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Helen’s Place LLC Update: May 1, 2023
There’s a debate raging about whether or not Fox News will regain its footing after firing Tucker Carlson, their star broadcaster, after they lost the defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Machines that cost them 787.5 million dollars in damages.
This case illustrated that although Americans, including companies, have First Amendment rights to free speech, the notion that you can deliberately lie, with complete disregard for the truth, to defame a person or company is illegal, unethical, and could cost you money.
Some say that American’s don’t appreciate being lied to by people trying to gain or hang on to power. But is this really true?
At center of the Fox justification for lying, is the notion that their viewers demanded that they tell them what they wanted to hear or they would leave and go to another network like Newsmax. In fact, now that Tucker has been fired, there’s reporting that viewers are leaving Fox for other right-wing media sites.
Does this mean that people form an opinion, and then seek out information that just reinforces what they already believe?
This begs the question – How many voters actually do their best to watch speeches and interviews, or respond first hand to events happening in real time, to form their own opinions on an issue, rather than watch and repeat hearsay on Facebook, TikTok and other social media platforms?
There’s evidence that the later may be truer than previously thought, as the hopeful, new civil rights movement is emerging. This is exemplified by Justin Jones and Joan Baez, bringing together the old and young from right and left political groups, to fight for truth and justice.
As time passes, it’s becoming clearer that for more than half the U.S. voting population, especially young people, propaganda won’t work, no matter how much politicians and pundits twist the truth.
The evidence shows that the 2022 Midterm Elections backfired against lying politicians, and 2024 will be no different.
Saying a lie or mistruth often enough and expecting people to believe you, only works so far on the weak minded, but for scrappy free-thinking Americans – they don’t need manipulation on either side of the political divide to smarten up, or be told how to vote.
For a solid percentage of Americans, people who speak in inflammatory, false, rhetoric are not appreciated, because life is hard enough as it is, without bringing lies and hysterics into the mix as demonstrated often by the bad behavior of Marjorie Taylor Green.
The majority of Americans will continue to resist disinformation, and fight for mental well-being, justice and physical safety as well as against prejudice, racial injustice and gun violence.
Yes, the New Civil Rights Movement is likely to grow stronger as the 2024 election nears.
According to Wikipedia, the last Civil Rights Movement was one of the tenants of the golden age of journalism between 1950 and 1970, and It’s miraculous to see it returning.
Key points from journalist standards and rules that seem especially relevant center around truthfulness, accuracy, accountability and impartiality.
Related audio/video recording:
Stephen Colbert Interviewing Joan Baez on the Late Show where she reflects on running into Justin Jones at the airport. This harkens back to the civil rights movement, people power – “No Justice, no Peace.”
YouTube, Stephen Colbert, April 13, 2023
“Joan Baez: Singing with Justin Jones, Traveling with Dr. King, and Drawing Upside Down”
Other related article you may be interested in:
Justin Jones and Gloria Johnson, representatives of the “Nashville 3” protesters meeting with Joan Baez. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson were thrown out of the Tennessee State Legislature temporarily after protesting gun violence.
The Tennessean, Marcus K. Dowling, April 10, 2023, “Joan Baez meets Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones at Nashville International Airport”
Helen’s Place LLC, March 31, 2023,
“In Education Culture Wars – Actions Speak Louder than Words”
Helen’s Place LLC is an information and educational materials company celebrating English Language Arts, Cognitive Science and the love of birds. It’s the maker of printed instructional, educational, and teaching materials for children and adults in the field of English Language Arts and Cognitive Science.
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