“Breaking News: Another News Anchor Fired.” Since President Donald Trump took office for the second time, headlines like these have proliferated in the media, foreshadowing an alarming shift toward the suppression of free speech.
President Trump now controls the White House’s press pool rather than the independent White House Correspondents’ Association, which previously headed the task. Trump plans to handpick news outlets, likely favoring more conservative ones, to report on the White House. This initiative will invariably push a glorified depiction of the president instead of reporting from multiple perspectives.
News should not support one specific narrative but rather provide a holistic view of current events. In addition, it should help citizens discern their opinions and concerns on ongoing issues. “If neutral or critical news outlets are not allowed to cover the president, that impacts the ability of the people to know […] and make informed judgments,” says Boston Latin School AP United States Government teacher Ms. Meredith Elliott.
There has also been the erasure of words considered “woke” in government departments under the current administration, specifically those related to diversity, LGBTQ+, race and public health. Through this, the government controls what information people can access. This censorship violates people’s freedom of expression and undermines the administration’s alleged claim of restoring free speech.
Censorship in the media is also a violation of freedom of the press, especially when it comes to firing TV hosts. While these firings are mostly from private organizations who have the right to fire whomever they want, the media faces indirect pressure from the government in the form of potential cuts to federal funding.
Billionaires also affect media censorship, especially those like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg who own newspapers or social media platforms. These billionaires are able to push certain algorithms and standards and suppress content that opposes their view. In the 2024 presidential election, for example, Musk boosted pro-Trump content on X, while Bezos has promised not to publish opinion pieces which go against “personal liberties and free markets.” Ms. Elliott adds, “What information people see on social media has a huge influence on the information [they] have, […] so that’s a way that Zuckerberg and Musk can impact public opinion.”
Musk, Bezos and Zuckerberg are now forming what some call a “broligarchy” with President Trump, because they are the most influential people in the “attention economy” and have influence over media platforms. Musk has already been involved in the current administration, firing federal workers and hollowing out agencies. Billionaires should not have this much influence in the government. The fact that three of the wealthiest people on the planet now have access to government power is indicative of a dangerous shift to suppressing the voices of the common people.
Everyone’s idea of the truth will be different in this country, meaning that there isn’t a neutral truth to be revealed. Aliah Rosa (III) explains, “Everybody puts their own bias in the news so that they can tell people what they want them to hear.” Biases in the media make it necessary for people to participate in “lateral reading,” or drawing news from a variety of sources to verify the validity of the original information. People should seek to get news from radio, podcasts and multiple news outlets to obtain a holistic view of current events and form their own opinions.
Censorship in the U.S. is growing because people refuse to see issues from other perspectives. BLS Latin teacher Mr. Alan Chavero adds, “[People should] accept that others can have different different views and that it’s okay to not listen to them.” Healthy disagreement between people drives a functioning democracy, but if disagreement gets to a point where one side is being silenced, it starts a path to suppression.