Media Awareness

According to Cambridge Dictionary, media awareness is the ‘understanding of the different methods for presenting information in newspapers, on television, on the internet, etc., and of the possible uses and dangers of these methods.’ Nowadays, it is nearly impossible to find completely unbiased, factual information in the mainstream media. Companies want views, and people want to read articles that support their ideas.

To fully understand the current topic of conversation, it is important to know and recognize these two terms: propaganda and disinformation. Disinformation is defined as “false information deliberately and often covertly spread (as by the planting of rumors) in order to influence public opinion or obscure the truth. Propaganda has a very similar definition, stating that it is “ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one’s cause or to damage an opposing cause.” These two terms have become very polarized, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, when people searched for the truth among political campaigns.

Certain agencies within the government rely on the biased, and sometimes radical, information that is being posted on the internet to help maintain national security. The Total Information Awareness, or TIA, program was created in 2003. It acted as a mass detection program that used detailed information about people to uncover and prevent terrorist plots before they were executed. It was quickly renamed Terrorism Information Awareness within months of the start of the program. The program was swiftly criticized for being an ‘invasion of privacy’ of American citizens and was formally shut down within the same year. The software used in this program is ironically still being used in various government branches (most likely including the CIA and DoD). This is a hard topic to advocate for; On one hand, the government is using the information that they are gathering to protect the United States and her citizens. On the other hand, what about the ordinary citizens that are being ‘spied’ on, just in case?

The United States, globally, is also part of the Five EyesAlliance. This is an intelligence alliance that includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The group exchanges “views on subjects of mutual interest and concern” to help maintain global security, enhance public trust, and aid other countries and political offices as needed. Again, it is difficult to advocate for something that is arguably ‘spying’ on citizens, but the purpose is to protect global security.

Most recently, the Biden administration attempted to create the Disinformation Governance Board, a new branch of the Department of Homeland Security. Its purpose was to prevent misinformation/disinformation that would cause a threat to national security. Its foundation coincidentally followed the COVID-19 pandemic, where a lot of new, random, and sometimes just flat-out wrong information was thrown into the mix. Many Americans argued that this was a violation of the freedom of speech and press, particularly conservative voices, who have seen the most censorship. Less than one month after the announcement of its creation, the Disinformation Board was paused and is still pending review.

Being aware of what you are reading is key to dodging propaganda and misinformation. The articles you read on Fox News are going to be almost entirely different to articles posted on CNN. For years, the government has attempted to control and/or monitor what is posted. Like I said before, it is so hard to argue either side, and I could probably write at least a 5-page essay arguing for both. The way that I see it is if the government uses the information we post online to protect national security, then I support all of the organizations listed above. If the government, however, is simply spying and holding information just because, or if the censorship is politically motivated, then it would be a clear violation of our rights.