Fanning The Flames

There is no doubt that social media, and in this case, Facebook play a major role in society and politics in the U.S. Many feel as though Facebook oversteps and becomes too involved in politics and that they should not, while others appreciate the involvement that Facebook has in politics in the U.S. Social media definitely has some positive aspects, as it helps connects millions of people worldwide and brings attention to global events and social causes and injustices quickly, however Facebook’s use of algorithms are causing many division in our country and are very problematic to our politics and society. The use of algorithms by Facebook was mentioned last year by whistleblower and former Facebook employee, and the company knows that the use of algorithms is causing many negative consequences. The company was accused of placing profit over the well being of individuals who use Facebook (and other social media.) According to the former employee, Facebook knows that hate speech and ...

  Since our class specifically discusses the overlapping relationship between mass media and politics, I think it would be interesting and relevant to take a look at the relationship between young adults and politics, Specifically the study of political science and youth disengagement in politics. Youth make up a large percentage of the population and as well as large percentage of eligible voters, “While 18–29 year-olds account for nearly 22 percent of the voting-age population, they made up just 13 percent of the voting electorate in 2018 – and that’s an improvement over previous years.” Past and recent voter turnout and political involvement of young adults would also be helpful in better understanding political disengagement of young adults as a whole and ultimately helps to better understand the relationship between media and politics. Furthermore, the voting population of the U.S is aging with fewer young adults voting and becoming involved in politics. This is problematic as...

Over the last few weeks, we have discussed production methods used to gain attention and evoke certain emotions when publishing political content and events. Those range from, visual images, visual text, music and sounds, and color. In addition to the production methods mentioned, there are also strategic advertising techniques also in place to get the same responses and outcomes as the production methods, stereotyping, association, demonization, and code words. With strategic advertising often comes negative emotions, associations, and connotations associated with those methods. Ultimately the attempt to manipulate its viewers is a major negative aspect of media, an aspect that viewers are becoming more and more aware of. Furthermore, citizens are more aware of the lack of transparency of media when using the methods mentioned, ultimately contributing to society’s distrust of media. With all the major events happening in 2020, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, U.S presidential election...

  As the war in Ukraine continues, the death toll of Ukrainians continues to rise. NATO estimates that the death toll of Ukrainian soldiers is between 7,000 and 15,000. Unfortunately, in addition to the number of Ukrainian soldier deaths up until this point, nearly 4,000 Ukrainian civilians have also been killed.   Furthermore, President Biden has accused Putin of war crimes due to the number of Ukrainian civilians that have been killed. Furthermore, in addition to the number of civilian deaths, Putin is being accused of specifically targeting civilians during Russian attacks. Putin and Russians deny accusations of targeting civilians, however the incidents many attacks of civilians are portraying their motives and intentions as otherwise. A maternity ward and children’s’ in Mariupol were bombed, forcing pregnant women to suddenly evacuate. Many were injured and three were killed in those attacks. A theatre in Mariupol where civilians were hiding was also bombed, killing more ...

 Misinformation is such a prominent aspect of media nowadays, especially in regards to the relationship between media and politics. One important and recent example of misinformation in the media is the portrayal of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  Putin’s censorship and spread of disinformation of motives for invading Ukraine as well as threats to reporters attempting to publish what is occurring in Ukraine is becoming more and more prevalent as the invasion of Ukraine continues. In the Guardian Article published below, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka takes a photo of a very pregnant and injured women evacuating a bombed maternity ward in Ukraine. Furthermore, once this image circulated Russian media, Putin claimed that the pregnant Ukrainian woman was simply an “actor.” Putin claiming that injured Ukrainians are actors is not the only way in which he attempts to manipulate the Russian people and gain support of his actions. Allegations that the U.S and Ukraine are planning to s...

  After last week’s discussion of “managing the message” and strategic communication by political officials, I decided to also discuss strategic communication and some examples. When referring to strategic communication former President Trump is one of the most recent and relative examples when discussing “managing the message.” Although many thought Trump would never get enough votes during his campaign to become president, he managed to gain the support of enough followers to ultimately become president in 2016. This was done through Trump’s use of emotional evoking speeches and phrases. Trump also knew the way the middle class felt about many topics that were important to them during that particular time, such as immigration, taxes, etc., and made those topics key aspects of his campaign, as well as during his presidency. Trump’s use of the phrase, “Make America Great Again,” was used many times during his campaign and presidency, by him, and his supporters. The goal behind the ...

 Oftentimes when looking at the ways in which social media, and digital media as a whole has impacted politics and other aspects, the perceived impacts are oftentimes negative. However, there are positive aspects of social media, especially in relation to current events and social causes. Majority of individuals are aware that Russia invaded Ukraine, however social media has brought awareness to this crisis much faster than other means possible. Social media has brought so much attention to what the citizens of Ukraine are facing through videos and constant war coverage. Through social media many individuals have been able to quickly gain support to help the citizens of Ukraine through fundraising and charity. Ultimately, social media has its many negatives, however in a time where awareness and public support are needed, especially in this case of the invasion of Ukraine, social media proves successful and beneficial. Social media can be an extremely helpful tool in times of need....

  It feels as though every time I view any sort of social media or news apps or channels that the news is flooded with death, economic decline, corruption, political conflict, and many other negative and oftentimes saddening events. And in a time of pandemic that has impacted billions of individuals and has brought devastating effects to our country, consuming negative news can be especially triggering and harmful to mental health. Furthermore, the term, “negativity bias” has been increasingly common as negative events are reported on more frequently. Ultimately, I can assume that many other individuals also feel as though negative news oftentimes appear to be majority of what news outlets choose to focus on in terms of deciding what events are “newsworthy.” Therefore, I decided to take a look at increasing occurrence of negative news reporting and possible reasons as to why media outlets often choose to report on such negative, saddening, emotional evoking events. The article at...

 After our last module I thought it would be interesting and relevant to take a look at the role social media plays in politics and political trends. For this specific post I will take a look at Facebook, as there has been much conversation and controversy that last few years about Facebook involvement in politics. Facebook was created to connect millions of people worldwide as a major goal by Zuckerberg. Ultimately, Facebook has done exactly that. Facebook (and other social media platforms) have brought attention to certain global and social issues that many would not be aware of otherwise. Therefore, there are positive aspects of social media, but Facebook has the potential, and has led to political polarization and impacting political landscape, especially in the 2016 election. Through the "algorithmic solution" set up to only show individuals certain post based on what they like but also what the company wants to promote, and censorship and removal of videos and articles ...

  After reviewing the materials for this week's modules, particularly the Associated Press article from Steve Peoples in September 2020, I have decided to mention a theme that is relative to that particular article. "Loaded" words, also known as emotional language, emotive language, emotionally charged words, loaded language, and other terms is an important idea to discuss further, especially in relation to news and journalism. When looking at biases in media is important to understand what loaded words are, and how to spot them in news. According to the The Free Dictionary, a loaded word as one “that carries additional emotional weight or significance—whether positive or negative—beyond its literal meaning.” Loaded language is generally used in journalism as a means to elicit a particular emotional response among the intended audience. The emotional response can be anger, sadness, anxiety, and other emotional feeling and responses. In addition to motivating a specific re...

  One aspect that my blog focuses on is political polarization and distrust in our government. One reason that political polarization and distrust have become so prominent, especially in younger generations, is the sources of which individuals view their news. Social media platforms being used as means to viewing news is increasing and has steadily increased since popularity of social media has boomed. Consuming news through social media (as a main source of news) can be problematic for many reasons. Unfortunately, much of the news that is circulated through social media is oftentimes extremely biased and is not reliable or factual in many instances. This contributes to spreading of misinformation to individuals who view social media as their main sources of news. According to a study done by Pew Research, many social media companies have been criticized regularly for not putting more effort into stopping spread of misinformation on their sites in a time where so many look to socia...

To add onto my previous post I have attached an article from Forbes that focuses on maintaining critical thinking skills, a skill that is imperative to have in a time where information is available endlessly online. And unfortunately depending the possible agendas behind those sources, the information may not be reliable or factual. When viewing news, especially on social media, it is important to use fact checkers to verify. The Forbes article mentions some such as; Snopes, Poltifact, FactCheck.org, Washington Post fact Checker and others. I have attached the article that goes into further detail of how to avoid fake news and think critically in a time where social media is so prominent.  Forbes Article on Critical Thinking https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrewarnold/2018/02/27/how-to-maintain-critical-thinking-in-the-modern-world-of-new-media/?sh=6af8b00350e5

When studying politics, it is imperative to be able to think critically when viewing media sources. Although some sources are more biased than others, biases are everywhere in the media. Therefore, it is incredibly important to think critically when reading media sources that discuss politics and current events. Some questions to critically access a news article providing certain information would be,  1.     Is this a valid/ reliable source? 2.     How biased (generally) is this source? 3.     What agenda might this source be attempting to achieve by publishing this information?  In addition to questions above there are many other ways to spot biases in media to better improve critical thinking skills when processing information relating politics and current events, but for this post I have decided to focus on these 3 major ones to keep this introductory post sweet and simple!