The advent of alternative media has created a whole new world when it comes to disseminating information.
But not everyone is happy about this—particularly those of the activist media.
Enjoyably, Elon Musk ruffled more than a few feathers when he took over the social media company Twitter.
But when he tweeted about his vision of making the platform friendlier towards average citizens participating in journalism, at least some members of the once-vaunted fourth estate took umbrage.
On Friday, Musk tweeted:
As Twitter pursues the goal of elevating citizen journalism, media elite will try everything to stop that from happening.
As Twitter pursues the goal of elevating citizen journalism, media elite will try everything to stop that from happening
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 11, 2022
Of course, Musk is right.
Those firmly ensconced within the marble halls of the establishment press excoriated the Twitter CEO for daring to suggest that we regular folks could contribute to the national conversation.
Shannon O’Connor, social media editor for The Daily Beast, responded:
Not sure who needs to hear this (Elon) but “citizen journalism” is bad and should not be elevated. Look at how much worse “citizen journalism” made the Boston bombing aftermath (and that’s just one example).
There’s a reason why we go to school for years for this profession…
One ‘example’? How about endless examples of the aftermath of bad press?
And ‘reason[s] why…school’? How about communist indoctrination and the techniques of misreporting, partial reporting, and cover up.
Not sure who needs to hear this (Elon) but “citizen journalism” is bad and should not be elevated. Look at how much worse “citizen journalism” made the Boston bombing aftermath (and that’s just one example).
There’s a reason why we go to school for years for this profession…
— Shannon O'Connor (@ShannonOConnor0) November 11, 2022
O’Connor continued, pointing out that:
All legitimate news organizations have fact checkers and editors so that false and misleading information isn’t given to the public.
Hence one would believe the information which is “given to the public” would not be “false” or “misleading.” However, the exact contrary is sadly what occurs.
Condé Nast’s Luke Zaleski also chimed in, noting that:
Journalists are citizens. The vast majority are middle and working class men and women doing difficult and important work.
“[M]iddle and working class” please, get off your soap box and cut the nauseating violin music.
“[D]oing difficult and important work” means obfuscating and misreporting to cover up the actions of the communist cabal.
Journalists are citizens. The vast majority are middle and working class men and women doing difficult and important work. This obscene glutton and bully controls perhaps the most powerful combination of wealth and media reach in human history. And he’s blaming so-called “elites” https://t.co/48udc5IVcl
— Luke Zaleski (@ZaleskiLuke) November 11, 2022
Politico’s Bill Scher said:
Twitter apparently is pursuing the goal of being a 2003 blog post.
There is no suitable response for this juvenile post.
Twitter apparently is pursuing the goal of being a 2003 blog post https://t.co/uwG724meiA
— Bill Scher (@billscher) November 11, 2022
What is truly interesting about the above responses is that these media activists didn’t even realize they were proving Musk’s point.
They are trying to discredit the notion that regular folks who don’t work for their esteemed media outlets could also bring important information to the American public.
Folks like this believe that they—and only they—should be entrusted with the responsibility of informing the populace.
However, they have proven again and again and again that they—collectively—are incapable of responsibly informing the “populace” of the truth.
And what most people know is that despite O’Connor’s contention that major news outlets have fact-checkers and editors, mainstream media routinely gets it wrong, oftentimes deliberately so.
Trust in the media has declined significantly over the past decade.
Notedly, the rationale for misreporting being: The mass propaganda media agencies have demonstrated that their intention is to influence rather than inform.
Many of these companies have acted as full-on propaganda mills for the [communist party] while cloaking themselves under the veneer of objectivity, even though they are no longer fooling anyone.
Rather than choosing to be honest about their bias, they sell a deceptive image of fairness and balance to their audience, intending to beguile them into believing they are reporting only the facts.
Indeed, [
mostsome] people would not have a problem with the media if they were open about their political leanings. But the fact that they choose to lie has been their undoing.
And it is no wonder these fake news artists feel threatened—Americans have become hostile toward them and their daily servings of bullsh*t. We lack all confidence in the media as an institution.
But contrary to Bill Scher’s juvenile crack about a “2003 blog post” the world is now in a different age.
Anyone with a camera and a computer can publish information—and there is little the elites can do about it.
In fact, perhaps what is truly needed is more in the way of fact-checkers on the ground who can fill in the blanks when it comes to misinformation the mass propaganda media would rather us not know.
The outcome of the midterm elections has made alternative media more important than ever.
America is entering into a season that could determine the future trajectory of the country. But unlike the giants in the mass propaganda media, numerous sites disseminating truth need the support of Americans who value just that—the truth.
God speed to Conservatism and to Truth in Reporting.