Fake news has become a part of modern culture. We regularly see cutting-edge stories outed as being inaccurate, and we see the ability for anyone to claim that a story is fake if it paints them in a bad light.

It feels like this is all new. We blame social media and the open platform provided by the internet as the reasons for the epidemic.

But imagine what it was like before.

Now, there’s an incredibly fast feedback loop. A story is posted and within hours – or even minutes – readers begin weighing in regarding the validity. Every story is questioned, and skeptical comments are captured for all to see.

That’s not how it was for much of history. As much as we try, there’s no way for us to really understand every detail of what happened for most of the past.

We can read an account written by a group of people, or even sometimes a single person, as they perceived it. Maybe it’s accurate, maybe the author took some creatives liberties to paint their side in a positive light. There’s no way to know.

In theory, gatekeepers and journalistic honor was supposed to be enough, but even then they had the same pressues we have now. Their job was to sell stories.

So as we get caught up in the fake news around us, it’s worth reflecting on how much worse it could be.

Just take the Salem witch trials as an example. At least you don’t have to be worried about being hanged because someone claims you’re a witch.

-Brandon