The phrase “fake news” has become shorthand for misinformation and distrust in media, but its impact varies by scale. Nationally, “fake news” narratives – especially those perpetuated by President Donald Trump, Fox “News” and other online outlets claiming to deliver news – have continued to erode public confidence.
Studies by the Knight Foundation and Pew Research Center show that 64% of Americans say fake news causes a great deal of confusion about basic facts, and many find it difficult to tell the difference between real and fabricated stories online. Social media algorithms that reward outrage over accuracy, partisan echo chambers where users mostly see stories that confirm their beliefs, and deliberate misinformation campaigns that mimic legitimate outlets all fuel this confusion. The result is a public increasingly skeptical of where to turn for reliable information and uncertain whom to believe.
According to a Knight Foundation-Gallup analysis released in 2023, 44% of Americans report high emotional trust in local news organizations – more than twice the share for national outlets. That makes it especially troubling when local media get it wrong – as the Herald’s editorial board did with “Compassion in Action” (Herald, Oct. 26). It was not AI, but rather a Googling failure.
In that editorial, the board lauded the Emergency Warming Center Council’s organizing efforts and Durango City Council for approving the shelter at Sacred Heart Parish. It also described Sacred Heart as hosting a pre-K-eighth grade school serving more than 200 children. It does not. The Durango School District and some parents had expressed concern about the proximity of Park Elementary School to the shelter, and the EWC responded by making adjustments to its proposal.
EWC council members contacted the Herald to explain that they were receiving questions about why City Council would approve a warming shelter at a location where a school is in operation. Again, it isn’t – and they didn’t. The editorial has also been corrected to credit additional council partners, notably Manna and the Red Cross of Western Colorado.
The board took the opportunity to ask about the 15-degree threshold below which the shelter opens. Why 15 degrees? Apparently, it’s funding- and volunteer-dependent. Fifteen degrees – even 30 – is still cold for anyone sleeping outdoors overnight, and it’s easy to imagine more guests seeking shelter at higher temperatures. Visit ninadurango.org to donate or volunteer to help make the warming center a success.
In a media landscape clouded by misinformation, local news remains one of the most trusted antidotes to “fake news.” It connects people to facts about their own communities – the kind of truth readers can see, hear, and confirm for themselves. Local papers earn trust through transparency and accuracy, and the Herald’s editorial board hopes to retain that trust – and we know we speak for our newsroom colleagues as well – through continued, fact-based reporting.
As Ballantine Communications Inc. board member Elizabeth Ballantine wrote in “Mission Unchanged” at the time of BCI’s 70th anniversary (Herald, Aug. 11, 2022): “We serve our communities by providing relevant information, provoking discussions, and supporting economic vitality. This is the mission statement of The Durango Herald today. It is essentially unchanged since Arthur and Morley arrived in Durango in summer 1952 … We don’t always get it right. But we know it is important to try.”
