Since time immemorial, media have been a vital part of political communication to the public since they teach democratic ideas and institutions to all and sundry in society. Since the 1930s, when radio became widely popular and available, their messages as a media platform have traditionally impacted the public’s attitudes and actions (Ross et al., 2021). Similarly, today’s encroachment of digital media, such as the internet, is the chief source of political information, for instance, in presidential campaign news (Rosenberg & Roose, 2019). As a result, media and politics developed into institutions that were, in fact, complementary and interdependent. Media packaged, discreetly altered, and disseminated the political message after politics gave the raw ingredients. The idea is evolving today, and the game’s rules have progressively changed from credible news to fake news. Therefore, the objective of media outlets and personnel to have a high number of views and likes from audiences is a variable that has shifted stance in political communication.
First, television has historically contributed to the political process by promoting political integrity. Thus, according to Birch and Van Ham (2017), it had a number of long-term effects on political procedures and their results, as opposed to the older, journalistically approved reporter position, which involved relaying and narrating political events to the viewers as though from outside the occurrences, today they have assumed a central role in political communications.
As such, television rapidly transitioned from its initial roles as an event observer and a source of narratives to one of defining and creating political reality. For example, President Nixon resigned as a result of pressure from the public after the demystification of the Watergate scandal (Watergate and Public Broadcasting, 2020). The hearing coverage on live broadcasts is noteworthy and a memorable event in the history of media and politics. Public television’s ability to show government affairs programs had been called into doubt in the years before the broadcast due to criticism from the Nixon Government. For example, no television network had ever shown a whole hearing in prime time prior to the advent of C-SPAN (Watergate and Public Broadcasting, 2020). This approach significantly increased the number of people watching public television since it allowed viewers to develop their conclusions from the facts.
Second, social media has recently altered the composition, scope, and sophistication of political data to a fake domain. Since social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram make it possible to share information widely, there has been a rise in concern about its influence, particularly on political events (Olan et al., 2022). The essential principles are ingrained in the ideas of accurate communication and the notions of truth in cascade news and confidential material.
On Sunday, December 4, 2016, a gun-firing incident took place in a pizza parlor in northwest Washington, D.C. The store was packed with families and was located in a bustling but calm retail area. A guy entered the store with a firearm and started firing. This was brought on by the Twitter network being used to distribute false information (Simpson, 2017). A bogus tweet that was extensively circulated online claimed that this pizza parlor served as the headquarters for a pedophile sex operation that included Hillary Clinton and other politicians (Simpson, 2017). Right-wing activists who thought the rumors were real began to threaten the owners of the pizza restaurant. Therefore, social media can be detrimental to communicating an image of politicians that often breeds contempt and hate.
Third, social media platforms with millions of users worldwide, like TikTok and Facebook, are being infiltrated by high-quality deepfakes that have tainted the false image of renowned politicians. A deepfake is an illegal, malevolent, actor-created digital doppelganger of a person. They are made using deep learning artificial intelligence, which swaps out a person’s likeness with a synthetic version. It may mimic words, movements, and feelings. For instance, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, was shown in a social media video ordering his people to down their firearms as the Russian attack on Ukraine began in March 2022 (Farish, 2022). A short while later, the genuine Zelenskyy published a Facebook video exposing the earlier post as a staged hoax. Hence, such malicious information communicates worldwide political divides between nations.
Therefore, the media has made a tremendous contribution to the political domain. Ensuring the integrity and accountability of politicians have shaped and bridled some characters of politicians. Unfortunately, the media has also communicated the political divide resulting from fake news and deep fakes. Thus, it has created hate and spite towards the politicians mimicked. For example, the fake tweet on Hillary Clinton’s Pedophile allegations and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine’s directive of downing firearms by his army are some instances where the media have created an uproar. Therefore, it can be deduced that media has had more adverse impacts than benefits in terms of political communication.
Generally, today, the enthusiasm to gain more viewership and likes from media affects politics and public engagement in a variety of ways, both good and bad. Nevertheless, political participation should take into account the crucial role that the media plays in politics and election campaigns. As such, news reports and media outlets should take a core responsibility in ensuring that relied information is credible and verifiable. This will curb the instances of spreading malicious information that often hurts people. As a result, it will ensure that media continues to play its critical role in overseeing and restoring the sanity of people.
References
Birch, S., & Van Ham, C. (2017). Getting away with foul play? The importance of formal and informal oversight institutions for electoral integrity. European Journal of Political Research, 56(3), 487-511. Web.
Farish. K. (2022). Political Deepfakes: Social media trend or genuine threat?DAC Beachcroft. Web.
Olan, F., Jayawickrama, U., Arakpogun, E. O., Suklan, J., & Liu, S. (2022). Fake news on Social Media: the Impact on Society. Information Systems Frontiers. Web.
Ross, A., Chadwick, A., & Vaccari, C. (2021). Digital media and the proliferation of public opinion cues online: Biases and vulnerabilities in the new attention economy. The Routledge Companion to Political Journalism, 241–251. Web.
Rosenberg, M., & Roose, K. (2019). Trump campaign floods web with ads, raking in cash as democrats struggle. The New York Times. Web.
Simpson, I. (2017). Man pleads guilty in Washington pizzeria shooting over fake news. U.S. Web.
Watergate and Public Broadcasting. (2020). American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Americanarchive.org. Web.