By Maeji Gi
People all across the nation rely on news media to receive information on worldly matters. Our world is in a constant state of change, no matter how small or large the change is, and because of this, the majority of the population relies on the news. News media, also known as mass media, focuses on providing information about current issues and important topics to the general public. Mass media delivers this information across a variety of news channels and mediums to reach as many people as possible. It is crucial that the new media remains active because it informs the public on events that can majorly impact each of us as individuals. Since so many people rely on the news, the news has to be trustworthy. However, depending on the news outlet utilized, whether it be the newspaper, television, or radio, the form in which we receive information can affect our personal views on the world because each outlet has its own way of interpreting and expressing the info, which can change the viewers’ path to forming their own beliefs.
What is Censorship?
Censorship is essentially the concealment of certain information, speech, or communication that is deemed as objectionable or “inconvenient” from the general public. For example, news regarding scandals or controversies involving prominent political figures (government officials) might be downplayed or suppressed to maintain the government’s “reputation”. Governments and mass media censor certain aspects in news when the nation is under political stress, crisis of war, or any other circumstance that could create chaos. They will resort to censorship in order to maintain control over the populace and to prevent rebellions. However, because controversial and vital information is suppressed by the government and news media, the audience isn’t receiving the accurate or entire story. Inaccurate or tampered information can change our perspectives on current issues because we don’t know the full truth.
Examples of Censorship
Even the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s, experienced forms of censorship within the news. One example that displays how censorship was present and also racially driven was during the protests against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama (1963). Around this period in time, television and the press (newspaper companies) started to become recognized as a more efficient way to broadcast information and spread awareness by both segregationists and civil rights advocates. The newspaper and television had a great influence on the definition of protests and how the public perceived them. African American leaders during the movement wanted to take advantage of the media to make their voices heard during segregated America. However, local papers owned by white businessmen denied or never gave African American protesters the chance to broadcast their messages against segregation. This caused great misunderstandings and spread misinformation within both black and white communities. Similar events took place during other protests in different Southern cities. Coverage on the Civil Rights Movement and its protests ranged from little to none, but if local papers did provide any coverage on these matters, they strategically used specific language and images to portray the protests as violent and threatening to the nation.
The use of censorship is present worldwide, more in some places than others. Other nations outside of the United States have specific and sometimes severe censorship rules in action to cloud the knowledge of their citizens and hide information that has the potential to anger citizens.
A severe case of censorship within present-day media can be seen in Hong Kong and China. China is well known for being very strict as to what their citizens post and censoring any comments or videos that express ideas that go against higher authorities (criticism, activism, anger towards, dissent, etc). Ever since the Hong Kong protests against the Chinese government started in March 2019, Chinese censors have been very adamant to delete any videos of protests, songs or chants, and other posts that go against their sovereignty. Since these aspects of Hong Kong’s protests are being buried, the rest of the world does not have access to much information on the current progress of Hong Kong’s efforts to take back their independence.
China has also manipulated information that deals with the state of the Black Lives Matter protests in Hong Kong. For instance, an interview with documentarian, Stanley Nelson, on George Floyd protests was falsely translated into a headline that went against the movement. In Nelson’s interview he described the importance and complexities of African American movements and how it is crucial for other black filmmakers to express their experiences with prejudice. The Chinese headline was translated as “The African American Director Who Knows Black People The Most, Does Not Approve This Movement”. This is one of many examples as to how the Chinese media manipulates the truth to mislead Chinese audiences into believing misconstrued ideas on racial injustice.
What is the News Media Demographic?
Alongside censorship, different forms of news media cater to different demographics and audiences. This can be seen between prominent news outlets on television such as CNN and FoxNews. Those who frequently view these news channels will most likely lean towards one or the other as their main source of daily news. To put it simply, CNN is a major new channel that veers towards the political left, also known as democrat or liberal views. On the contrary, FoxNews is known to lean towards the political right, or a republican standpoint. The majority of American citizens identify with either the democrat or republican party when it comes to politics. Both political parties uphold different, and often conflicting opinions. Therefore, since CNN and FoxNews are essentially rival news outlets considering their political stances, the audiences will receive information from different perspectives from each and depending on the political beliefs of each individual, their preference of how they receive news will vary. Now, considering the differing viewpoints of each news channel, the way either audience sees Black Lives Matter or other civil rights movement protests remains dependent on how the information is presented alongside personal opinions. Communication and information will always be tainted by certain biases in order to suit an individual’s or group’s own opinions and agenda. Overall, depending on each individual’s beliefs, they will favor one news outlet over the other and each outlet holds different opinions that will either view protests in a bad or good light.
The Presence of Propaganda
Many government leaders and officials will take advantage of propaganda in order to get what they want. However, this ongoing issue is constantly being swept under the rug to benefit higher authorities. Propaganda plays a huge role in shaping an audience’s opinions to fit a certain group or individual’s personal agenda with the intent to harm the opposing side. When the emotions and imagination of an individual is influenced by propaganda, the political figure in charge will gain more support, even if it isn’t for a good cause. Mass media helped spread and normalize propaganda as well. Propaganda can convince a population to share a public opinion that will in turn benefit the leader, especially with the help of widespread media backing this propaganda. Effective propaganda consists of psychological mechanisms and biased communication that will “guilt trip” people into contributing to their cause.
Propaganda was widely used during WWII when America needed to draft more people into the army or navy. The U.S. government and military created posters sporting the quote “We Want You” in order to attract more people to join the army and fight in the war, knowing full well that the majority would not make it out alive. They used similar posters in order to engrave the idea of “serving your country” into people’s minds. They instilled guilt into people for not fighting for their home or country and it worked on many even if they didn’t actually want to fight. The government took advantage of people’s pride and patriotism in order to support their goal of winning WWII because these posters gaslit men into feeling “less American”.
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