Political Communication and Interest Groups Essay
Political Communication and Interest Groups Essay
Media and Public Opinions
The freedom of expression and the constitutional entitlement for public opinion underpin democracy because people can express their concerns, perspectives, and issues with minimal government restrictions. The role of media platforms in the public opinion context is to enhance coverage and promote legitimization or information dissemination to reach the target sector. Therefore, media platforms are fundamental vessels for consolidating public opinion, educating people, communicating issues affecting citizens to governments, and enlightening the public about government interventions (McGregor, 2019 Political Communication and Interest Groups Essay).
Also, media platforms play a significant role in anchoring views, developments, and issues surrounding landmark events like elections and government transitions. In this sense, they act as the informers by linking the public to agencies, government organizations, and the overall political landscapes. Undoubtedly, media platforms are crucial infrastructure that contributes to democracy by promoting respect for human rights, effective government policies, and challenging ineffective leadership regimes.
Fake News and Media Censorship
Although media platforms are fundamental in promoting democracy, they may act in ways that compromise national democracy. An ideal example is facilitating fake news and liberal ideas that threaten national security, public confidence in governments, and individual trust. Fake news is now a threat in many countries because of the growing social media influence. According to Neo (2021), media platforms may promote satirical messages, misleading advertisements, propaganda, and manipulated content that create a false impression or public fear. When people with bad intentions against nations influence the media by promoting or sponsoring liberal ideas, they compromise democracy and public confidence in governments, leading to liberal movements and even wars.
The governments have limited opportunities when fighting fake news because of the constitutionality of preserving freedom of expression and speech. However, media censorship remains a better option to moderate media content and protect the public from fake news. As Ashokkumar et al. (2020 Political Communication and Interest Groups Essay) notes, effective media censorship brings information into harmony with values and protects the people from political polarization or security threats. As a result, governments should embrace purposeful media censorship to maintain sanity, protect democracy, and fight fake news as a threat to national security.
Political Communication and Interest Groups Essay References
- Ashokkumar, A., Talaifar, S., Fraser, W., Landabur, R., Buhrmester, M., & Gómez, Á. et al. (2020). Censoring political opposition online: Who does it and why. Journal Of Experimental Social Psychology, 91, 104031. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2020.104031
- McGregor, S. (2019). Social media as public opinion: How journalists use social media to represent public opinion. Journalism, 20(8), 1070-1086. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884919845458
- Neo, R. (2021). The international discourses and governance of fake news. Global Policy, 12(2), 214-228. https://doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.12958
Political Communication and Interest Groups Essay Instructions
The media, especially elite newspapers, are highly influential in shaping public opinion. However, it is shown that the media can be influenced by the personal viewpoints of authors, as a study concluded that most journalists tend to be liberal. Based on this, what role should the media play in shaping public opinion? Should it be completely unchecked, or should the government censor the media in some instances, especially in matters of national security? Is media freedom even necessary in a democracy?
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