Fake News: The Threat to Democracy and Free Press - Essay Sample

Introduction

Fake news can alter the path of democracy in a country. Free media and democracy are twins who should promote ethical ideals and values when it comes to a nation. Democracy depends on a free press that freely shares information to the public about politics to help the citizens make the right decision when it comes to elections. In a country like the USA, media freedom is guarded by the constitution, and the media need to exercise responsibility because liberty comes with responsibility. Media shapes the perception people have about specific political leaders. The latter are seeking elective positions, and thus it is only fair that the media reports what is factual about the political leaders taking part in the democratic process. A fake story can quickly determine if a particular leader is elected or not since the electorates cannot decide which fake news is and what is not. It is thus the reason why platforms like censored 2020 have made it their business to unearth fake news or positive stories that the public needs to know and share it with them. Big media corporates have been the purveyors of fake news, thus affecting the democratic space of the country and censored 2020 platforms offer a space for the real stories also to get the attention of the public.

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Bernie Sanders Opposition of Iraq War Not Getting Enough Attention on the National Stage

An example of a story that never gets enough attention at the national stage is Senator Bernie Sander's opposition to the 2003 Iraq war. The Bush administration led America to a war that was costly to Americans both in the loss of human lives and in loss of monetary resources. A considerable number of American soldiers lost their lives during the war, and a lot of financial resources were used to fund the war (Lor 56). What never gets to the national stage regularly is the argument that was fronted by senator Bernie sanders that the war was based on lies and propaganda and that Iraq at the time did not pose any threat to America. Senator Bernie Sanders was opposed to the battle at the floor of the house in 2002. This is a story that has never gotten enough media attention from the big media corporates especially at the height of Bernie sanders political career when going for the top office, the presidency (Nelson et al., 3725).

It seems the media deliberately ignores or pretends to have completely forgotten about the efforts senator Bernie sanders made to stop the war for political convenience. The big media corporates practice selective memory for the democratic candidates refusing to highlight Senator Bernie sanders biggest contribution to the country in attempting to help America avoid a war that was unnecessary (Lor 56). When the media attempts to give credit to Bernie sanders with regards to the opposition of the war, it is watered-down. Media pundits and media political analysts argue that his opposition to the war was not as profound as it should he claims in his media interviews (Lor 56).

The question of his contribution to stopping the war came up during the Democratic Party debate, and Senator Bernie Sanders argued he listened very carefully to the arguments presented by President Bush and concluded it was a white lie. He was not going to support the war (Nelson et al., 3725). Such a detailed story does not get detailed media attention to credit his opposition to the war. The political debates and coverage present an opportunity where the big media corporates can present a candidate to the public for who he is and for what he stands for when it comes to American interest but for Bernie Sanders they decided not to. Instead, they promote fake news that Bernie's contribution to the war was not as much as he claims it was (Nelson et al., 3735).

Importance of Getting Media Coverage

Coverage of Bernie Sanders contribution to the 2003 war in Iraqi was essential to his 2020 presidential campaign. Any national leader or nay leader who wants to contest a national position like the presidency deserves to have his contribution to the nation brought to the national stage. Only the media can do it (Lor 56).The big corporate media with presence and trust in all states can help a candidate get a genuine appraisal from his contributions to the interests of America.

It is important because it goes a long way in showing that the media pundits and political opponents were wrong about him. They fed the public what the corporate media wanted him viewed, which was costly for his Democratic Party nomination (Buschman 36). Failure to acknowledge a person's contribution to matters of national importance makes him less convincing to the masses, and his national appeal slows down. It will have a positive impact if the contribution, such as opposition to the war on Iraq is fairly brought to the national limelight to help him have more credibility as a reasonable leader.

Candidates such as Joe Bidden supported the disastrous war in Iraq. Bernie Sanders was opposed to the war and bringing such a debate to the national limelight and telling it as it would favour Bernie Sanders as a better leader compared to Joe Bidden. Still, failure to appreciate the role played by the man by limiting the time and interest the contrition generate means the media promotes fake news (Buschman 22).

Fair reporting helps promote democracy and election into the office of qualified candidates. Highlighting positive contribution fairly helps dispel fake news that might be promoted by the political opponents. Fake news and underreporting of positive news and contribution can be costly to a political career that depends on the democratic process of a country like the USA (Mason et al. 5). Fair reporting of political issues and pronouncement by political leaders without bias informants and educates the public to make the right decision. Failure to report fairly as the mainstream media did to Bernie sanders creates room for propaganda in a democratic space, thus defeating the whole objective of democracy. Mainstream media houses led by the owners seem to take a political side in a political contest to ensure fair reporting is done on one candidate and the other candidate's achievements ignored (Mason et al. 7).

Reasons for Not Currently Getting Enough Attention

Political reasons make it possible for media owners to underreport a candidate and over report another one. Major media houses are owned by a rich individual who has a political interest. Due to their political leanings, they tend to favour a candidate with who they agree with and ignore a candidate who they feel is not their ally politically. Bernie sanders seem to have suffered such cases in his political career to vie for the presidency (Buschman 32). Media and politics are intertwined, and hence the role media in deciding to report one candidate and report about an opposing candidate unfairly is real. The mainstream media houses must be reminded that they are using public infrastructure to operate and should observe fairness in reporting without political biases. Reporting the achievements of Bernie Sanders fairly is a right and not a request to mainstream media houses that seem to ignore his enormous contribution to prevent the war in Iraq among other contribution in the house in the legislative seat he holds as a senator (Van Duyn 37).

Laziness of media reporters is also a cause of underreporting. Reporters can easily get files from the records available and analyze Bernie sanders contributions to give fair reporting and credit to his contribution. However, they prefer not to do that but to feed the public with half-truths and half-lies making it impossible for people to understand the achievements (Buschman 32). As it is currently Bernie Sanders has to keep saying why he opposed the disastrous Iraq war and is still questioned by media reported on his authenticity. At the same time, they can easily do simple research (Mason et al. 5).

Stories in Censored 2019

Taking a look at the kinds of places that did report the stories in Censored 2019, you see a lot that happens but cannot be heard in the mainstream news and the headlines. Censored 2019 had stories that were not deeply analyzed as they should have been in mainstream media. It was only shown in the news without in-depth analysis to make it comprehensible and the headlines then, For example, the story in modern-day slavery in the United States and other parts of the world was not given the detailed analysis as it deserved (Van Duyn 36). It was a human right issue that never should have been allowed to fade away so easily. Then the story about survivors of sexual abuse and violence were criminalized for their self-defence.Such stories are never given the coverage they deserve and censored 2019 undertook the initiative if bringing the stories to the public. Such platforms need to be supported by the public to continue to air stories of public interest that are never given the fair share of coverage by the mainstream media.

Conclusion

Fair reporting is essential to a democratic process. Lack of fair reporting and research by media reporters gives room to political propaganda. A country that prides itself as the champion of fairness should always report accurately. The media houses are encouraged to be giving equal opportunities to air their achievements. There are selfish reasons why some stories are reported while others are underreported so as not to receive a wider audience of the political leader. Fair reporting with in-depth analysis ensures stories get to the desk and is aired in the mainstream media and other news agencies. A Bernie sander does not get enough media attention for his achievements, especially opposing the war in Iraq as a lot of resources were lost. Let's all promote a society with free media that is a fair and reliable process. It helps build democracy in a country.

Works Cited

Buschman, John. "Good news, bad news, and fake news." Journal of Documentation (2019).

Lor, Peter Johan. "Democracy, information, and libraries in a time of post-truth discourse." Library Management (2018).

Nelson, Jacob L., and Harsh Taneja. "The small, disloyal fake news audience: The role of audience availability in fake news consumption." New media & society 20.10 (2018): 3720-3737.

Mason, Lance E., Dan Krutka, and Jeremy Stoddard. "Media literacy, democracy, and the challenge of fake news." Journal of Media Literacy Education 10.2 (2018): 1-10.

Van Duyn, Emily, and Jessica Collier. "Priming and fake news: The effects of elite discourse on evaluations of news media." Mass Communication and Society 22.1 (2019): 29-48.