To what extent can we understand what is going in the world? Since…

Question To what extent can we understand what is going in the world? Since… To what extent can we understand what is going in the world?  Since the development of the Internet, there’s been quite a bit of soul-searching regarding how consumers should become more media savvy. Watch the Ted-Ed talk under the “Readings and Presentations” tab of this module about how we should be better consumers of the news. Lately, however, there’s been more of a shift of concern from the consumer to the producer of the media.  There’s concern that even if you and I are successfully educated about how to use the media, the media can still be a device to fundamentally undermine our democracy.  The debate is about whether social media such as Facebook or newspapers such as the New York Times should no longer see themselves as neutral platforms of opinions but should actively fact-check, provide alternative sources, and sometimes censor political opinions and advertising.   Moreover, perhaps objective reporting is actually quite biased.  Read the following: Wesley Lowery:  “A Reckoning Over Objectivity, Led by Black Journalists.”  (Links to an external site.) (see below for pdf version of article)Here’s a response:  Paul Starabin, Saving the Marketplace of Ideas (Links to an external site.). And so back to the question, can we understand the world, or to what extent are we misled and our democracy is imperiled by the toxic output of even the best media?  In the name of objectivity (translated often to “always look at all sides of a story”) and neutrality (“we are just a platform, so sorry that your pizza restaurant was shot up by people who believe conspiracy theories”), are we naively ruining the chance for even the most diligent and civic-minded to understand the world?  Recount your own experiences trying to understand what is going on, what works for you, and what failures have occurred.   What about the Ted-ed video argument (it is on us) and the Lowery essay (it’s time for better journalism), and Starabin (just keep on improving the existing system)?  Social Science Political Science POLISC 150 Share QuestionEmailCopy link Comments (0)