The perception of truth , the discernment of what is true, the sense of whether a thing is right or wrong is, to large part, dependent on language, that is to say, the words we use to communicate an event or idea. Overnight, I saw a story on my phone from the NY Times. My first thought was, "Now what?" It was talking about this very thing, by pointing out the news media in the USA chooses to accentuate bad news, and that even if the news is essentially positive, it is customary in the US to look for something bad to say about it. Many of us have been aware of this to a greater or lesser degree for years. It has become a sort of rule of thumb that if you want to feel better, quit listening to the news, and quit reading the papers. This would take some discipline nowadays since we carry a news spewing device around in our hands, or purses, or pockets all day, and even keep it close by at night.

An example of news spin could be (this is totally made up, just how it could work): European news states, "Dutch tulip growers decide to give a bloom to as many people as they can reach in one day to celebrate Spring." the US story would read, "Fearing the loss of blooms, Dutch tulip growers decide to distribute flowers before they wilt." So, readers are being given different cues about how they should react, and really, to what is the actual situation. The ability to discern what is really going on around you can be learned and practiced. One can become more competent
"See what you see,not what someone tells you to see.", said L. Ron Hubbard in The Way To Happiness, in the discussion of the precept, "Be Competent." www.thewaytohappiness.org