The Fake News of Disinformation

What is Media Literacy?

No matter where you look, to the left or the right, free speech is under attack. One side wants to regulate disinformation, and the other side wants to lock up those who spread fake news. Having complex discussions about difficult topics is no easy task. It requires confident leadership and humility. Dismissing anything you disagree with as wrong, disinformation, or fake is lazy and lacks leadership skills. But that’s what America has to look forward to with a future Kamala Harris or Donald Trump administration.

The new book Fixing Congress by Michael Johnson and Jerome Climer highlights the pressing need for Media Literacy among citizens. It quotes Thomas Jefferson, “If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed." The quote underscores the importance of being well-informed in today's media landscape.

Chapter Eight discusses the history of media and how technology, especially social media, has changed the media landscape. And how politicians are masters at using the changing technology, print to radio, radio to television, television to social media, to their benefit. In Chapter Nine, Media Literacy is explained as “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act” on the information received. The Chapter is full of great information that can help the average voter sift through disinformation and fake news and find the kernels of truth relevant to the discussion.

Oliver Wendall Holmes explains the importance of Free speech in his dissent in Abrams v. United States (1919)—a case about Russian immigrants circulating papers critical of the United States.

“[W]hen men have realized that time has upset many fighting faiths, they may come to believe even more than they believe the very foundations of their own conduct that the ultimate good desired is better reached by free trade in ideas – that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market, and that truth is the only ground upon which their wishes safely can be carried out. That, at any rate, is the theory of our Constitution. It is an experiment, as all life is an experiment.”

In these highly divided political times, Media literacy is of the utmost importance. It would be nice to have secure leaders who weren’t afraid of the marketplace of competition. Instead of trying to control or intimidate speech, they should embrace debate and guide followers to seek more information before making up their minds.

The election is in November, and no matter who wins, Free Speech must be protected. The American Experiment depends on it. Americans should put aside their partisan differences and come together and compete in the marketplace of ideas. Voters looking to live up to the responsibility of freedom and protect free speech can start by reading Fixing Congress.

Peace and Love,

Jeff Mayhugh