Yellow journalism is journalism based on sensational claims and crude exaggeration. We actually live in an age where yellow journalism is as prevalent as it was when William Randolph Hurst and Joseph Pulitzer helped start the Spanish-American War as a product of their circulation war. After all, is Fox News not the most watched cable news network in America? Does Nancy Grace not have a news program? Does Bill O’Reilly not have a shiny forehead?
Anyway, 2015 was an excellent year for yellow journalism. Social media buzzed regularly with memes and articles making baseless claims and stunning exaggerations that suckered all of us. In 2015, we were punked — hard and regularly. The media then tossed some crumpled bills on the bed and slithered toward another jacked story without any legitimate claims.
Here are three of those stories from 2015 that got our panties in a twist… for no reason.
Meme Claims Trump Made Some Disparaging Remarks About Republican Voters In 1998 Interview With People
No one is saying Donald Trump isn’t a prick. After all, he’s based his entire presidential campaign on bigoted rhetoric and claims so without substance, I think it says more about those of us who believe the jargon than it does the sentient hairpiece who spewed them. Trumps credibility aside, social media erupted this year when a meme began to circulate allegedly detailing “You’re Fired’s” ideas on how he would run for President.
According to the meme, the Donald said in a 1998 interview with People:
“If I were to run, I’d run as a Republican. They’re the dumbest group of voters in the country. They believe anything on Fox News. I could lie and they’d still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific.”
It’s no secret that Fox News is in no way a purveyor of factual accuracy, and I would even go as far as to agree that the loyal Fox News viewer may as well vote on the basis of a Dan Brown novel, but the reality of the meme is that Trump never said this.
The good people over at Snopes looked into whether or not Trump made these claims and found that he did not. Furthermore, they noted that while Fox News was slowly rolled out across American markets between 1996 and 2000, the network was not nearly as well-known then as it is today. In fact, Fox News did not become a ratings juggernaut until the early years of George W. Bush’s presidency. You know, 9/11 and shit.
People Make Claims That “Measles Parties” Are Happening
At the beginning of 2015, people nationwide were forced into a stunning revelation: measles was back. The story of the measles outbreak that was traced back to Disneyland reignited the debate over whether or not parents should be allowed to cave into stupidity and not vaccinate their children. However, as per usual, the reaction to the story provided a matrix from which an anecdotal tale from a concerned mother to a radio host morphed into a story of terrible parenting that spread through the Internet like wildfire.
From WCHS ABC 8:
“In response to the measles outbreak, parents in California are letting their children go to what is called a “measles party…” At these gatherings, unvaccinated kids are made to hang out with infected kids with the intention of catching this disease… The California Department of Public Health strongly opposes the intentional exposure of children to measles.”
This would be absolutely horrifying… if it were true. As the story of “measles parties” began to tear through social media, it was revealed that the cause of the viral tale was merely a story told to a radio host by a woman who was approached by a friend and asked if she wanted to arrange a playdate with her son and another kid who had the measles.
Obviously, the woman refused.
New York Times Claims Wearable Tech May Cause Cancer
2015 has also been the year that we’ve started really wondering what the hell is going on at the New York Times. Some of their biggest blunders of 2015 involve being quick to report negative rumors about Hillary Clinton’s email shenanigans while dragging their feet to state when those rumors are refuted. Another one of their asinine articles that made the rounds contained the holy grail of batshit claims: something we all use gives us cancer.
The article cited research conducted on cell phone radiation to “hypothesize” the effects of wearable computers (such as the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Gear), bolstering the informational ignorance with an anecdote about a time when your doctor could break the news you have cancer after offering you a Lucky Strike. The article was so riddled with unsubstantiated claims, that the editors of the New York Times made notes and corrections that stated the claims were just that.
“The Disruptions column in the Styles section on Thursday, discussing possible health concerns related to wearable technology, gave an inadequate account of the status of research about cell phone radiation and cancer risk. Neither epidemiological nor laboratory studies have found reliable evidence of such risks, and there is no widely accepted theory as to how they might arise… The American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have all said there is no convincing evidence for a causal relationship… one source quoted in the article, Dr. Joseph Mercola, has been widely criticized by experts for his claims about disease risk and treatments. More of that background should have been included, or he should not have been cited as a source.”
Dr. Joseph Mercola is a huckster, a fraud, a slightly less well-known Deepak Chopra. His website, mercola.com, is the self-proclaimed most popular alternative health website on the Internet. He is known for strong views in opposition to vaccinations. He’s made claims that microwaves emit dangerous radiation and alter the chemistry of food, despite scientific consensus to the contrary. He has questioned whether HIV is really the cause of AIDS. He’s made erroneous claims that commercially-sold sunscreen actually increases the likelihood of contracting skin cancer through UV radiation, which people can avoid through the use of “natural” sunscreens available for purchase on his website.
And Nick Bilton of the New York Times thought he was a good source for an article about wearable technology.
These are just a few of the many stories from 2015 that wormed their way onto our Facebook pages and Twitter feeds, leading us to panic over things that are probably not worth panicking over. This is the nature of yellow journalism — the people who read it largely buy into the senseless claims and jargon and push the article further and further. It definitely contributes to the public’s growing dissatisfaction with the media.
