Rage-bait is not the same thing as fake news—but they’re best friends. The online age has inspired e-outlets that masquerade as news sites, replacing research and understanding with the journalistic equivalent of junk food.
Earlier this summer, I wrote about how outlets exaggerated Boston’s crime rate for clicks, despite the statistics telling a different story. One of those outlets was the subject of this post, MassDailyNews.
Who is MassDailyNews?
We don’t know. They don’t list their staff, their authors, and their writing style betrays telltale signs of AI, making their organization opaque and unaccountable. Everything about the site suggests they are a news organization, but much of their news is reported by established outlets first, then sensationalized by them.
Just this summer, they posted an “exclusive” hit piece on Mayor Wu which cobbled together information that the public has had access to for years from existing, reputable sources.
With no way to know who they are, who funds them, or who writes for them, there’s no way to hold them accountable when they mislead readers or cross into journalistic ethical grey zones.
The purpose of transparency
There’s a need for transparency in specific contexts; for example, I haven’t explicitly revealed my own identity writing this blog (though it wouldn’t be hard to deduce). The purpose of this blog isn’t to speak from a place of authority, but rather to lay thoughts out which readers can elect to agree or disagree with on their merits.
When operating an organization that invokes the authority implicit in being an online news source, that’s different. Your readers rely on an implicit trust that your reporting and standards are earnest, verified, and tell a complete story. When you say “Real news, no filter”, the expectation is that the news is going to be… well, real. And as I pointed out earlier, their headlines and story content can be highly misleading, relying on outrage over truth.
Specifics
- Framing: MassDailyNews released an article titled “Boston vows ‘gender care for all’ — days after major clinic pulls plug on teen treatments”; when I wrote about this story, I noted the difficult decision faced by Fenway Health, and quoted a few comments from citizens around the internet to represent both sides of the argument. Compare that to MassDailyNews’s framing in the article:
The move came just as one of the city’s most prominent medical providers — Fenway Health — announced it would no longer provide puberty blockers or hormone treatments for patients under 19, citing new federal restrictions that could threaten its federal funding. The decision, effective October 1, highlights the gap between Boston’s political pledges and what is happening inside its healthcare network.
Rather than addressing the complexity of the decision faced by Fenway Health, and how those impacted feel, they portray it as a mere “gap” in consistency.
- Implication: The article “After record migrant spending, Healey says there’s nothing left for Massachusetts families” implies that Healey emptied the coffers on a controversial contemporary political issue, illegal immigration, leaving nothing for citizens:
As grocery prices soar and working families brace for the next rent hike, Governor Maura Healey is spending her time doing what she does best — blaming Donald Trump.
The same governor who found billions to shelter, feed, and transport migrants across Massachusetts now says there’s nothing left for the taxpayers who actually live here.
The article blends verifiable facts:
- Rent, groceries, and energy prices are increasing
- Healey has publicly placed blame on Trump
- Massachusetts has housed migrants, regardless of legal status
With partisan slant and misleading rhetoric:
- Healey hasn’t only spent her time criticizing Trump
- SNAP benefits are paid for by the federal government, not the state
- The state hasn’t suddenly stopped all other services
Leaving readers to sift through the noise to find the truth.
Civic consequences
Normalizing naked propaganda as local journalism weakens our collective ability to advocate for ourselves and identify our community’s actual needs. Outlets which take advantage of community trust to sow discord erode trust in honest reporting.
Leave a comment