Media

Politicususa - Three dozen journalism and civil rights organizations, along with journalists, have called on the media to cover the rise of authoritarianism and the threat to democracy.

The organizations and journalists wrote in part: We, more than three-dozen civil-society, consumer-rights and journalistic organizations, write with an urgent call for news outlets to accurately and unapologetically report on U.S. elections, the state of our democracy and civil rights. Following the assassination attempt on former President Trump, some pundits and politicians have suggested that the media refrain from covering mounting authoritarianism in this country. We urge news outlets to wholeheartedly reject such a dereliction of journalistic duty, and to rigorously report threats to our democracy.

Media coverage shapes both public discourse and people’s understanding of events of the day. This is particularly critical during contentious and extreme times such as these. Media coverage can invite public engagement and robust participation in the democratic process. It can also be manipulated to promote falsehoods for political gain, to silence dissent and stoke racism. Under news standards developed in the last century to counter manipulation and low-quality reporting, the media have broadly made an effort to adhere to hallmarks of good reporting through fact-checking, transparency, and other practices best codified by the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics.