Okay, I’ll bite . . .
CNN was submitted twice in a three-day period. No story or article, just ‘cnn.com.’ [Editorial Note: Please see the update to this statement at the end of our verdict.]
Whoever submitted it:
- was likely the same person;
- was likely trying to make a point;
- probably didn’t think that we could turn this maybe-pisstake into something constructive to say, in line with our beliefs and intentions here at Real or Satire; and/or
- likely thought we’d shy away from passing judgment on so old and standard of a publication as is CNN.
We’re not shy.
CNN.com is, for all intents and purposes, a real source of news; however, their history of falling for fake news should be an object lesson for us all:
- healthy skepticism is healthy;
- verification is everything; and
- ‘scooping’ FB friends is worthless when you’re the first to post Falsehoods./li>
Hell, CNN has even reported their own mistakes and there are, as of this writing, at least three editorials to this effect, here (which also talks a bit about language and the importance of knowing yours), here, and here. They do a hefty amount of finger-pointing to their source, the Associated Press, which only means that they could stand a reminder of the Edicts Trifecta, above.
So . . . CNN is Real, with a caveat — but it’s the warning that you should always take towards any and all news sources, whether CNN, USATODAY, or SOMEBLOGONSOMEPAGE.NET.
And ‘Thank You,’ Anonymous Submitter, for giving us the opportunity to proselytise a bit.
I won’t dwell too long on this; our verdict on CNN is already made and our stance, clear. But I do hope the person who submitted this request simply did so as a laugh. If not . . .
Notice anything? Here, let me show you . . .
I tend to go on a 24-hour No-Believing-Nothing Strike on April Fool’s Day. This extends to regular news avenues, Google, my friends’ Facebook posts. This could go horribly wrong in cases where revered celebrities and us regular folk have died on April Fool’s Day. Still, I feel it’s a better policy.
