The media is not made for this moment or built for this fight against creeping right-wing authoritarianism.
In 2024, The New York Times is giving space to conservative hack Rich Lowry to talk about Trump’s “character.” The Washington Post is now run by a former Murdoch lackey. Social media platforms are owned by weird billionaires who care less about the truth and more about their profit and dangerous ideologies. Elon Musk has given a green light to white nationalists and hatemongers to amplify their lies on X which has resulted in riots and British mobs harassing immigrants and Muslims. Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook seemed perfectly fine promoting anti-vaxx conspiracies during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic because it helped drive engagement.
Let’s not even get started on cable news networks, also belonging to billionaires, who care more about ratings, clicks, and access to power than truth and engage in a “both sides” framing that has helped normalize Trump’s cruelty and lies.
We’re in a bad place, folks.
Thankfully, we have Nora Benavidez of Free Press who has been working tirelessly to protect our free speech, liberties, and the truth while all are under active assault from MAGA. I invited her to share her recommendations on how media can reform itself before the consequential 2024 election.
There is hope, folks! Keep up the pressure!
How Should Media Confront The Threat of MAGA