A lot of us turn to those mainstream channels and sites for our news, but what if I told you those weren’t the right sources? In a society where the main gatekeepers of our news are the mainstream outlets, it isn’t hard to understand the control these outlets have. Because of this control, it also shouldn’t be a shock that one of the reasons that many people are unaware of a lot that is going on nowadays, in addition to some people just being lazy, is the fact that these mainstream outlets aren’t broadcasting what they don’t want to. Sure there’s no way to report on everything but why are some of the serious issues not being broadcasted? Mainstream media is filtered for a number of reasons and those reasons make it so much harder to stay educated on numerous issues.
In order to combat this issue it helps to stay updated with more lowkey and/or foreign news outlets. Here are a few that might be beneficial to check out:
Image via Unfiltered News
This site is organized by country and separates news into categories. You can pick between topics like President, Economy, and Education. There’s also an option to keep articles in their original languages if that’s something you’d be interested in checking out.
Image via Reason
2. Reason
In the words of the site themselves, “Reason and Reason.com provide a refreshing alternative to right-wing and left-wing outlets by making a principled case for liberty and individual choice in all areas of human activity.” The layout for this site is more like a general news site but their articles are described as “rigorous, peer-reviewed research.” They strive to seek solutions to issues by being flexible, transparent, and knowledgeable.
Image via BBC
3. BBC
Introduced as the “world’s leading public service broadcaster,” it’s safe to say that BBC has one of the largest ranges of most broadcasting services. Although it is based in the United Kingdom, they report on a lot of areas outside of the UK. They pride themselves on being impartial and independent of other news sources while also entertaining, educating, and informing tons of people around the world.
Image via Indian Express
4. Aljazeera
Known to have one of the most diverse newsrooms in the world, Aljazeera prides itself on being an independent news organization that is funded partly by the Qatari government. They strive to continue to make stories relatable and keep the people as the center of the news agenda. The reporting isn’t exclusive to the Middle East and ranges from the United States to Thailand.
In addition to these sites, it’s actually beneficial to check out Twitter. I know what you’re thinking: Twitter is just social media. But Twitter actually houses a lot of wholesome news. Because Twitter is accessible worldwide, it is incredibly easy to keep updated with areas halfway across the world by coming into contact with individuals who are actually living through the news. Other social media outlets might be informational as well, but because outlets like Snapchat may be very entertainment oriented at times, it’s difficult to truly get a taste of some of the more serious stories.
In an earlier article, I chose to write about Venezuela and the hardships that area has been facing. I felt this topic was important to report on because this issue hasn’t been exposed to the public as much as it should be. Many people there are in chaos and it is important for Americans to be aware of issues plaguing other areas of the world. By looking through Twitter and other articles online, I was able to learn more. Because mainstream media displays and shares their information the way they choose to, it’s difficult to truly know where to start. Looking for specific information in the news is different than just coming across stories. However, Twitter’s trending section helps a bit with this by making it easier to see what many people have been posting and shed more light on the importance of some of those issues.
Overall, it is incredibly important to double-check your sources for valid information in addition to exploring your outlets. Sites like the ones mentioned above may be biased at times but the information being disclosed is not as filtered as mainstream media. It’s important to stay educated in tension-filled society like this one and this is one of the main ways to do so. Now…
Image via Giphy