Blog Post #8: EOTO Alternative Media

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    Alternative media does not have a sole definition due to its various components. However, it is best defined as media sources that differ from established or dominant media types in terms of their content, production, and distribution. Alternative media sources may be challenging to identify, but a series of questions can help pinpoint the answer. The questions are: Is it corporate-owned? Is the content misreported or repressed in mainstream media? How is it produced and distributed? Does it seek social or political change? Is it profit-oriented? All these questions help determine if the news is considered alternative media. 

    A key difference between mainstream media and alternative media is that mainstream media is profit-orientated. Typically, big corporate powerhouses run mainstream media, which generates revenue from the advertising industry or can be agenda-based. Regardless, alternative media can be profit-orientated, but profits are typically not the primary goal. Since profits do not usually drive alternative media, the content can become polarized and does so often. Alternative media platforms grow a loyal base due to the polarized nature of the media content. The polarized content appeals to a subsection of the population and allows them to have power in their opinion as well as a voice. Typically, alternative media content conveys messages that generally are not aired in mainstream media. Therefore, audiences can use alternative media as a platform to discuss topics such as climate change, government, and other world issues. However, it is important to highlight that the polarity in these media stories causes readers to interpret certain content as borderline conspiracy theories. There are multiple reasons why alternative media content may be construed as conspiracy theories, but the main reason is that most of the messages do not appear in mainstream media. 

    Additionally, the issue of credibility arises. Alternative media is often opinion-based and polarized, which leads to the question, "how reliable is this news source?" Furthermore, alternative media may not cite their sources, which can discredit articles. For example, an alternative media source, The Onion, has multiple articles that appear trustworthy, but others call for skepticism. More specifically, an article featured on the website "Kim Jong-Un Eagerly Waiting For Inner Circle To Get Big Enough So He Can Start Executing People Again." The article quotes Kim Jong-Un supposedly speaking about having the urge to kill himself and others around him. I find this hard to believe, especially since no sources are cited, proof that this is an actual quote or a time and place where he supposedly said this. Another example of a popular alternative media news site is InfoWars, which is "the #1 independent news service in the world, battling globalism and promoting a pro-human future worldwide. InfoWars is Tomorrow's News Today." According to Wikipedia, InfoWars is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website. Although Wikipedia is not an academic news source, it does speak to a public's consensus about the platform. As I explored the website, numerous articles communicate messages that certainly do not appear in mainstream media. There may be multiple reasons for this; some of them could be that the mainstream media does not want to create a panicked narrative or theories derived from paranoia and opinions. 

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