~by Tori Riley, publisher/editor, GreeneCountyNewsOnline
The short-lived takeover of the U.S. capitol Wednesday by supporters of President Donald Trump looked more Yemeni or Costa Rican than American. Shock and sadness were the first reaction of many of us. I cried as I watched the news unfolding. “That just can’t be happening here. We don’t do things like that,” I thought.
But, the truth of it is, we do, apparently. The thousands of people who stormed the capitol, vandalized it, endangered the lives of elected officials and their staffs, and ultimately caused bloodshed and death, were Americans. We can’t blame the mayhem on outsiders. Those were Americans who most likely attended our public schools and probably pay federal income tax. They support our federal highway system every time they buy gasoline for their pickup trucks. Hopefully they voted in November.
The outcome of the November presidential election was what prompted the angry mob. Their goal was to “stop the steal” of the election, as the president encouraged them to. He hasn’t yet conceded that he lost the election. He says he never will.
The angry mob – the Confederate flag-waving rioters – didn’t appear in Washington by coincidence. President Trump summoned them via social media. Social media, the Trumpists think, is reliable. Social media can be counted on to provide what they want to read or hear. It provides the “information” upon which they make decisions.
Mainstream news media – established newspapers, radio and television networks, and independent online news sources – have been labeled as not reliable, as “fake.”
The President began creating the myth of mainstream media as “fake news” while still a candidate. His response to anything that wasn’t complimentary to him was that it was fake, all lies.
He didn’t coin the phrase “fake news”. Adoph Hitler called mainstream media lügenpresse, German for “fake news.”
On Wednesday, rioters who didn’t get inside the Capital expressed their anger at the news media. They harassed reporters and production crews and destroyed equipment. A Trumpist fashioned a noose from the cord on a television camera.
When a semblance of order was restored in Washington, we asked, “What next? Where does the country go from here?”
Counting down the days until President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in isn’t the answer. The Trumpists aren’t going away. Whether or not you consider them to be domestic terrorists, they’re angry. They’re sure their candidate was wronged in the November election. They think they have righteous power on their side.
In the short term, the FBI and law enforcement need to pay more attention to chatter about large gatherings of people on the Far Right (and the Far Left, maybe), and groups with a demonstrated predisposition to violence toward people and property.
In the long term, we need to look at the changes social media has brought. Social media is a great way to stay in touch with friends and family. It’s great as a place to share recipes or workout tips.
It is not a substitute for the mainstream news media. The mainstream news media is crucial to democracy. The Washington Post masthead states “Democracy dies in darkness.” The light that allows democracy to work is a free press, the news media.
(On a side note, The Washington Post, which dates back to 1877, has used that tagline only since 2017. Is it coincidence that during the first year of the Trump presidency the publishers of the largest newspaper in D.C. felt compelled to remind readers of its importance to democracy?)
Mainstream media is not “the enemy of the people,” as President Trump claims. Mainstream media prides itself on providing information that allows people to participate in the communities in which they live, to make fact-based decisions on an array of issues, to navigate their lives with their eyes open to a myriad of ideas.
Social media, with its anything-goes, let-the-reader-beware laxness, allows disinformation to flourish. It serves as a comfortable echo chamber in which people can hear their own ideas without worrying about whether they’re correct. If something is tweeted or posted to Facebook, it must be accurate, right?
According to Duke University public policy professor Phil Napoli, as quoted in NC PolicyWatch* Jan. 7, “combating disinformation will rely on education of news consumers and reinvigoration of traditional mainstream media.”
The very existence of mainstream media is challenged by the confusion of social media as news. Every time people find information they need in social media, news media becomes less relevant.
It happens everywhere. Right here in Iowa, schools, cities, businesses and organizations whittle away at the importance, and hence, the financial viability, of mainstream media when they put information on their Facebook pages exclusively.
If we want to nurse our ailing democratic republic back to health, we need to nurture the mainstream press. We need to assure the news media that provides reliable, fact-checked information is sustainable and respected.
Save social media for beer bread recipes.
*NC Policy Watch is a North Carolina public policy think tank. Per Media Bias/Fact Check in 2017, NC Policy Watch has a moderate left-center bias in reporting and supports mostly progressive causes. All information is well-sourced and factual.
