War at The Hands of American Media

Think about where you consume media —why do you have to dig through small websites just to hear strong antiwar voices? 

You’d think something as important as war and peace in the world would be a bigger part of the conversation in mainstream media. But instead, the big networks and major newspapers mostly stick to the same script: they push the concept of war being necessary, intervention is justified, and military action keeps us safe.  

War Sells?

I believe that the biggest reason for this is that mainstream media is deeply tied to corporate and government interests. A lot of these networks rely on advertising money from companies that profit off war like defense contractors, weapons manufacturers, even some oil companies.

In addition, you are able to see many media companies bringing former generals, defense officials and government officials in to act as “experts,” but during this time they use it to push pro-war narratives. When you think about the perspective many media companies have, their main objective is money and war sells. The fear that we feel, the idea of conflict, and those big dramatic headlines brings the money in by attracting viewers and clicks. 

Anti-War

The perk of free expression is the ability for people to express their belief without persecution, websites like Antiwar.com and The American Conservative exist to show the other perspective even if it is unpopular. They offer perspectives that challenge the mainstream story by asking uncomfortable questions about who really benefits from war and whether all this military intervention actually makes us safer. 

What are the implications of seeing the other side of waging war? These stories about war and promoting to the general public push anti-war sentiments out  because these views don’t fit the mainstream agenda, making it seem like they barely exist.  

It’s not a coincidence that we don’t hear about these sources often because it doesn’t benefit big media companies. Should we keep consuming these sources? Sources that are only out to get views or look for smaller news websites that don’t buy into the mainstream propaganda. Do you think that if more people had access to these perspectives, would public opinion on war start to change?