- Make no mistake, the media plays an extremely important role in not only going to war-torn areas to cover the unfolding events in detail but also contributes to disseminating the action occurringfrom the ground zero itself for the consumption of real patrons, us. The discerning citizens in the present-day modern world would not settle for anything less than a genuine coverage of events. Of course, this is the AI-defined era where deepfakes are the order of the day, what with the technology breaking all barriers to dish out stuff which makes it tougher to distinguish real from the make-believe. The global community is in the midst of several ongoing conflicts afflicting us in more than one way, largely debilitating to say the least. And we need real news.
PC: FPU Knowledge & Quality
- This being the case, people expect the media – digital and print – to be as authentic as they can be to dish out factual reporting on what’s happening in and around the conflict zone. False narration would be a monumental disaster for the whole world. In a related incident, Donald Trump’s rage-posting on US media coverage of war shows why, in democracies, factual conflict reporting is so critical. Funnily, while many Americans were watching the Oscars, their president was rage-posting FIRED. Not at his FCC chair but at broadcasters. He’s threatening to revoke certain broadcasters’ licences, accusing them of news distortion vis-à-vis what’s happening in Iran. Trump’s post on Truth Social says he is thrilled at this mission. What’s his ire, though?
PC: Thomson Foundation
- He’s cheesed off that, despite winning a presidential election – in a landslide – various newspapers and TV news channels continue to report on his actions, independently and critically. He wants them to be charged with treason, no less. In the US, this is a crime punishable by death. It is also very narrowly defined as levying war against the US or aiding its enemies. Basically, Trump is doing classic dictators’ math, which is to equate fidelity to him as loyalty to the nation. Except, obviously, democracies are different. The US’s First Amendment is about ensuring that power stays accountable to the people, rather than the other way round. This is no less so in times of war. War involves life-and-death decisions made by govts on behalf of citizens.
PC: The Financial Express
- Thus, denying them info about these decisions robs their consent of meaning. In Israel, there is high public support for the Iran war. But there is also heavy censorship of filming, photographing, or otherwise reporting Iranian missile impacts. Yes, today’s wars are taking place in the age of social media and AI. Yes, these are information wars, as much as anything else. And what Trump’s post does is to basically admit that, right now, Iran is doing pretty well in the information war. That’s quite something to concede, and quite a comment on all of America’s human and tech resources. Indian news TV channels, for their part, are processing the Iran war reportage through a spectacle max machine. The free press should churn out facts. The govts should allow it. Period.
