“Fake News”

Citizen Journalist Zdenek Gazda changed the course of the 2016 presidential election.

Every time I read the news, I hear about so-called “fake news.”  “Fake news” spread Russian propaganda.  “Fake news” invented Clinton scandals.  “Fake news” elected Donald Trump.  “Fake news” has destroyed American democracy.  And now, the mere mention of a “fake news” story could cause the loss of life.

Hysteria over “fake news” reached a fever pitch with the election of Donald Trump.  The mainstream media had repeatedly declared there was no way Trump could win.

JFK Assassination: Abraham Zapruder & the Birth of Citizen Journalism

While today marks the 50 year anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, it also marks the 50 year anniversary of a watershed moment for citizen journalism in America.

In an act considered an early form of citizen journalism, Abraham Zapruder, a 58 year old woman’s clothing maker equipped with a home-movie camera, captured the clearest and most widely-disseminated footage of the JFK assassination.

The video,  immortalized as the Zapruder film, depicts the final seconds of President Kennedy’s life as bullets forever changed the course of history.