The only thing free about mass media these days is they are free to lie without consequences.
GranolaGPU on
It feels like we’re living through a controlled demolition. When trust is the target and “fake news” is the weapon, the real casualty is our shared ability to understand the world. A free press can be annoying, biased, and messy but watching it be systematically discredited and dismantled is terrifying.
mustachiomegazord on
They did it to themselves
d_e_l_u_x_e on
Well you get what Oligarchs pay for.
hamockin on
Corporate press, not free press
ElsaVoss on
People keep acting like the First Amendment is untouchable, but what’s happening on the ground tells a very different story. Journalism groups and watchdogs are ringing alarm bells that press freedom in the U.S. is deteriorating not because reporters can’t publish anything, but because of political attacks, economic collapse of local media, and active intimidation from powerful actors. You;ve got nonprofits saying the press is under direct, relentless assault, with consolidation, closures, and narratives shaped by the money and influence rather than facts. That’s what bad press freedom looks like and we’re seeing it.
Adventurous-Shoe-153 on
When WaPo went from: “democracy dies in darkness” to:
“RIVETING stories from America!”
I knew we completely lost journalism.
Temporary_Secret_592 on
A hit is a hit. Hesh speaks the truth
StormOk7544 on
There’s a lot of talk of corporations and the media obeying in advance. Which is for sure happening. But voters are also obeying in advance and freely giving Trump this power. Centrists, swing voters, and the voters who tune in and out of politics here and there could all decide that they want fully empowered media and journalism. They just do not seem to care that Trump can try to get rid of people like Kimmel and block mergers or file nuisance lawsuits with DoJ to block certain headlines.
smiama36 on
We could do something about it. We could walk away from it all – social media included. But the addiction is real.
americanspirit64 on
There is nothing free… about the state of the Free Press in the US any longer. Thoughts of all shapes and sizes are now a new form of trade in the barter system that the global internet has become. The Free Press now costs a great deal of money. When I think of the Free Press in America. I think of a young Thomas Paine, sitting in a cold one-bedroom drafty apartment, writing ‘Common Sense’ -for a penny a pamphlet- by candlelight and saying great things like, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” when referring to the Revolutionary War. Words that inspired a Nation.
Of course, AI and its creators are trying to put a stop to all of that nonsense. What are future generations going to remember from our now dark days. It certainly won’t be “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” We will be more remember for the AI line, “I’ll be back”, or will it be the line I just wrote in my drafty barn studio, “One man’s AI invention, funds a thousand bad billionaires intentions.”
The Free Press in America is now about little more than profit and loss, fueled by the desire to publicly obstruct or defend us from the follies of man. It is hard to protect anyone from those who wish to turn our lives into a scheme that is all about profit and loss; about how ‘they’ can extract cash from the labors of their fellow countrymen without us knowing. That is the AI war we are fighting in a nutshell. It isn’t about what AI can do for us but we can do for those who profit from AI”.
The so called Free Press wants to replace Thomas Paine, with GPChat or OpenAI or whatever you what to call it. That is the state of the free press in the US and the headline of this post is right, and it is… not good.
Stereo_Jungle_Child on
Quality, truth/fact-based journalism is locked behind paywalls, but lies and propaganda are always free.
squidvett on
Maybe if they’d start reporting the news again instead of making the news, it would be easier to sympathize. Unfortunately these days, the press is just different brands of propaganda for information consumers of differing opinions to find and stay comfortable watching.
indispensability on
“Free press? We paid a lot of money for it!” -billionaires
lowlatitude on
It has been Jerry Springer journalism for a long time chasing profits that rewarded Trump’s behavior. Now the leopards are getting obese from all the face devouring.
T1Pimp on
What free press? It’s all right, owned by the right, afraid of the right because they are violent so they avoid upsetting them because they’re the whiniest little bitches on the planet.
Aiden2817 on
The legacy media isn’t really worth watching/reading. Print media is often no more than a headline with content that skims over the surface and doesn’t discuss anything greater than puddle deep. trump could be doing something unconstitutional, or trying to, and they’ll only report what he’s doing and not even mention that it’s unconstitutional. At this point I depend on YouTube media content creators and posts by informed laypeople to understand the information behind the gotcha headlines.
18 Comments
The only thing free about mass media these days is they are free to lie without consequences.
It feels like we’re living through a controlled demolition. When trust is the target and “fake news” is the weapon, the real casualty is our shared ability to understand the world. A free press can be annoying, biased, and messy but watching it be systematically discredited and dismantled is terrifying.
They did it to themselves
Well you get what Oligarchs pay for.
Corporate press, not free press
People keep acting like the First Amendment is untouchable, but what’s happening on the ground tells a very different story. Journalism groups and watchdogs are ringing alarm bells that press freedom in the U.S. is deteriorating not because reporters can’t publish anything, but because of political attacks, economic collapse of local media, and active intimidation from powerful actors. You;ve got nonprofits saying the press is under direct, relentless assault, with consolidation, closures, and narratives shaped by the money and influence rather than facts. That’s what bad press freedom looks like and we’re seeing it.
When WaPo went from: “democracy dies in darkness” to:
“RIVETING stories from America!”
I knew we completely lost journalism.
A hit is a hit. Hesh speaks the truth
There’s a lot of talk of corporations and the media obeying in advance. Which is for sure happening. But voters are also obeying in advance and freely giving Trump this power. Centrists, swing voters, and the voters who tune in and out of politics here and there could all decide that they want fully empowered media and journalism. They just do not seem to care that Trump can try to get rid of people like Kimmel and block mergers or file nuisance lawsuits with DoJ to block certain headlines.
We could do something about it. We could walk away from it all – social media included. But the addiction is real.
There is nothing free… about the state of the Free Press in the US any longer. Thoughts of all shapes and sizes are now a new form of trade in the barter system that the global internet has become. The Free Press now costs a great deal of money. When I think of the Free Press in America. I think of a young Thomas Paine, sitting in a cold one-bedroom drafty apartment, writing ‘Common Sense’ -for a penny a pamphlet- by candlelight and saying great things like, “These are the times that try men’s souls.” when referring to the Revolutionary War. Words that inspired a Nation.
Of course, AI and its creators are trying to put a stop to all of that nonsense. What are future generations going to remember from our now dark days. It certainly won’t be “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” We will be more remember for the AI line, “I’ll be back”, or will it be the line I just wrote in my drafty barn studio, “One man’s AI invention, funds a thousand bad billionaires intentions.”
The Free Press in America is now about little more than profit and loss, fueled by the desire to publicly obstruct or defend us from the follies of man. It is hard to protect anyone from those who wish to turn our lives into a scheme that is all about profit and loss; about how ‘they’ can extract cash from the labors of their fellow countrymen without us knowing. That is the AI war we are fighting in a nutshell. It isn’t about what AI can do for us but we can do for those who profit from AI”.
The so called Free Press wants to replace Thomas Paine, with GPChat or OpenAI or whatever you what to call it. That is the state of the free press in the US and the headline of this post is right, and it is… not good.
Quality, truth/fact-based journalism is locked behind paywalls, but lies and propaganda are always free.
Maybe if they’d start reporting the news again instead of making the news, it would be easier to sympathize. Unfortunately these days, the press is just different brands of propaganda for information consumers of differing opinions to find and stay comfortable watching.
“Free press? We paid a lot of money for it!” -billionaires
It has been Jerry Springer journalism for a long time chasing profits that rewarded Trump’s behavior. Now the leopards are getting obese from all the face devouring.
What free press? It’s all right, owned by the right, afraid of the right because they are violent so they avoid upsetting them because they’re the whiniest little bitches on the planet.
The legacy media isn’t really worth watching/reading. Print media is often no more than a headline with content that skims over the surface and doesn’t discuss anything greater than puddle deep. trump could be doing something unconstitutional, or trying to, and they’ll only report what he’s doing and not even mention that it’s unconstitutional. At this point I depend on YouTube media content creators and posts by informed laypeople to understand the information behind the gotcha headlines.
“Not good” is the understatement of the century.