Watching my loved ones and friends fall prey to disinformation, suffering mind-altering confusion through media such as Foxnews, has ignited a determination in me to call for change. It's heartbreaking to see how they can no longer discern reality from fiction due to the barrage of misinformation prevalent in modern news media. It's not just personal. It adversely affects our families, our communities, and spreads like wildfire in times when credible information is most crucial, such as disasters and pandemics. We cannot stand by while chaos reigns supreme.

Our plea is simple: Require all news broadcasters and platforms identifying as "news media" to use independent fact-checking mechanisms. In our age of accessible information, no network promoting itself as a provider of fact-based news should tarnish such a responsibility. They should improve our lives, not make it more challenging or dangerous.

According to a 2020 study published in the American Journal of Public Health, misinformation is linked to public health risks, indicating a trend where false information has severe effects on society. The need for reliable data in our news has never been more vital (source: AJPH, 2020). One study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that even a small exposure to misinformation can significantly alter a person's behavior (source: PNAS, 2019).

Ensuring the facts relayed by these so-called news networks are independently checked is not only a moral imperative, it should be a statutory requirement. We can no longer let unchecked misinformation dictate discourse, disrupt harmony and instigate danger. It's time for change; time to safeguard our society against the scourge of disinformation.

Please join us in advocating for transparent and verified news—let us bring truth back into the lights of our screens. Please sign this petition.