The problem with a lack of accuracy in the news.

Shotty news coverage reduces trust in the news. Don't worry this is politics-free.

I am going to discuss one news story on CNN. You can find fiction on every news site but this one is just a perfect example of really bad journalism.

We will start off with the headline.

Grumman X-29: The impossible fighter jet with inverted wings.

So what is wrong with the headline? 

Well for starters the wings are not inverted they are swept forward. They are not mounted upside down or backward. The leading edge of the airfoil is pointing forward as it should. It is in no way inverted. It is also not a fighter. It had no weapons. It had no gun. It was a research aircraft. A plane can not be a fighter if it can not fight.

Well, those are just words does it really matter? 

Words do matter and a journalist's first task is to get the facts straight. the real issue with this is just the laziness of this. My guess is it was researched with Wikipedia and enhanced with a thesaurus. I am sure the author just looked up backward and got inverted and thought it was an impressive word. 

It is a matter of trust.

I can not trust a news site one a subject I am knowledgeable about how can I trust them when I am not knowledgeable enough to cross-check it myself or worse will I trust them to tell me something I need to hear but goes counter to my world view? When this happens a news site has lost its power to inform and educate.

If you want to see it for yourself you can here CNN