Truth in the media?

Lately, we've heard a lot about media biases and even fabrication of the news we watch. It doesn't matter whether it's the liberal or conservative media. In fact, if you rely on traditional media, you are the victim of propaganda designed to compartmentalize us into warring factions. If we are arguing amongst each other, we are unable to effect change, thus allowing those in power to continue to pervert the Constitution and control our lives. The media are the single most effective tool for them to use, and, because they control the media, they can set their biases to affect the most favorable reactions to their needs. You will never get the true story from the accepted media. You will always get a one sided view of what they want you to react to. This is not a case of one view over the other. Neither liberal nor conservative media are exempt. They are all used to control what we see, read and hear.

No one is immune from media bias. The TV news, the radio media, printed word and, yes, even the Internet sources you follow are all biased in one way or another. We follow Fox News, ABC/CBS/NBC news, MSNBC, CNN, among others, and choose which one based on the biases we believe. Some are more biased than others, but in the end, we all think our "side" reports the truth. We want to believe what they tell us so we can have "facts" that back up our arguments with each other. According to Wikipedia (which is also biased by the people who edit the content) "Claims of media bias in the United States include claims of liberal bias, conservative bias, mainstream bias, and corporate bias. To combat this, a variety of watchdog groups that attempt to find the facts behind both biased reporting and unfounded claims of bias, have been founded. Research about media bias is now a subject of systematic scholarship in a variety of disciplines." What does this mean? Very simply stated, we believe what our media tell us to and accept it as gospel truth.

It's not just reporting of political hot potatoes that get spun. For example, there was never a media report that Venezuela is a socialist nation, mainly due to the fact that President Obama has called Venezuela a “national security threat" and asked for sanctions against the government there. From the conservative side, no one wants to admit that the president is strong on any subject, while from the liberal side, no one wants to admit to a socialist government being a threat to security.

We have seen the examples of bias over the last century. Misinformation of WWI, WWII and Viet Nam is rampant. All of that was designed to make it appear as if the Military Industrial Complex was justified in requesting more funds (profit) from the Congress. This is one of the most heinous misuses of reporting, as it is designed to divert money from social programs (Social Security, Health, Education and Welfare, to name just a few) that we, as Americans, pay for with our taxes. In fact, the Social Security program is the most often raided, even though it is supported by a specific employment tax designed to keep the system solvent. But, we "need" the MIC to keep us safe from manufactured enemies. People are not our enemies. Those who manufacture wars in the name of profit are. As long as they can keep us tuned in to that ideology, we are content to go along, not even questioning the motives.

Most recently, we have the largest single proof of bias from the conservative side, when Fox admitted, with no shame at all, that "some" of their reports were totally fabricated. In fact, Fox has now been banned from Canadian television completely. This would never happen here in the U.S. for two reasons. We are governed by The Constitution which gives the right to freedom of speech. That lets them off the hook. Secondly, Fox is owned by one of the most affluent corporations in the country, and to even give them a slap on the wrist would anger the "people" that support government officials with their money. In this country, if you can pay for it, then it's yours to do with as you please. An unregulated media is a happy media.

Actually, there is no clear winner when it comes to bias. All interested parties use the media to control some part of our lives, whether it's conservative, liberal and even independent beneficiaries. This is spread even further once someone from either side gets hold of it and publishes on the web. After all, "if it's on the Internet, it must be true", right? Once someone reports this or that, it spreads like wildfire across social media, creating a viral frenzy and, in the end, causing some of the most contentious arguments among people who are otherwise friends. The more viral, the more dangerous it is. And those in control love it when this happens. It's the old "the louder and more often you repeat it, the more true it becomes" scam.

We are truly susceptible to anything we want to hear. The media are not the ones guilty of regurgitating this information. They only manufacture it for us to make it more believable. If we were to stop reporting what we've heard and haven't fact checked, the power brokers would have to find a new way to feed pablum to the masses. Get a clue, America. We are our own worst enemy.