Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" helps us to understand media because it demonstrates the way the masses can be easily deceived or influenced by a false frame of mind. The people in the cave were shown mere reflections of reality, but not actual reality. The one man who got out of the cave witnessed reality and saw the truth, but when he tried to convince the others to come out of the cave, they resisted. This is a great example for our present day issues with media. People today rely on a multitude of news sources, however, many are not credible, biased, or altogether not true or accurate. These people who believe everything they read or hear are like the people in the dark cave, ignorant of reality. Moreover, the media has an extreme influence on the way others think and feel towards issues, making the combination of gullible people and inaccurate/biased news a scary thought. According to ABC News, "A recent Pew Research study found that 62 percent of American adults get their news from social media, with Facebook leading the way by far" (http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/fake-news-stories-make-real-news-headlines/story?id=43845383). I don't think social media is the best platform to get accurate news, yet it is one of the main sources people go to. The internet today is accessible to so many which is increasing the production of fake news. These fake news stories can also have dangerous repercussions. Dr. Barry discussed last week in class about a man who made a fake news story about Hilary Clinton running a child sex ring out of a pizza place. The release of this story led to one man shooting up that pizza place and endangering lives. President Obama expressed, “If we can’t discriminate between serious arguments and propaganda, then we have problems”(http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/fake-news-stories-make-real-news-headlines/story?id=43845383).
