On Monday, as part of its Untangling Disinformation series, NPR ran a 2,000-word article alleging that Ben Shapiro and the news site he co-founded, the Daily Wire, use outrage as a business model.
The piece voices concern that non-mainstream, conservative news sites are dominating over legacy media (including the New York Times, the Washington Post, CNN, and NBC News) when it comes to Facebook engagement, and this may exacerbate political polarization in America.
These claims betray a complete lack of self-awareness, considering the bias apparent in establishment news media. Conservative media outlets, by and large, disclose their political leanings outright. The majority of left-leaning media outlets, on the other hand, seem to believe they are politically neutral, unwavering beacons of truth and healing light when anyone capable of critical reasoning can sense their utter contempt for those suggesting otherwise.
It doesn’t matter what the subject matter is — COVID-19, critical race theory, cancel culture, the Capitol riot — if you do not adhere to accepted leftist narratives, you will be shut out from the conversation. Liberal journalists, like me, who are critical of extreme-left ideology must either learn to keep these inconvenient opinions to ourselves or be accordingly censored and punished. Within these institutions, I regularly hear of colleagues’ work being vetted by sensitive readers to the point of being unrecognizable.
It’s not as though the public hasn’t noticed something is amiss. The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford surveyed roughly 92,000 respondents in 46 countries and found that the United States has the lowest levels of trust in the media. For example, despite media trust growing in other countries around the world after the pandemic began, only 29% of people in the U.S. report trusting the news.
But instead of using this feedback as a teachable moment, or perhaps to understand the appeal of non-mainstream media sites, these institutions forge ahead, resolute in their indifference.
This theme of suppressing dissent is similarly reflected in White House press secretary Jen Psaki’s recent discussion regarding flagging social media posts about the pandemic that are deemed to be “disinformation.”
Labeling ideas as “misinformation” and “disinformation” has become the newest strategy by which to discredit an opinion you don’t like. Any manner of thinking outside of the box is branded as conspiratorial and harmful, regardless of its veracity.
This should be ominous to everyone, regardless of what they believe. No political party should wield the ability to dictate what is true or false or to screen information, particularly in a climate of resentment and division.
Dr. Debra Soh is a sex neuroscientist, the host of The Dr. Debra Soh Podcast, and the author of The End of Gender: Debunking the Myths About Sex and Identity in Our Society.
