Call it what you like—breaking news, latest news, current news—but it's just old news dressed up in new clothes. The Wibble can now reveal the shocking truth about the news cycle: it's nothing but a vicious cycle of recycling old stories.
You might have thought that the news was about informing, educating, or even entertaining the public. But no, it's all about clicks, likes, and shares. So long as the headline is sensational, the story could be years, even decades, old.
Take, for example, the recent viral headlines about the Titanic sinking. You might have thought that a new discovery had been made, like the sunken ship had been found or salvaged treasure had been unearthed. But no, it was just the same old story, rehashed and repackaged for a new generation.
Or what about those stories about the end of the world? They keep coming back, like a bad penny. Every few years, someone predicts that the world will end on a certain day, and people panic and prepare for the worst. And what happens? Nothing. Nada. Zilch. But the story gets shared all over social media, and the doomsday prophet gets their fifteen minutes of fame.
Even politicians are guilty of recycling old news. They promise to fix the same problems that they promised to fix in the previous election cycle. They use the same slogans, the same sound bites, and the same stale ideas. And what do they achieve? More of the same old same old.
The media is complicit in this charade, too. They know that a good story is worth repeating, even if it's not new. They know that their audience has a short attention span, and that they need to keep feeding them the same junk food news.
But what does this mean for the future of journalism? Are we doomed to an eternity of old news dressed up in new clothes? Will we ever get the real news, the important news, the news that really matters?
Who knows? But one thing is for sure: old news is the new news. And if you don't believe us, just wait for the next Titanic story or the next end-of-the-world prophecy. It's just a matter of time.
And with that, we bid you adieu. Until next time, dear readers, keep clicking, liking, and sharing. And remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
