Founding Fathers Established US Government: Press Protects Citizens' Power - Free Paper

The founding fathers of the United States were involved in the formation of a government that gives people power over their leaders. The citizens of the United States exercise authority over the government through voting. Consequently, according to ProjectCensored (2020), the press provides a critical role in informing society to be responsible and powerful. Furthermore, the press is protected by the constitution, and thus people are required to have relentless access to critical and truthful news. Moreover, the press is responsible for providing an open stream of information to the people hence vital in conserving American democracy (Huff & Higdon, 2018). Furthermore, the press allows individuals to use the news provided to them for educational purposes and reporting because it acts as the publics’ sovereign watchdog and handles administrative checks. The press also plays a role in criticizing and inspiring debates. However, all the information provided must be credible in that they should be responsible for attaining their facts right by analyzing the data critically as well as avoiding exaggerations and rumors.

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According to Huff & Higdon (2018) stated that fake news undermines democracy and public safety, especially when politicians and news outlets influence it. Although the presses are affected, the founders have managed to protect it in several ways, including education to media personnel. This protection enables them to learn to be competent in their work by performing critical analysis and providing truthful information. Moreover, the press has been protected by contenting that through partisan narrative being advantaged steadily against the press’s realities, seeing the facts as subjective (Higdon, 2020. Through this lens, the press is viewed as giving fake news, which Trump has been stating frequently and using it to benefit his political narrative. For example, Higdon (2020) specified that Trump tells lies almost five times a day before assuming the office; however, after one year as president, the number of telling deceptive statements raised to at least eight times.

New technology has complicated the press role in American democracy because of the advancement of social media sites. For example, Facebook has resulted in many people providing news; therefore, this news’s development is not verified and proved, thus affecting people’s right to get correct and truthful information (ProjectCensored, 2020). Moreover, social media sites have many followers because many people can access the internet hence getting information and dispersing to other groups. Furthermore, the education system has also affected the press's role because individuals are not educated enough to realize if the news presented is true or fake (Higdon, 2020). For example, with vast information provided to people, they cannot distinguish facts and rumors; hence, they can believe the fake news and disregard reality. On the other hand, government policy does not provide autonomy to the press by arresting and setting restrictions of individuals distributing fake news and refuting truthful information as fake. For instance, Trump disputed the facts presented by the media, stating they are fake.

One issue that concerns me the most is that the press has normalized lying and providing fake news for the benefit of the few. However, although the process has been in existence for a long time, it is important to consider the interest of the public because they are who make the nation stand my working and providing revenues for the government. Furthermore, the role of the press is ignored by politicians because they are the major attackers of the press.

References

Higdon, N. (2020). The Anatomy of Fake News: A Critical News Literacy Education. University of California Press. https://www.scribd.com/book/465556326/The-Anatomy-of-Fake-News-A-Critical-News-Literacy-Education

Huff, M., & Higdon, N. (2018). United States of Distraction: Media manipulation in post-truth America (and what we can do about it). City Lights Books. https://www.scribd.com/book/419516986/United-States-of-Distraction-Media-Manipulation-in-Post-Truth-America-And-What-We-Can-Do-About-It

ProjectCensored (2020). United States of distraction: fighting the fake news invasion (2020). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsgTYfU8ny4&t=3079s