

Bottom line: this story offers nothing but red flags - reasons to distrust the reporting - and at minimum no reasons to amplify it absent further (or any) evidence.

But the problem for digital news is the ecosystem is designed to confound the ability of the average consumer to make sense of what to trust or not. Poorly reported news, often developed to suit an agenda, gets laundered through a network of either allied or indifferent websites.

The signals of trust are defeated because readers expect to rely on some specific signals:

1. Was it reported by a local outlet? (Which the Dallas Express makes efforts to appear to be.)
2. Has it been reported by other news outlets? (Which a peek at Google News appears to show.)
3. Has it been picked up by national news outlets? (Thanks to the NY Post outrage-rewrite desk.)
4. Is it being discussed on social media? (Literally, social proof.)
5. And, what is the quality of the reporting and sourcing? (The most important but most difficult and least examined.)

Expecting readers to be appropriately skeptical when every accessible sign of trust is “green” is to demand they invest an unrealistic amount of time and effort in every story they read. No wonder people are increasingly just avoiding the news altogether.

Update: The Dallas Morning News took time to talk to an actual source, and the Congresswoman's family confirms she is having health issues, living in an independent living facility.