In the age of information, where everything is interconnected and it takes seconds for news to travel from one part of the world to another, one might imagine that getting accurate data is really simple. However, ubiquitous information doesn’t guarantee accuracy. Besides, the way people get their news has changed. We no longer rely as much on radio and television and instead we turn to the Internet to stay up to date with what happens in our countries or faraway lands. For example, if someone wants to read Tanzania news, but does not live in this country, turning on the computer to read articles online would be more productive than waiting for news to turn up on TV. Interestingly, social media platforms are becoming more important for news, even though initially they were made for socializing.
How TV channels lost their audiences’ trust
There was a time when the information given by TV channels was sacred
and uncontestable. No one questioned the things they heard, because
reports seemed so well put together. However, the population soon
started to learn about political bias and how it presents watchers an
altered reality. In countries with a controversial political regime,
such as Uganda, TV is not exactly reliable, which is why people turn to
the web to learn about the latest news in Uganda. Political bias is the
first thing that made channels lose their audience’s respect, but the
drop in quality is to blame as well. Quality journalism has become a
lost art; channels that once took the time to make in-depth analysis of
current events now only allocate them five minutes to then discuss
trivial matters and promote low quality content.
Online news travel faster
Unlike conventional media channels, the Internet helps information
travel at incredible speeds. As soon as something happens, in your
country or elsewhere, someone tweets about it and that tweet is passed
on. If you follow the right people, you can learn about current events
before anyone else. In addition, you don’t have to get home to find out:
you can use your smartphone on the go and always be up to date with
everything that happens.
Accurate and unmodified information
Social media offers access to accurate and raw information. If a
political leader posts something on Twitter, you can read exactly what
they said and understand their words from context. Unfortunately, there
are many news sources that manipulate information and thus their
audience. In regions where the media is being controlled by the ruling
party and people get to see only part of the truth. By using social
media, you are more likely to discover the truth or at least enough
alternative versions to what is being presented to you, so you can draw
your own conclusions and avoid being manipulated. Over the world, there
are many examples of how social networks helped shed light on fraudulent
elections and prevented corruption from spreading. At the present rate,
people are more likely to trust something posted online, straight from
the source, then rely on the interpretations and omissions of
conventional media.
To read accurate Tanzania news or news in Uganda, please click on these links!