By Caroline Cho
Over the months following Trump’s election, a plethora of articles circulated around his controversial labeling of respected news sources, such as CNN, as “fake.”
Trump deliberately calls news sources “fake” when they criticize or contradict what he says. In other words, he degrades his opposition and implies that everything politically correct stems only from his own ideology.
Now, this is a big deal.
On the Night of the Long Knives in 1934, the leaders of Adolf Hitler’s opposition were arrested and then shot. Later in the year, Soviet revolutionary Joseph Stalin eliminated all of his political opponents and became an unchallenged force.
If Trump continues to call news sources with contrasting opinions to his as “fake,” then this means he would be exempt from any criticism and accountability, as Hitler and Stalin once were.
“There is a lack of validity of sources that were once considered reliable, which means that Trump picks and chooses the sources that support him. It is similar to propaganda because it creates an echo chamber within the news system,” senior Alex Kim said.
By demeaning prominent, renowned news sources, the Trump administration will naturally lose the trust of the people. On the other hand, if people are blinded by political chaos and are not sure what to believe, then they tend to be rather indecisive and a much easier target to deceive.
Although journalists do have the power to spread false rumors to increase their viewership and profit, many produce genuine articles that adhere to journalistic principles.
Here on the Plaid Press, we journalists work for hours on end to collect solid information and interview subjects to gather a wide spectrum of perspectives.
We cannot let Trump degrade the hard work of journalists across the nation. These citizens fight for the freedom of expression and have maintained their positions as prominent seekers of the truth.
Journalists dig for the truth. And we cannot let Trump stop us from sharing it.
The Plaid Press 