All forms of media, including print, broadcast, and social, have grown significantly in the last couple of decades. With new technology, it has made it easier to spread information to large groups of people around the world. As much of a positive as it is, it also brings along some negatives. Some people take advantage of it to spread opinionated views or false information.
Where are we seeing opinionated views?
Opinionated views can be found everywhere nowadays. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, but when it is being used in a negative way to coerce others, that is where problems arise. One of the most noticeable places for opinionated views is the news.
Two television news stations I would like to point out are Fox News and CNN.
These two news channels have had an ongoing rivalry. Although they have been on the news for awhile, the 2020 election was the turning point in my personal realization of the different views of CNN and Fox. It is very apparent that CNN leaned toward the left, and Fox News leaned toward the right.
In a study conducted in March and April of 2014, researchers asked people to choose which news sources they trusted and which they didn’t. Results showed that 62% of surveyed, consistent liberals trust CNN, and 88% of surveyed, consistent conservatives trust Fox News. When surveyed on which news sources they distrust, 81% of consistent liberals said they distrust Fox News, and 61% of consistent conservatives said they distrust CNN.
It is clear that the reporters on these news stations impose their own opinions on politics to influence the audience.
Why is the spread of opinionated views in the news dangerous to society?
Opinionated views in the news are dangerous to society in a few ways.
One reason it is dangerous is because these opinions may interrupt someone’s ability to make opinions on their own. In my opinion, politics should be something you decide on your own.
When reporters use their opinion to persuade you to have a different view, you begin to stray away from your right to have your own views and opinions. This persuasion is where politics starts to get messy because you begin to think there is a right and a wrong view; instead of thinking what you want to think. Some reporters use their platform to trick you and change your views.
Going off of that, another reason opinionated views in the news are dangerous to society is that people can confuse opinions and facts. Once someone comes across an opinion they may think is a fact, fake news begins to spread.
Opinions in the news need to come to an end
The news is not a place for opinions to be thrown around. A lot of people trust the news to hear true, factual evidence about the world around them.
Fox and CNN are using their political views to gain an audience and to influence the opinion so others. People should not be living through the views of other people. They should exercise their right to their own opinions and beliefs.
