This article originally appeared on WND.com
Guest by post by Bob Unruh
Polling shows huge numbers of voters get their information there
A new polling reveals some startling American voter perspectives on the media, and it offers an explanation about why the Biden administration has been so intent on censoring social media.
It was a congressional report just this week that confirmed social media companies had tried to defend the First Amendment against attacks by Biden’s bureaucrats – mostly unsuccessfully as White House demands for censorship have turned into a major component of most online platforms.
Now there’s an explanation why Biden’s advocates are so intent.
It’s because the polling shows about half of Americans rely on social media for their primary source of news.
Constitutional expert Jonathan Turley explained that’s why “it is not surprising that the censorship of social media has been a priority among many liberal groups.”
He pointed out the polling, from the American Press Institute and The Associated Press-NORC Center, revealed that a majority of Americans also are extremely worried or very concerned about bias in the media and the reporting of false or misleading information.
“Only 48% of Republicans and 34% of independents still receive their news from national news outlets and expressed the greatest trust of the media,” Turley explained, citing the poll results.
“The poll shows that 47% of Americans have serious concern that news outlets would report information that has not been confirmed or verified, and 44% worry that accurate information will be presented in a way that favors one side or another.”
Turley explained:
For years, the journalists have sawed on the branch upon which they are sitting. Even National Public Radio, which receives federal funding, is unrepentant in the face of criticism over its overt political bias.
Former New York Times writer (and now Howard University journalism professor) Nikole Hannah-Jones declared recently that “all journalism is activism.” Advocacy journalism is all the rage in journalism schools and on major media platforms.
A recent series of interviews with over 75 media leaders by Leonard Downie Jr., former Washington Post executive editor, and Andrew Heyward, former CBS News president, reaffirmed this shift. As Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, editor-in-chief at the San Francisco Chronicle, stated: “Objectivity has got to go.”
But that objective seems to depend heavily upon what ideology you are advocating.
He said nowadays the mainstream media basically talks to itself.
“So we are left with the variation of a common Zen-like question: if the media reports and no one is listening, does it still make a noise?” he asked.
The actual polling report explained, “Although most adults, regardless of age, race or ethnicity, or partisanship, tune into news about elections, only 14% express a great deal of confidence in election-related information they receive from national sources, and 11% say the same about local news media.
“In particular, people are worried about the news containing misinformation and amplifying divisions. About half of adults say they are extremely or very concerned about news organizations reporting inaccurate information (53%). Almost as many worry news outlets will report unverified information (47%) or focus too much on divisions or controversies (48%).”
Copyright 2024 WND News Center
The post Here’s Why Biden Censorship Schemes Targeted Social Media appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
