Make no mistake, because of the social media environment that we live in, the vast majority of so-called journalists no longer report the news, but prosecute the news.

When a news story uses sources close to the investigation, this could easily be the physical distance between the reader and the investigator. For example, I live in Texas. A homeless person on the street in Washington D.C. is a lot closer to a federal investigation than I am; thus, this could be ‘the source’ close to the investigation.

When one reads, hears, or watches a news report, think of the following:

1. Identify the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHY of the story.
2. Who ULTIMATELY benefits from a story – On the surface, this may be easy; however, this can be the hardest.
3. Remove opinions and hearsay (Unnamed or Biased Sources )
4. What is the motive of the news source? Look at other reports put out by this news source and discern their credibility.

Following the four suggestions above for every story read will help in discerning what is truth, a total lie, or somewhere in between – which is the worst because the darkest lie has an element of truth within it.