Freedom of the press is indisputably one of America’s most core values. If it weren’t for its guaranteed protection under the First Amendment, you probably would not be reading this article. The press has, historically and presently, played a critical role in informing the American people about the corruption of political figures who may have otherwise gotten away with their scandalous, unlawful pursuits of self-interest. Journalism serves a wide variety of purposes in society, but helping the American people understand what’s going on in politics has made it an essential element of American democracy.
Take MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, for example. The Rachel Maddow Show airs live at 9 p.m. every weeknight and attracts well over half a million viewers daily. Over the past two years, Maddow and her team have consistently been on the front lines of the battle to uncover what exactly happened in the 2016 election regarding Russian interference, to follow closely and interpret the Special Counsel’s investigation into Russian interference, and to analyze the way President Trump and his allies have been responding to the course of the investigation. It is the exceptionally multi-talented, competent journalists like Maddow who inadvertently appear to be the reason that journalism is in a fight for its life in the United States.
Despite daily authentic fact-checking by professional journalists from just about every news organization in the United States, we are currently living in a country whose people have been bombarded with falsehoods to the point that a frightening amount of citizens no longer hold the most powerful executive in the world to even the lowest standards of truth-telling. According to journalists at the Washington Post, as of Nov. 2, 2018, Trump had made 6,420 false or misleading statements since becoming president. In the seven weeks leading up to the midterm elections, the Post claims the president made 1,419 false or misleading claims, a disturbing average of 30 per day.
Whether it be his offensive claim that 3,000 people Puerto Ricans did not die as a result of Hurricane Maria or his trivial claim that Brett Kavanaugh was first in his class at Yale, Trump’s lies have not proven to have affected voters to the extent that they will turn their backs on him. One hundred percent of Americans have the ability to discern the truth if they look for it. Forty percent of Americans approve of Trump. This tells me that millions of Americans either believe all or most of Trump’s daily lies, or that they do not care that Trump is lying on a daily basis because they approve of his performance as president. If spreading truth is an essential part of journalism in American democracy, what happens when the truth becomes obsolete or unimportant to some Americans?
Republicans in Congress have consistently dodged questions about specific lies Trump has told, while his few allies in the rightwing media have been busy amplifying them to millions of Americans. Trump has created the precedent for his supporters that anything he doesn’t like is “Fake News.” Take his Tweet from the morning after the election. “To any of the pundits or talking heads that do not give us proper credit for this great Midterm Election, just remember two words – FAKE NEWS!” He has even suggested revoking the licenses of news agencies he doesn’t like.
The free press has never faced such intense opposition in U.S. history as it has over the past two years. Consequently, there has never been a more critical time for honest, smart, ethical, determined journalists who will fight for the truth and keep journalism alive in this country.
