I posted a meme last month on my personal Facebook page and a right-wing Facebook friend said it promoted lies (it didn’t, it was an opinion based on facts) and that posts like mine are why people have lost faith in journalism.
I responded that in normal times I would not feel the need to weigh in, but these are not normal times.
However, I considered his words and in the end decided to take down two posts I’d made in January, both memes, both political, including the one to which my right-wing Facebook friend objected.
I also deactivated my account to take a breather and think over how I act on my personal page as a citizen and journalist, or if I want to continue using social media at all given its issues around data mining, false information and political polarization, and mental health.
After I deleted the posts, I decided to write about posting and then deleting the memes, and planned to include the memes in this piece. I went back onto Facebook and searched for them, but couldn’t find them.
The first meme said something close to, “Republicans need to decide if the Second Amendment is a right or a privilege.” I posted it after Alex Pretti was shot by federal agents while attempting to protect another protester and multiple federal officials rushed to label him a domestic terrorist and accused him of brandishing the gun even though video footage showed that wasn’t true. Contrast that with the blanket pardons given to J6 protesters, some of whom violently assaulted police officers.
The second meme used vague language to describe how rights are being suppressed — “They are taking away your First Amendment… ,” etc. In the comments section, I posted reference links to back up each of the points. This was the post to which my right-wing Facebook friend objected. He asked who “they” referred to and I said the federal government. He expressed that wasn’t clear and that it was distasteful for a journalist to post, even on her personal page, something from a partisan Facebook group called Working Class Dems, and that posts like this are why people have lost faith in journalism.
I see his point on the “they.” But as for being partisan, journalists today struggle to be viewed as nonpartisan in part because truth itself has been politicized. Case in point: Do you think Biden won the 2020 election or was it stolen from Trump? I would look at the facts and report that Biden won, full stop. That alone makes me a partisan hack in the eyes of a great many.
The Pikes Peak Bulletin is not partisan, but that does not mean it is neutral – no newsroom has ever been completely neutral. The stories a news outlet chooses to tell, how it tells them – and the stories that go untold – are not neutral decisions. Whether or not party affiliation guides decisions, there are always values at play. (I’m currently reading a book on this, “The View from Somewhere: Undoing the Myth of Journalistic Objectivity,” and I’d recommend it to anyone who cares about journalism.)
Perhaps the best course then, in keeping with journalism’s ideals of fairness and accountability, is to be transparent about what those values are.
The Pikes Peak Bulletin has statements on values, vision, and mission.
If you are wondering what politics and values I bring to the Pikes Peak Bulletin newsroom as the editor: I’m a registered Independent. Any political tribalism I may have had was taken out of me when I served on the city council in Moab, Utah, from 2014 to 2018. That experience taught me that good leaders and bad actors can come from anywhere on the political spectrum, and made me a great fan of the quote from Ronald Reagan, “Trust but verify.” (That’s a long, weird story for another day.)
I’m not a formally trained journalist but started freelancing during my council term, and got more into it once I was out of office. One of the reasons I love journalism is I don’t have fiery opinions on many things (the more I look into the nuances of issues, the truer this becomes) but I do have endless curiosity and a general interest in people. I believe in democracy and that journalism is key to its success.
I posted the memes with the idea that it’s important to speak out. More and more, I have sources who won’t go on the record because they are afraid of retaliation from the current administration and its backers. I understand that, and in a few cases I’ve allowed sources to go unnamed because the current climate is so hostile and the threats are real. But the braver thing is to be named, to stand up and say, “this isn’t right” if your moral compass tells you this is so. It’s not partisan to want human rights, and the rights laid out in the Constitution, for everyone.
However, I don’t want to do anything to drive a wedge between myself and any of my fellow humans, and memes that aren’t clear and seem partisan could do more harm than good. I’m sorry I posted them and I’ll be more mindful in the future.
