Thought Leadership in Action

Trying to Separate Fake News from Real News

There is a lot of debate as to the origins of Thanksgiving and when the “first Thanksgiving” was celebrated. Most will remember learning in elementary school that the first Thanksgiving was in 1621, when the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared a feast. Others counter that the first documented Thanksgiving in the US was in 1610 with the first permanent settlement in Jamestown, Virginia. Others suggest that the first Thanksgiving was held by the Spaniards and the French in the 16^th century.

In addition to there being healthy debate as to when the first Thanksgiving occurred, there are also differing opinions as to whether Thanksgiving was really a peaceful and thankful meal between the Pilgrims and Indians as written in just about every history textbook. Many historians suggest that while there was indeed a meal with the Pilgrims and Indians in 1621, it was actually a hunting party with the Indians, not a celebratory banquet.

Other “historians” suggest that it was a day of giving thanks after heavily armed colonists returned from a particularly gruesome battle with the Pequot Indians in 1637. In fact, today there is a group called the United American Indians of New England and they meet each year at Plymouth Rock on Cole’s Hill for what they say is a National Day of Mourning.

Irrespective of when the first Thanksgiving occurred and which version of history you accept, Thanksgiving was celebrated by lots of people, at different times and by different states over hundreds of years. But it was not until 1777 that the First National Proclamation of Thanksgiving was given by the Continental Congress. And twelve years later, George Washington proclaimed Thanksgiving in his first term as the first president in 1789, shortly after the American Revolution.

But even as George Washington called for an official celebratory “day of public thanksgiving and prayer” and Congress overwhelmingly agreed with Washington’s suggestion, the holiday did not officially become an annual event.

It wasn’t until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. Specifically, on October 3, 1863, President Lincoln asked all Americans to ask God to “commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife” and to “heal the wounds of the nation.”

The speech, written by Secretary of State William Seward, declared that the fourth Thursday of every November would be an official U.S. holiday.

And the fourth Thursday of November remained the annual day of Thanksgiving from 1863 until 1939, until President Roosevelt moved it to the third Thursday in November in an effort to boost the economy by providing additional shopping days between Thanksgiving and Christmas during the Depression. Then a few years later, at the insistence of Congress, Thanksgiving was reset permanently to the fourth Thursday in November, where it resides today.

As I think about Thanksgiving this year, I can’t help but draw comparisons to the different theories behind Thanksgiving and the events of today. I understand the quote that is often attributed to Winston Churchill that “History is written by the victors.” And today, it seems that we could alter that quote to read, “History is written by anyone with a point of view and access to the internet.”

Is it Fake News?

Take last year’s Presidential election and the wildly divergent news reports and poll numbers leading up to the election. Look at how the “news” surrounding the Dakota access pipeline was reported. Read some of the “news” covering social demonstrations. Almost all of the “news” is one-sided, written entirely from the point of view of the author. And then there are the fake news reports that are prevalent within social media and unfortunately, even within what many might consider mainstream media.

Examining just last year’s Presidential election as an example, here are some interesting “statistics” to think about – consider where the “stats” are coming from though:

• According to a study from Stanford University, fake news websites received 159 million visits during the final month of the last election.
• In the final three months of the U.S. presidential campaign, the top-performing fake election news stories on Facebook generated more engagement than the top stories from major news outlets such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, NBC News, and others – according to a BuzzFeed News analysis.

• During these critical months of the campaign, 20 top-performing false election stories from hoax sites and hyper-partisan blogs generated 8,711,000 shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook.
• Within the same time period, the 20 best-performing election stories from 19 major news websites generated a total of 7,367,000 shares, reactions, and comments on Facebook.

Why it Matters

In addition to everything else we need to worry about, the sad reality is that right now, we are bombarded with fake news and opinions presented as news. And as a country seemingly already divided along political ideologies, is it a stretch to suggest that we are in the midst of a Social and Cultural Civil War?

While clearly that question is written as hyperbole, as I think about Thanksgiving this year, I choose to remember words from a past President that no one has yet argued as fake.

I will choose to remember the words of President Lincoln, when he pleaded with the American people to “heal the wounds of the nation.”  Because as I survey the stories of our First Thanksgiving, as I try to separate fake from real news, and as I try to understand what’s truly going on in my community, I believe that we all need healing.

Wishing you, your family and all your neighbors a Happy Thanksgiving.

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