C-SPAN's Public Affairs Events segment critiques media monopolies and social media algorithms for distorting free expression, citing a manipulated campaign clip on police defunding that fueled polarization. The analysis highlights how visual biases and profit-driven outrage create echo chambers, eroding trust in Congress and driving partisan gridlock over immigration and healthcare. Ultimately, the episode promotes C-SPAN's unfiltered coverage of upcoming proceedings, including legislation on a Reagan National Airport collision, the swearing-in of Clay Fuller, and debates on the Iran War and the 25th Amendment. [Automatically generated summary]
Transcriber: nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo
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Freedom to Distort Truth00:05:59
to our country's sovereignty.
But with the freedom to inform comes a freedom to distort the truth.
I don't think it's an accident that the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights was top of mind for our framers in protecting liberty.
The Declaration of Independence sought to liberate its citizens from oppressive control and to grant them unalienable rights.
With this declaration came the Constitution, including our right to expression as the First Amendment.
We've always had extremes on the left and the right, but they didn't really shape the entire mainstream.
Those principles of free speech that we care about, allowing people to engage in the marketplace of ideas, those principles are diluted if only two or three major companies have that mouthpiece.
With the current proliferation of both verified and unverified media sources, it's nearly impossible to avoid misinformation.
So when I was running for mayor, there was the murder of George Floyd.
I said, well, if what you're talking about when you say defund the police is reducing the dependency on downstream policing, then sure.
But if what you're saying is abolishing the police department, absolutely not.
So they took that clip and all they said was, should we defund the police?
Absolutely.
They put billboards all over the city of Long Beach because they took one clip out of context.
When facts are made to shape narratives, we undermine the original intent of our free press.
Division in general isn't really new in America.
The first publicly televised presidential debates between Kennedy and Nixon are widely considered a turning point in political media.
Those who listened to that debate thought Nixon was the clear winner, but those who watched it felt that Kennedy was the victor there.
That taps into our humanness, and there is a visual bias to the media.
The ability to have millions of people watching at once incentivized tactics such as charismatic body language and simple slogans over the factualness of their policies.
It didn't necessarily tell people how to think, but it certainly told them what to think about.
It creates a way for people to conduct the war.
You want some groups to behave a certain way, and so you have to villainize others.
And if you leave out something and people don't know, how can they take that into consideration?
I don't think a tech monopoly should be deciding what the American citizens get to hear and what they don't get to hear, particularly given your heavy ideological bias.
How far can the government go to control what we are exposed to?
That is a concern that was shared by the founders, and it's perhaps more relevant than it's been in decades.
Misinformation is used as a political tool right now to discredit people.
It is influencing speech through more coercive mechanisms.
So you have to have this separation between media and government.
The reality is that when somebody like the FBI or somebody like a deputy assistant to the president makes a statement, that statement carries force.
That's just the reality.
8% of the people have a great deal of trust from the media.
That's just below Congress, which is four.
Those are very problematic when you think about how's our democracy doing.
With the rise of the internet and social media, it's the easiest it's ever been to create and consume content.
With that being said, we shouldn't be so quick to accept the information we're being fed.
Social media doesn't care how you actually feel because every minute that you're online, they're getting paid.
The outrage sparked online doesn't stay online.
It seeps into people's personal lives and weakens the structure of our nation as a whole.
Disinformation and misinformation creates havoc in a community.
Danger with social media is that we are at risk of getting into little thought bubbles, like it's becoming a shorter, shorter period of time, so we influence someone toward extremism.
Disinfection harms friends, families and the relationships with the people you hold dear.
It was really heartbreaking.
How could?
How could, one's personality change so drastically just from the nonstop flood of media that he consumed?
Who was this man occupying my dad's body?
The politics became more important to him than his, than his family.
Not only does this affect communities but, at a higher level, can hinder our government's ability to compromise for the good of our nation.
Congress simply is paralyzed right now through partisan gridlock, so making any kind of progress is still needed.
Americans are still vilifying and demonizing each other for the differences in their vote or the differences on immigration or the differences on health care, and I think that we just need to be much more open to opinions that don't confirm our beliefs.
We want a robust clash of ideas, and that's what a press is supposed to generate, and you're going to get some different facts and then you can make up your own mind about it.
People are exhausted by those that are being dishonest with them.
I don't care about what party you're in, I care, if you're a good person and if you're honest with me, even if we have different perspectives well, we can work something out.
I think the most important thing is recognizing that polarization doesn't start with the person.
It starts with the media they're being fed.
What is at the forefront of millions of people's lives is the media, and when the majority of information available to the public is heavily polarized, it's evident our nation will follow suit.
Democracy Unfiltered Live00:04:00
Be sure to watch all of the winning entries on our website at Studentcam.org.
C-span, bringing you democracy unfiltered.
You're watching C-span Democracy unfiltered.
C-span brings you democracy unfiltered, in real time.
Democracy doesn't take sides.
Neither does C-span in a world full of opinions.
C-span gives you direct access to the people and institutions that shape our nation, unfiltered coverage of Congress as laws are debated and decided, live proceedings from the United States Supreme Court, presidential speeches, briefings and historic moments as they happen.
No commentary, no spin, no agenda, just the democratic process presented in full, without interruption, so you can watch the debates, hear every word and make up your own mind.
C-span's respected non-profit service has offered Americans unfiltered gabble-to-gabble coverage of their government in action.
C-SPAN, bringing your democracy unfiltered.
C-SPAN is brought to you by the cable, satellite, and streaming companies that provide C-SPAN as a public service.
Here's a look at some of our live coverage today on the C-SPAN networks.
At noon Eastern, the House returns after a two-week district work period during Easter and Passover.
Members will take up legislation in response to last year's mid-air collision at Reagan National Airport.
The House will also swear in new Congressman Clay Fuller, who succeeds Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia's 14th District.
Over on C-SPAN 2 at 8:30 a.m., the American Public Transportation Association holds its legislative conference, featuring remarks by Congressman James Walkinshaw and Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester.
At 10, the Senate gavels in to continue work on U.S. District Court nominations in Arkansas and Texas.
On C-SPAN 3 at 10:30, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries attend a Day of Remembrance ceremony for Holocaust victims.
Then at 1245 p.m., Federal Reserve Board Governor Michael Barr speaks at a forum about investing in rural America.
And at 6 Eastern, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, discusses foreign policy priorities at Georgetown University after failed peace talks with Iran and the blockade of Iran's ports.
You can also watch all of these events on C-SPAN Now, our free mobile app, and online at c-span.org.
Coming up on Washington Journal this morning, along with your calls and comments live, Sudikshakochi, congressional reporter for The Hill, previews what lawmakers will be working on this week as Congress returns from a two-week recess.
And then Bobby Kogan of the Center for American Progress and the Mercatus Center's Veronique DeRouche will discuss President Trump's annual budget request for fiscal year 2027.
Later, the National Review's Noah Rothman will talk about the Iran War and political news of the day.
And NAACP President and CEO Derek Johnson on the Iran War and the NAACP's call for President Trump to be removed under the 25th Amendment.
Washington Journal is next.
Join the conversation.
The Washington Journal for April 14th, President Trump commented on his ongoing feud with Pope Leo on Monday.
Asked if he will apologize for disparaging remarks against the pontiff on social media.
This after the Pope directed very sharp comments to the president about the war in Iran.
President Trump saying he would not apologize for those comments, saying there was nothing to apologize for.