Mark Twain is attributed with saying, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” Ironically enough, there is even debate about whether Twain said this quote, but that seems apropos for this discussion.
It appears Americans are tying their shoes, getting ready to distance themselves from the cycle of misinformation and manipulation perpetuated by the media.
Reaching audiences through various mediums such as the Internet, video, television, print, and podcasts, it is difficult to avoid opinion- and agenda-driven platforms. Although this is nothing new, what makes it complicated is that unadulterated truth is rarely provided for viewers to disseminate and cultivate their own opinions.
Everything appears to have been edited, airbrushed, tweaked, or repackaged. Add artificial intelligence to the mix; many don’t even know who or what is authentic, much less trustworthy.
Take, for example, CBS News’ ‘60 Minutes’ deceptive edit of Vice President Kamala Harris’s interview. On October 6, CBS broadcasted a portion of Kamala Harris’s response to a question about Israel from the ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent, and the following day, they aired a different, more flattering segment of her answer.
As a result, The Free Press is calling for the release of the transcript of the primetime show.
Is CBS guilty of journalistic malpractice?
There’s an easy way to find out.
Release the unedited transcript of Kamala Harris on “60 Minutes.”
An editorial from The Free Press: https://t.co/orbW8iWwRV
— The Free Press (@TheFP) October 12, 2024
The New York Post also wants to see the full transcript, noting that “the transcript CBS later released also cut her word-salad response,” adding, “The American people deserve to know the full truth.”
According to a recent Gallup poll, trust in the mass media in America has reached an all-time low.
The most recent results from September 2024 indicate that only 31% of respondents expressed a “great deal” or “fair amount” of trust in the media, in contrast to 72% in 1976.
In 1976, Gerald Ford served as the President of the United States, assuming the Presidency in 1974 when Richard Nixon decided to step down instead of being removed by Congress.
On August 9, 1974, Ford declared, “I assume the Presidency under extraordinary circumstances…This is an hour of history that troubles our minds and hurts our hearts,” according to The White House.
Perhaps we are living proof of existing at another point in time that should also give us great pause: the lack of communicated truth should trouble us.
According to the poll, the news media is considered the least reliable out of 10 U.S. civic and political institutions involved in the democratic process. The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, which together form the legislative branch of the federal government, are viewed as equally untrustworthy as the media, with only 34% expressing trust in these branches.
The highest level of trust is in local and state governments, with people having substantially more trust in them than in mass media and the federal government. A majority of adults trust their local government to handle local issues (67%) and their state government to address state problems (55%).
