Why a rating system in NJ could help clarify fact from fiction

Think about this for a moment. What's the difference between fact and opinion? And how can we tell which is which?

On the surface that seems pretty simple. If it's the thoughts and ideas being expressed by the person, then it's an opinion. If it's an account of actual true events, then it's a fact.

But yet, we've proven as a society that we can't tell the difference between the two. Either that, or we choose to blur the line between the two and merge them into one.

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Or, we'll lean into the opinions we agree with and label them as fact, even if the factual information goes against that opinion. And it seems as we move forward that we're leaning more and more into opinion as fact as opposed to taking actual facts as fact.

Rating the news

In my opinion, it's a shame we would even need to humor such an idea. But with how much we as a society believes literally everything we read, maybe it's time news outlets start protecting themselves by rating their own work so there's no confusion as to what it is.

Yes, oftentimes there's a disclaimer stating if a particular piece is opinion or not, but that's clearly not enough. Maybe we need to start rating the way TV shows do and put a big box letter at the upper corner of a piece so we know what it is.

For news, it can be pretty simple. A big F in a box for factual, O for opinion, or a B for when it's both facts and opinion. We can even throw in the letter M (such as FM or OM) for mature to help differentiate stories or segments that contain more graphic content.

Nice and simple

It'll probably never happen, but it's at least an idea. And it's one that if not nationally implemented, we could at least try in New Jersey. Anything to try and get people to stop believing opinion as fact.

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 weekend host & content contributor Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.