Anyone who's ever read even a little bit into the machinations of propaganda isn't surprised by today's media. Still, though, it's fascinating to actually see it happening so brazenly. It really is. Moreover, how many people continue to trust media despite the fact that it's been wrong, wrong, fucking dead-ass wrong about so much the past four years.
I'm not sure what's to be done. On one hand, you don't want the government stepping in to decide what's news and what's not. On the other, media is responsible for the lion's share of the divide in this country. It's also largely responsible for the hysteria, which is being used to strip Americans of their rights, over some disease that 99.9% of us will survive.
If we can punish corporations for false advertising, we should be able to punish media for lying their asses off. I just don't know how we could go about that without giving government powers that would inevitably be abused.
You're right that the government will abuse that power. That's why we need to deal with the media in the courts instead. Sue the fuck out of them so hard that they become bankrupt. All government needs to do is enforce laws that are already on the books.
That, and competition. Competing sources of information/news that did not suck would not only solve the problem, but make boatloads of cash at the same time.
That is what everyone thought Faux News was, for a while, and they were very successful as a result.
The problem with this, though, is there are still too many safeguards. So long as media frames a story as anything but true (e.g. calling someone a murderer vs. accused of murder) and they can't be forced to reveal sources, they'll still be able to condition large swaths of people.
How many "anonymous" sources has media pulled out of their ass these four years? How many "sources familiar with the president's thinking" were the foundation of an article? Almost all of them were bullshit that never came true or were impossible to disprove. Also, 'member when Maddow was being sued by OANN? She said something on-air like OANN being literally Russian propaganda. Goes to court and pulls that "I'm an entertainer" or "it's an opinion show" bullshit and - surprise, surprise - case dismissed.
Anyone who's ever read even a little bit into the machinations of propaganda isn't surprised by today's media. Still, though, it's fascinating to actually see it happening so brazenly. It really is. Moreover, how many people continue to trust media despite the fact that it's been wrong, wrong, fucking dead-ass wrong about so much the past four years.
I'm not sure what's to be done. On one hand, you don't want the government stepping in to decide what's news and what's not. On the other, media is responsible for the lion's share of the divide in this country. It's also largely responsible for the hysteria, which is being used to strip Americans of their rights, over some disease that 99.9% of us will survive.
If we can punish corporations for false advertising, we should be able to punish media for lying their asses off. I just don't know how we could go about that without giving government powers that would inevitably be abused.
You're right that the government will abuse that power. That's why we need to deal with the media in the courts instead. Sue the fuck out of them so hard that they become bankrupt. All government needs to do is enforce laws that are already on the books.
That, and competition. Competing sources of information/news that did not suck would not only solve the problem, but make boatloads of cash at the same time.
That is what everyone thought Faux News was, for a while, and they were very successful as a result.
The problem with this, though, is there are still too many safeguards. So long as media frames a story as anything but true (e.g. calling someone a murderer vs. accused of murder) and they can't be forced to reveal sources, they'll still be able to condition large swaths of people.
How many "anonymous" sources has media pulled out of their ass these four years? How many "sources familiar with the president's thinking" were the foundation of an article? Almost all of them were bullshit that never came true or were impossible to disprove. Also, 'member when Maddow was being sued by OANN? She said something on-air like OANN being literally Russian propaganda. Goes to court and pulls that "I'm an entertainer" or "it's an opinion show" bullshit and - surprise, surprise - case dismissed.