It is planned as a way to alert the public of the importance of news at a time when the social media is awash with "fake news." Watch video
SPRINGFIELD - As part of a national campaign launched Wednesday in support of local journalism, the News Media Alliance will be hosting a live event on Facebook to celebrate the contributions of working journalists around the country.
The Facebook Live event is planned for 2 p.m. at the New Media Alliance's Facebook page
.The event is part of a nationwide public-awareness campaign on social media under the hashtag #SupportRealNews. Advertisements as part of the campaign appeared Wednesday in The Republican.
The campaign is organized by the New Media Alliance, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Inland Press Association and Local Media Consortium.
It is planned as a way to alert the public of the importance of news at a time when the social media is awash with "fake news."
As David Chavern, president and CEO of the News Media Alliance, put it, "Fake news is not news you don't agree with or dislike, it is falsehoods, cultivated with the intention to deceive. These stories are written to undermine the truth and power of the press."
With roughly half of Americans getting news from social media, Chavern said there is no method of easily distinguishing "real stories from trusted publishers" from fake stories made up by people from who knows where.
"Making stuff up is easy. What is hard is checking facts and digging up stories that powerful people want to keep hidden," he said.
The #SupportRealNews campaign is intended to celebrate those who work in the news industry and to support news that is real, reputable and trusted, he said.
Show that you #SupportRealNews provided by trusted organizations by using the hashtag and sharing this photo. pic.twitter.com/iFo98UtjqY
-- The Kansas City Star (@KCStar) March 29, 2017
Don't Miss the FB Live Event about #FakeNews. 3/29 at 3:00 CST #SupportRealNews https://t.co/GqkunKZQPU pic.twitter.com/vfp87beyla
-- A-J Media (@lubbockonline) March 29, 2017
A wonderful video by the @nytimes shows the important work of #journalists around the globe #supportrealnews https://t.co/d6jyE5BzMW
-- News Media Alliance (@newsalliance) March 29, 2017
Show your support for the journalists working every day to bring you quality, investigative news.https://t.co/xwSQKrJ2mf #SupportRealNews
-- Michael MaLoon (@NewsMaLoon) March 29, 2017
We take responsibility for the accuracy of our work, every day #SupportRealNews https://t.co/Eb6OyG8T6S
-- St. Augustine Record (@staugrecord) March 29, 2017