Post #12

Citizen Journalism: Good or Bad? 

General Definition: the collection, dissemination, and analysis of news and information by the general public, especially by means of the internet. 

As Americans with the right of the First Amendment, it is our duty to share our opinions on the matters around us. Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and numerous online blogs are all different platforms in which government officials and the public can share their opinions. But is this freedom always a good thing?  Social media has an impact on society in the sense that it is skewing the public’s opinions, ideas, and decisions. There is always a lingering untold bias in nearly everything we see. Someone may say that they are, in fact, not biased in their opinions, yet their underlying tone would say otherwise. Those who are uneducated in the world of politics, might take the easy way out and refer to social media as a place to learn about the current popular topics in that current campaign, for example. Twitter and Facebook have grown over time as places to “learn” about what is happening in the world. But this is not the smartest approach.  If one was to click on the page of someone who follows a democratic nominee, all of the information in regards to that specific candidate will most likely be positive, and everything about the Republican nominee will be negative. This may convince that person automatically who the better choice is, and unfortunately, some people actually vote or act based on this. Even worse, the rise of “Fake News” has caused tremendous uproar all over media.