The power of the media is underestimated. Some frequently forget the influence the media has on our lives. The Internet has become our idol, and we worship it like a religion. However, sometimes we forget that what we read online is not always 100 percent truth. The media is full of bias. Stories have the ability to paint a situation to achieve personal agendas, whatever they may be. Upon the entrance to the digital age, news has lost its ability to be neutral. We see so many more opinion articles rather than straight-forward facts. This erases our ability to choose how we see a situation. Instead, the media makes that choice for us and takes away our right to assemble our own opinion.
In addition to one-sided news, media only chooses to highlight certain events in the world. There are things happening in our country that are hidden and kept from receiving attention. For example, the Hammond case happening in Oregon has received minimum attention. And any attention received has been negative. Media only produces one side to the story, labeling the movement as "white terrorists" when those involved haven't caused people any harm. When things are portrayed a certain way, the public will take it and run with it. Put it in a headline, and everyone will stop. There are also things that are made to be bigger than they are. Why? Well, who knows? To distract. To strike fear. To push an agenda. For so long, Ebola was endlessly in the news. Then, it vanished. Suddenly, it's no longer a threat, and there's nothing to fear. What happened to Ebola? Was it ever really a threat, or was it merely made out to be one? Who knows?
Our country has been rocked by shooting after shooting. And almost immediately, gun control is pushed further, as if the lives lost were a great convenience to further one's own personal agenda. Yet, we rarely hear of shootings and robberies being stopped by a gun owner.
When Robert Lewis Dear Jr. attacked Planned Parenthood in November, the media wasted no time in labeling him a terrorist. Yet, when Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik went on a shooting rampage in San Bernardino, the media refused to call that a terrorist attack. Instead, it was "workplace violence," when clearly it was so much more. For some reason, the media does not want to offend certain parties. As if they deserve any bit of that respect! How about telling it for what it is? The San Bernardino shooting was a terror attack on U.S. soil. The fact that the suspects had become radicalized was kept out of major news headlines because it suggests that the vetting system does not work. This would halt the push to immigrate Syrian refugees to the United States.
The media is an instrument. It's an instrument to sway the masses in any given direction. The media continues to patronize its readers. It's important to take what you read with a grain of salt. Labeling, name-calling and defining words in a story is something to be wary of. Real news, real facts are neutral and leave you to decide which side to take and what to believe for yourself. The next time you see a shiny headline filled with derogatory phrases, stop and think if it's newsworthy or propaganda. Lastly, do not let anyone have the power to determine your view. Get the facts. Decide for yourself.
