Mainstream media can get duped by fake news

Years ago, I saw a report about the intelligence levels of Internet users based off of the browser being used. It turned out that this report was a hoax.

I had concerns over what I was reading. I even posted about it. But there was a big mistake on my part. I assumed that the mainstream media sources reporting knew things that I didn't. The company that issued the press release, Aptiquant, didn't have much on their website other than this questionable data. I couldn't find anything about this company that predated the press release. It seemed that the mainstream media found something that I didn't. As it turns out, they never bothered to look up a company that they were hyping to find out if the company existed.

Most of the deceit coming from the mainstream media is unintentional. They see or hear something that they like and seems realistic enough, and they will report it. If they see something that goes against their personal bias, they do a better job at fact checking.

These problems are not restricted to this one instance when I was partially duped and members of the mainstream media were completely duped. It has actually become a common occurrence for mainstream outlets to report on something without properly ensuring that their facts are accurate. Of course, this means that the mainstream media has been known to play a legitimate role in the spread of fake news.