Unbiased information is, perhaps more than any other factor, integral to the functioning of democracy; it allows voters to make educated, informed decisions and is the only thing standing between a wannabe authoritarian dictator and tangible power. Without it, representation becomes meaningless, and it is representation upon which the republic that is our home, the USA, relies. Making “the facts” accessible to society is therefore crucial, and it is thusly the duty of individual journalists, as well as media companies more generally, to edify their readers with objectivity and seriousness that such a duty implies – clearly, any contravention thereof is both a moral, and ethical, wrong. 

It is therefore worrying to observe the espousal of political rhetoric on the part of a variety of such organizations, not only on both sides of the political aisle in the U.S. but also throughout the political spectrum, whether it be Fox News’ repeated promotion of the false and hazardous claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 election or the (less egregious, albeit still dangerous) questionable spotlighting of less pertinent stories on the part of CNN to center-stage a specific idea, obfuscation or misinformation on the part of the news does not bode well for the state of our democracy. The effects have been both widespread and pernicious, polarizing the public and precipitating the January 6th insurrection, distrust in the electoral system, and various further adverse ramifications. Freshman Ryan Murray says of the issue: “I feel like it can kind of feed into a bad society, as people can seek out heavily biased news that confirms their opinions.” 

Although democracy in the United States finds itself in an extraordinarily precarious position, all is not lost – and you can participate in its preservation by acknowledging your bias and seeking out a multitude of different sources, worldviews, opinions, and ideas. Meanwhile, we must hope that the media can realign itself with the fundamental values of, as Lincoln stated in the Gettysburg Address, a “government of the people, by the people, for the people.”