My Thesis
Combating Misinformation with Local News: The Case for Government Aid to the Press Without Infringing on the First Amendment
Below is the introductory paragraph for my senior thesis, which contains all of the research that I used for this campaign. Below that is a link to read the rest, if you'd like. Enjoy!
(Disclaimer: Aliases are used to protect the identities of me and my teacher. That's why the names are funky!)
What do the January 6th Insurrection, ‘Pizzagate,’ and the COVID-19 Pandemic have in common? They were all caused - or made worse - by the explosion of disinformation in the United States, allowed to spread freely through cable news and social media, in large part, by the disappearance of local news that has traditionally been relied upon as a trusted source of information in communities across the country. Disinformation, defined as false information that is deliberately spread by a person or entity, is not to be confused with misinformation, which is simply false information that is spread regardless of intent (Kelly). Increasingly in the last several years, bad faith actors have spread disinformation about the United States’ presidential elections, the COVID-19 pandemic, the media, their political enemies, and more. When treated as credible by cable networks, and without local news to rebut it, the disinformation reached vulnerable audiences who then spread it widely across social media. A rising distrust in the media, as well as the decreased funding at local news outlets, are both contributing to the rapid decline of local news in the United States. This is leaving communities across the country without fact-checkers and reliable sources for important information at the local level that larger news entities may not cover. The result is thousands of communities at risk of falling victim to disinformation. Action needs to be taken immediately to address this crisis. Local news needs money to survive and that requires the support and involvement of the Federal Government. Because the absence of local news in a community is a large factor in the spread of disinformation, federal funding of local news will provide vulnerable communities with the resources needed to hire journalists, fact checkers and others that can provide communities needed access to verified information and prevent them from falling victim to harmful disinformation.
My Amendment
As you may know, SLN's campain is partially centered around an amendment to the Local Journalism Sustainability Act. Though it is on the Instagram, you can also read it below:
SEC. 5. ENSURING THE CONTINUATION OF PRESS FREEDOMS
IN GENERAL - this bill is amended by adding at the end the following new language:
“IN GENERAL - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting shall conduct a review of this act every two years and issue recommendations for changes to the act in order to serve the goals of providing a financially sustainable model for local journalism.
“IN GENERAL - The credit allotted from this act shall not be withheld from an individual newsroom on the basis of editorial discontent from any sitting US official”