I think this was a very good documentary it certain raised a key issue of the last 30 years. American news and to some degree all news, is subject to bias and an agenda. However, I do think American news has gone onto become more extreme in this area than other countries. When everything is about money/ratings/power then unfortunately corruption will inevitably enter the equation.
However, there were some issues, from my point of view:
The unnecessary criticism of Communism and promotion of Capitalism as a fair or better system was presented from a very bias standpoint, without any counter view. Stalin (as one example) was a ruthless dictator who tried to control the media, as all autocratic regimes tend to do, so I don't see this a relevant to fake news in any way. Just as many deaths have been attributed to right wing political systems as well as left ones.
No country is purely Capitalist, you wouldn't need elections, governments or laws, if you were Capitalist. In fact, all successful developed countries are a mix of Democracy, Socialism and Capitalism.
Picking, quite rightly, on CNN was good, but then why not also criticise Fox News, who, IMO, are an even more extreme promoter of fake news and right-wing propaganda. I recently saw a documentary about Trump supporters saying that CNN is nonsense and propaganda, which is fair enough, but then ruined their point of view, but saying they get their facts from Fox News!
The last point, which I would have liked mentioned is that there is also a personal responsibility, people should always question the information they receive. People should try to educate themselves about issues and not just accept what individuals or the news are saying.
Anyway, I was glad to see this subject matter out in the open and enjoyed watching it.
However, there were some issues, from my point of view:
The unnecessary criticism of Communism and promotion of Capitalism as a fair or better system was presented from a very bias standpoint, without any counter view. Stalin (as one example) was a ruthless dictator who tried to control the media, as all autocratic regimes tend to do, so I don't see this a relevant to fake news in any way. Just as many deaths have been attributed to right wing political systems as well as left ones.
No country is purely Capitalist, you wouldn't need elections, governments or laws, if you were Capitalist. In fact, all successful developed countries are a mix of Democracy, Socialism and Capitalism.
Picking, quite rightly, on CNN was good, but then why not also criticise Fox News, who, IMO, are an even more extreme promoter of fake news and right-wing propaganda. I recently saw a documentary about Trump supporters saying that CNN is nonsense and propaganda, which is fair enough, but then ruined their point of view, but saying they get their facts from Fox News!
The last point, which I would have liked mentioned is that there is also a personal responsibility, people should always question the information they receive. People should try to educate themselves about issues and not just accept what individuals or the news are saying.
Anyway, I was glad to see this subject matter out in the open and enjoyed watching it.