It’s no surprise to anyone that the mainstream media is biased. There are a million reasons why you shouldn’t trust the media or fact checkers to do your research for you. They’ve been proven incompetent liars time and time again.
It’s not like this is any “new” news. Noam Chomsky wrote about it in his book Manufacturing Consent way back in 1988. Media has been a strong-arm propaganda tool for whoever has the most political sway since they were first created.
People on the left claim Fox News is right-wing trash. People on the right claim NY Times, Huffington Post, CNN, etc are globalist propaganda machines.
The truth is, they are all trash. None should be taken at complete face-value.
How The Media Bias Works
The mainstream media works by providing catchy slogans and emotional appeals to disgruntle your perception of reality. Even in the titles of their articles, they are meant to simply catch and hold your attention. But they often invoke a change into your perception of reality, whether they are right or wrong.
Take, for example, the fact check engine by NBC:
This is an obvious false logical-play on words.
No one with half a brain would suggest that Clinton would literally “acid wash” her email server. (There are much better and more efficient ways to destroy a physical server anyway).
The problem was that the items were in the cloud/still online. Destroying the server wouldn’t erase them. She used the app to “bleach” her online activities from scrutiny. This is obvious to anyone with half a brain. Which apparently NBC does not have.
But it is a great example of media bias and the impounding effect. If you see and hear enough of something, you may believe it. So if enough gullible people see/hear about Trump being a liar, it’s much easier to make them uneasy about his political agenda. Because who would trust a liar?
Why You Shouldn’t Trust The Media
They capitalize on sensationalist stories and click-bait. It’s much easier for them to get more clicks (and thus more revenue) by spouting utter nonsense. Things such as their opinions, massive crime sprees, and other disingenuous or otherwise stupid articles.
A good example is the crime rate. Many Americans believe that crime is at an insane level. This is because of the constant mention of it in the news. However, the truth is that crime has actually dropped tremendously.
It doesn’t help that many of these organizations are owned by the same political entities that they support. In 2012, a report showed that 6 corporations controlled 90% of the media.
These media conglomerates have huge donors and supporters. Many times, those supporters have political agendas. The politicians use the media as a tool is well documented in many, many different texts. And it’s still happening. Because people still believe in this nonsense.
It’s easy to think of the media as an honest, open book. You would think that all of their inaccuracies would be pointed out. However, there’s far too much information put out by these media organizations to produce a rebuttal for them all. And considering they are all owned by about 6 corporations, there isn’t going to be a lot of in-fighting.
They are beasts of self-interest.
They Are Human
All humans have biases. Any person that tells you otherwise is biased against biases.
The media is just another arm for human endeavors. And because they have their own principle reporters and journalists, those people will carry their own bias.
This naturally conflicts with good journalism ethics because they are supposed to remain neutral.
But what if the company allows a “political lean”? They allow certain articles and reports to have personalized opinions that match the companies?
This is where we get into problems with media corruption and bias. And it’s yet another principal reason why you shouldn’t trust the media.
This is another perfect example of human bias. They have a political lean towards Sanders, so they were perfectly fine with giving him the reasonable doubt. Whereas with Trump, nope. Hit him with the textbook.
“Fact Checkers” always do this sort of tactic. One person is right, the other is wrong, depending on how you look at the statistics.
The Media Will Alter Any of Their Values If It Fits Their Narrative
It doesn’t matter what the belief or value is. Even if it is something they vehemently support (when it is convenient). They will still alter it to paint the other person in a bad lightening.
So pretty much exactly like McCarthyism, which they always whine about.
Some easy on-the-eyes examples:
- Objectifying people based on sex is terrible, but look at that bulge.
- I can’t believe how white that government selfie is. It’s almost as white as our editor meeting.
- White America must answer for terrorism, but Muslims don’t have to answer for terrorism.
- We need to know what’s in John McCain’s medical records, but asking about Clinton’s is sexist.
Do I really need to say more?
The Reality On Why You Shouldn’t Trust The Media
Because it’s in your benefit not too.
You’ll be able to learn to see through their lies. Not just gobble down their indoctrination.
You’ll be able to be much more intellectually independent. Be free from the constraints of any sort of propaganda or brainwashing. Or even be free from simple human stupidity.
So give it a shot. Next time you see a news article or report that seems misleading, research it. Start with the assumption that it is wrong and go from there.