Essays & News

 

What can journalists do about the Unreality Crisis?

by | Aug 23, 2021

Originally published in Poynter

The media isn’t just parroting both sides. The problem is more complex.

The numbers are hard for some to fathom. More than six in 10 Republicans think Donald Trump’s presidential reelection was stolen. Half believe left-wing protesters staged the Jan. 6 insurrection to make Trump look bad.

What responsibility do journalists bear when so many Americans are misinformed? Put another way, how should a press operating in the name of factualism react when the leadership of one of the two major political parties has succumbed to the belief that blatant lies, gaslighting and fantasist arguments are the path to power?