To an increasing extent, the Internet and social media have changed not just politics, but the world as a whole, and not entirely for the better. What could and should be a tool that brings people together has instead become a weapon of division. In the U.S. it is almost funny to see how obvious it is that the big-time news networks are largely biased. Many know that FOX News favors right-wing, conservative opinions, for example. With that known, people can either choose to listen or walk away.
But what if a person is not aware of the bias they are being fed? Is that not absolutely wrong? Obviously, most people have a biased opinion about something. It is an unavoidable part of human nature, but we should try to keep informed and free from bias on the important topics in life. It does not really matter if, let us say, you have a bias toward a particular type of cheese, but a bias about something that actually affects the lives of yourself and those around you is of much larger importance. We are currently in March of 2020, and in only eight months, Americans will be tested once again to see where their votes lie. Sitting president Donald Trump will either remain in power or a new one will be elected to take his place. Officials throughout the government will change, and with that, they will decide what happens with many issues. However, none of that will occur before something much more serious.
Not only will the news become even more overwhelmed with politics — each channel with their individual leanings — but so will the newsfeeds, timelines, walls, and whatnot of every social media app. Friends, neighbors, relatives, and even the profiles made for people’s cats will be voicing their opinions about what candidate they like, which ones they do not, and a bunch of other things. Arguments will break out, memes will fight for screen space, and most importantly, division will rise.
The main problem here is that nobody can trust the info they read, and on the rare occasion that they can, something else will contradict it. Someone else will shoot it down because what they read said something different. This war of fake news extends to everyone. For example, a famous rock star recently shared a picture of Bernie Sanders that contained false info that had been made up to create hatred toward Sanders. The danger here is not only that people are believing lies, it is that even those with a large following are susceptible to falling for it. The fans of that person are also more likely to believe them, and the fake news spreads. Certain people are to blame.
Corporations and the wealthy, powerful people in control of them use their money to get their beliefs in front of people. Ads are the tool, and our votes are the product. Michael Bloomberg, for example, spent $8.2 million dollars on digital ads, and a huge $132 million on television ads. The money made sure his ads would be seen by many people. All political ads will tell you what to believe about a lot of things, and it is up to the voters to look through the lies, find the facts, and decide for themselves. That is a difficult task, but luckily, not all media is in the hands of biased people.
The digital news and stories outlet ‘The Doe’ wants to help us get through this and find the truth. It does not rephrase things into a different context, it does not talk too much about one thing and too little about another. What it does is provide a website meant to challenge the beliefs one might hold. If you have only ever read things that support a certain side, perhaps reading something on The Doe will show you that there is more to the story.
The Doe sees to it that all articles are attributed to an anonymous author. Where you might be scared to start a futile argument with a family member over a difference in views for fear that it will affect your relationship, The Doe allows unfiltered honesty by taking away the downsides of identity. Nobody will be publicly “canceled” for saying their thoughts on something, and no issue will be forgotten or ignored. To explore its offerings for yourself, visit their website at https://www.thedoe.com/ and to read some truth instead of bias, follow them on Instagram @wearethedoe.
