Only hearing only one thing . . .
means you’re hearing only one thing.
Keeping people from the polls is done not only by violence, but by silence.
Watch our Truth in Two video to find out why media fairness matters (full text below).
Protecting polling places begins with having all sides heard.
Subscribe to “Truth in Two” videos from Comenius (here). Mark is President of The Comenius Institute (website). Dr. Eckel spends time with Christian young people in public university (1 minute video), hosts a weekly radio program with diverse groups of guests (1 minute video), and interprets culture from a Christian vantage point (1 minute video). Consider becoming a Comenius patron (here).
Picture Credit: Luke Renoe, Snappy Goat
FULL TEXT
Politicians do it. Political parties do it. Authoritarian communities do it. But what should scare us most is when media outlets do it.
What is the “it”? Voter suppression. How do people suppress the vote? Some communities try to keep people from the polls. We saw this process in America’s history: in the past, Black voters were physically prohibited from casting a ballot for their candidate. We see this in party politics now, through polling. Reports that suggest one candidate is ahead of another say to the populace, “Why vote? The other party has already won.”
But the worst kind of suppression comes from news outlets. There are two forms of news suppression. One, banning advertising the news station deems “inappropriate.” Two, reporting negative news for one candidate, only positive news for the other.
When the overseers from YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter decide that the page of one candidate should be closed until that candidate removes a certain advertisement, that is news suppression. When the New York Times, National Public Radio, or the Washington Post focuses only on the positive traits of one candidate over the negative traits of another, that is news suppression.
If people hear only one perspective, only one point of view, over and over again, alternative voices are suppressed. In a world where information bombards us, we must ask, “What am I not hearing?” “Are there alternative sources of news?” and “How will I speak out, not allowing my voice, my vote, to be suppressed?”
For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, President of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking truth wherever it’s found.
I was listening to Chuck Colson’s book “Born Again” when he was telling the story of how he as a republican skewed voting. The techniques were used back in the 1970’s and some still to this day go unpunished and undetected even though unethical politicians on both sides use them.