Please read this NYT article How Twitter Killed the First Amendment and offer your reaction and take-aways. What is the role of a "Free Press" in a democracy? How has this changed since the 2016 election? Please read this NYT article How Twitter Killed the First Amendment and offer your reaction and take-aways. What is the role of a "Free Press" in a democracy? How has this changed since the 2016 election? 
The free press is in a democracy to let the people know what is going on in the government. It is supposed to help the people stay informed or know a little bit about controversial topics. I agree with this article on the problems towards the press. People do threaten the press and journalists today, so they are not protected. Since Trump has been elected, the press has been under more scrutiny. He attacks everything that the press and news reporters report on him that is controversial, even if some of it is true. Likewise, the press does not like Trump for this. Trump tries to get people in Journalism and television positions fired or removed, which is not okay. The relationship between the press and the president has ruined a lot for the presses freedom to write without a constant backlash.
ReplyDeleteThe role of "Free Press" in a democracy is the outlet which the people can project their opinions, concerns, and beliefs to the public. There is a lot of diversity in the way each and every person thinks so "Free Press" is great because it gives a platform for all perspectives to be heard. "Free Press" is a blessing, but also can act as a curse. Things that could be considered to fall under the 'curse' include fake news. This has become a major issue because this lack of regulation causes confusion of what is really occurring in our nation. Since the 2016 election, Twitter has had a larger presence in politics; in specific, Donald Trump's usage has made these shifts. The nation is now left to question how to approach balancing the first amendment in such a technologically based political system.
ReplyDeleteFree press is an essential factor of a democracy, for it is a direct representation of freedom and the allowance of differentiating opinions. By having free press in a democracy, it allows for journalist and reporters to “check” and challenge those in political power. Free press is not always about attacking those in power, but more so about trying to keep the public informed of their activities and decisions. This is useful because it encourages those in power to have some level of transparency as well as accountability for their actions. In terms of what we are witnessing in terms of press and President Trump, I feel that there is an active attack from this administration towards the press. Anything that Trump views as negative or in disagreement to his administration, he discredits and labels as “fake news” on Twitter. I think that this “President vs. The Press” state that we are currently in is dangerous for two reasons. The first being that the President has actively harmed the press by threatening to revoke licences and encouraging his base to stop supporting news mediums that go against him. The second danger is that excessive restrictions on the press mimic actions taken by propaganda fueled dictatorships and we never want to approach something like that in our democracy. Ultimately, the President should use the press as a tool to communicate with all people, not just his unwavering base. Also, instead of bashing networks, newspapers, and public figures who critique him, Trump should use these critiques (supported by our free press) as a way to improve his relationship with the people and his leadership style.
ReplyDeleteIn reaction to this article, I disagree with the title "How Twitter Killed the First Amendment" because I believe that Twitter has actually promoted free speech and free press. The article talks about how the press is under scrutiny and how people feel threatened to publish their mind on social media, but I think it is the opposite. Since the election, people have felt more individuality and confidence in posting their political opinion through social media. On another note, it is true that people are confronted with opposing opinions after posting their private thoughts on social media, but that is true for both sides of the political spectrum. I believe that the long-lasting role "free press" his played on american society is imperative to the success of democracy and the spreading of ideas. Our nation is built on the idea of free speech and the right of having opinions, and I believe that through Twitter and other social media sites, our democracy isn't diminishing, but it is growing in strength through free speech.
ReplyDelete"Free press" is our democracy is something that the United States is very blessed to have because it allows not only for the citizens to speak their minds, but also for the political figures to inform them about controversial topics or what is really occurring in the country. I firmly believe that Twitter has completely changed American's will to speak their minds. However, it makes no sense to me that this article says Twitter killed the First Amendment. Since the last election, people have used social media as a means of posting their opinions and feelings, while only sometimes attacking those in power. That is a part of free press, and one cannot stop people from releasing their thoughts. Trump has completely changed the meaning of free press through his constant attacking of the news and social media. Just because he disagrees with whatever the topic is, he says that all news is "fake" and tries to take away and diminish the power of free press, which goes against our democracy. The president and the press must coincide and get along in order for the US to not end up with major damage. Trump cannot be threatening the press. It is uncalled for and will do no good. Once Trump stops demeaning the press, we can get back on track towards our pure democracy and strength on all levels.
ReplyDeleteBecause our democracy was built off of the concept of Free Press, we have done everything we can to protect our First Amendment. This is one of our fundamental rights that the Supreme Court has the most cases about. We believe that we have the right to talk about our opinions but only without threatening the lives of others. Social Media has become the main medium from communicating these thoughts. Press conferences and other forms of communicating with the people are slowly starting to die because no one has the time anymore. I believe that after the 2016 election, twitter and Facebook have become a realm of ideas. Twitter has become Donald Trump's form of spreading his word. This can either be to his benefit or not. I do not believe that Social Media has killed the first amendment due to the overbearing threats of foreigners and censorship. Being an avid user of social media, I do not see these threats as long as the comments being said are in a polite manner. Since so many people were outraged with the 2016 election, the boost of opinionated posts skyrocketed. Many people wanted to let the world know what they thought so they felt inclined to post to social media. Because our world revolves around the importance of social media, I believe that maybe in a few years these "threats" to our first amendment will become greater and our access to Free Speech and Press will eventually decline.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, free press is a must in a democracy. Most true democracies including the United States are built off the concept of the right of free press and free speech. Without free press, many people would be persecuted for speaking out for things they do not believe in. If the only thing that is published is news that is biased towards the government then no one would believe what is published. While the truth isn't always what we want to hear, free press allows for the truth to be published and for us to hold the powerful accountable. The 2016 election did not kill free press. Although it did hurt it slightly, free press is still a constitutional right. People used social media during the 2016 election to speak there mind and hold the powerful accountable. However, many people started to stretch the truth a bit and this is where fake news came about. Fake news only exists because people wanted to create drama that isn't already present. In my opinion, Trump has both been too critical of the media and the media has been too critical of Trump. This has started a war between the two because both just want to see the other fall.
ReplyDeleteThe role of free press in democracy is to keep the right of free speech. Free speech is one of the main things that keep democracy alive. Without free speech, you have authoritarian type government with all types of censorship. This is not what the founding father attended America to be. However, this is a whole new world since the writing of the Constitution. People have used the 1st amendment for no good. They have use it to protect themselves from being accused of corruption. I believe law makers should make amendments to adapt to the changing environment to protect Americans.
ReplyDeleteFree press can be most easily defined as freedom of journalists to publish their political or ideological opinions as well as news without restriction from the government. Freedom of expression is crucial to a democracy because it allows for the easy flow of ideas as well as the ability to make informed decisions based on that acquired knowledge. Free press can almost be seen as “the backbone” of the nation because it allows for the country to be more aware with the happenings of the world. I do agree with the argument that this article posed about the journalists’ ability to vocalize their ideas without fear of possible threats or violence is not necessarily possible today. This is from the development of technology over the past decade. With this in mind, free press was initially an asset to this country, but has been corrupted by negative influences, such as fake news, becoming more prevalent. Fake news has materialized over the years through the use of social media such as Twitter. Although, some of the supposed fake news may only be what President Trump doesn’t want to be spread about himself, so he attempts to suppress some of this harmful information. A “war” is currently occurring between the President and the press; each is trying hard to win against the other. Another reason that the press has been scrutinized so much in addition to tensions involving the President Trump worry that various dictatorships have caused from their ability to meddle in U.S. affairs. Significant precautions have been taken despite the cost of eliminating a person’s right of speech. Today, handling the First Amendment is much more complex than when the United States was founded. Decisions need to be made by the President so that the balance of freedom regarding the right of expression is maintained.
ReplyDeleteFree press is necessary in the United States because it includes free speech, which embodies what our founding fathers intended our country to be: free. Free speech exists so people do not have to worry about everything they say. One of the roles of free press is to make sure that everyone has a voice. It ensures that our country stays a democracy rather than an authoritarian type of government. I do not think that the 2016 killed free press, but it did negatively affect it. Either way, free press is still a constitutional right. For example, people took to Twitter during the 2016 election to express their disapproval of both candidates. This has been on-going for about a year, and now there is a "battle" between Trump and the media on who can destroy the others reputation first.
ReplyDeleteThe role of the press has always been and should always be to act as a platform for the truth. It is the press' job to keep the people informed and to tell them what their leaders are not telling them. If needed, the press needs to act an exposing force in the face of corrupt politics. Since the 2016 election, the press has tilted heavily towards its biases with multiple different news sources toxically broadcasting their opinions instead of the necessary emphasis on the truth. Nonetheless, the press still has the right to broadcast whatever they want. A restriction or boundaries placed on what they can broadcast what violate the entire principle of free press. No matter what the president wants to say about the unfairness of the press slandering him, it is still their right to do so.
ReplyDeleteThe role of the free press is to maintain transparency between the government and the people in a democracy. In the past, this has contributed to the uncovering of scandals like Watergate or the Iran-Contras. However, some may argue that the free press has gone downhill in recent years. It is possible the information age has contributed to the rise in misinformation that has plagued US politics for the last few years. There is a critical lack of context in US politics, no one ever interactsb between parties, when they do it is on websites like twitter, not exactly a conduit for scintillating debates. Confirmation bias has led to a greater split between the right and left, people are retracted into their own communities, echo chambers, spreading both lies and truth on the internet to further their own cause. Freedom of speech and press is the ideal America should strive towards, but the information age is severely limiting the ability of the press to accurately and, in an unbiased manner, portray events.
ReplyDeleteFree press in the United States is meant to sustain the first amendment. Free speech and the freedom to publicly say whatever is something that keeps a democracy thriving. If free speech were not to exist the US, our country would resemble China or North Korea, where censorship is highly controlled. However, people have absolutely ruined the privilege of free speech. For example, the Westboro Baptist Church uses free speech to slander gays and fallen soldiers. That is something the founding fathers would be angered over. People use free speech to gain some sort of advantage they don't have. Something should change, and lawmakers in D.C. should advocate for a few changes.
ReplyDeleteThe free press serves many purposes in a democratic government. It is primarily used to keep citizens informed on all things government. Certain news outlets stand behind certain opinions, such as the right-wing Fox News. Such opinionated outlets tend to both praise and criticize select pieces of the government as well as certain political figures. Most recently, the free press has been personally called out by our current president Donald Trump. Accusations of "fake news" are not exactly unconstitutional, but one could argue that Donald Trump's criticism of the free press is threatening to the first amendment. Free speech is necessary for a democracy to function, and should not be suppressed by a leader.
ReplyDeleteFree press allows for the general public to formulate their own reactions to news as it happens, not as the government says it happens. Having free speech is something our country should be grateful to have. Our First Amendment guarantees us the right to speak, read and write freely without fear of government retribution, and it keeps the government from demanding the press turn over to them he names and sources of their information. This is important because we have a right to know what is going on around us, especially with our government. However, this privilege has been taken advantage of by some external sources of the press. President Trump has used Twitter to criticize news outlets, such as CNN, by calling them "fake news." The president should calmly address these problems privately instead of intense backlash from his tweets. The press should not be bias towards anything they are covering, and people should not fight the press in what they are covering. But most of the time, free press is one of the things that can keep a healthy democracy growing. Without free speech/press, you have no democracy.
ReplyDeleteIn a democratic society, a free press is a necessity. A free press serves to vital roles in the nation. The first is to provide easy and accessible information for the public. This information allows the people to stay informed and make decisions or choices based off their opinions. Without a free press, the people would only know what the government wants them to know, which leads to serious problems. The second role a free press serves is to keep an eye on government policies and officials. The press functions as a watchdog on the government. This prevents government from acting in corrupt ways without the public knowing. The press can report on any government actions. Since the 2016 election, this has not changed. Trump may have called for the press to be limited or changed, but he is unable to act against them. The press have a constitutional right to report on what they deem is important. Trump may try to discredit news outlets with insults like "Fake News," but ultimately it is up to the people to decide what news they believe in. The First Amendment amendment is not being changed or violated, but it may appear to be. This is because there is a clash between the Press and the President.
ReplyDeleteThe role of Free Press in Democracy is essential to keep a balance between government and tyranny especially in today's day and age. The role of the "Free Press" is a understanding of a constitutional amendment that people can say, protest, and practice whatever they please as long as it doesn't incite violence. Negative and even hateful speech about the government is tolerated as well. The reason why this is such a vital part of democracy is because once a government starts to censor what people see, are allowed to say, and the channels in which they go about it is when government becomes tyranny. Also, the people are sometimes in control of holding politicians and the bureaucracies responsible for their actions.
ReplyDeleteSince the election, our free speech has been put into jeopardy by Trump who tells the people which media outlets to listen to but especially which outlets to not listen to. Why this is so detrimental to our society is because not only is he sending a message that he can just block whatever outlets that portray him in a manner that he doesn't like is against american ideals and spreads a false message to americans. Also if he continues to spew what he wants people to hear and think he will create false realities for the people that listen to him and Trump will fail to come to terms with the real world problems he is going to face.
The use of Free Press in democracy is used to protect the first amendment. It allows the people to be able to receive uncensored information about their country that if free press didn't exist, would be limited to only what the government wanted people to hear. When created it was used for a different purpose than today. From the article I understand the concerns with the loose use of the first amendment by other sources. It is concerning that other countries and people with ill intentions are using their "freedom of speech" of speech to bash others and distract from real problems that are occurring today. Free Press has changed since the 2016 election because now news sources and social media are so quick to publish things that they may or may not be true. Also the president himself utilized twitter to promote whatever his thoughts may be and sometimes those condemn the free speech of others. People are not longer able to trust news sources and social media has gotten so out of hand that it causes a discrepancy within the first amendment.
ReplyDeleteThe Free press serves two main jobs in a democracy. The first job of the press is ensure that the public is informed about the happenings of congress and the government in general. The second job of the press is to hold government/politicians responsible for their actions. During the 2016 election, it became increasingly harder/more important for the press to do their job especially their second job. It became harder for the press because of mulitple reasons, one of the main reasons being that the press was becoming more and more scrutinized for doing their job and the coining of the term "fake news". It was also hard for the press to report on candidates because some of the candidates were not to keen on doing interviews and such.
ReplyDeleteThe Free Press serves as a reaffirmation of the first amendment, that people have the right to have free speech and voice their opinions (with some exceptions). The Free Press is also a source of information covering the goings-on inside the government. It serves as a way to keep people informed and give them the knowledge needed to form their own opinions. It fact checks people such as politicians and holds them accountable. Since the 2016 election, the Free Press has become a tool to keep the people in constant confusion. Instead of pushing facts, the media and press has been pushing propaganda, and cherry picked data. And the President has discouraged some media outlets that view him critically, while endorsing others that praise him. Every news source seems to have been discredited by the government and the White House press secretaries have been the most unreliable sources of news yet. The Free Press is chaos, in which the lies and propaganda are disseminated constantly and the truth is too disoriented to make out.
ReplyDeleteIn America the free press was designed to allow people to say what they wanted without fear of persecution. It was put in place because it was believed as a natural right that all people should have. While this is true, just because you can say anything does not mean that you always should. There were plenty of things in the past election that were said that probably shouldn’t have been. Adding on to this, because of many of the comments of the election people are coming out of the woodwork and feel like things that have been widely condemned for the past several years are now acceptable. I agree with many of the points brought up in the article. I think the author was making some interesting connection and one that I took out in particular was that because Trump was so active on twitter during the campaign and now as president he has indirectly created the “trolls” that lurk in the internet and social media, which connect to the death threats and condemnation of those who speak out or criticize Trump. I can understand why the author is saying that Twitter is killing the 1st amendment.
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