A Source of Information or Manipulation?
Introduction.
The role of media is imperative to the modern democratic process. According to McNair(2003), most people news media is a dominant source of information about the world they tell us what matters, who matters so the quality of democracy depends upon the information media provides. Now the big questions do all the information we get from mainstream media is genuine? Or some views are dominant while others are excluded.
The story Narrated by Piker.
Phillips approached Sandmann but well before that his group and Sandmann’s, which had taken part in the anti-abortion rally, were confronted by a third group that appeared to affiliated with the Black Hebrew Israelites movement. Video shows members of religious groups yelling disparaging and profane insults at the students,who taunt them in return. Videos also show the Native Americans being insulted by the small religious group. Nathan Phillips told The Washington Post that when a student stood in front of him near the Lincoln Memorial, he decided to keep singing and drumming. Other students from surrounded them, laughing and shouting, but Philiips kept beating his drum. There is a student seen naked and mobilizing his fellow students but Phillips but Phillip keeps on beating his drums.
One of the kids, Sandmann, gets up in Phillips’s face and smirks, unaffected by Phillips’s drumming. It looks like a straightforward story of privileged racist white kids harassing a peaceful Native protester. I’ve now watched footage of several different angles on the incident closely, it’s impossible to know with certainty who has a more accurate read of the situation. It’s clear some of the kids were confused by Phillips; it’s equally clear some of the kids were making racist gestures. We don’t know what was in Sandmann’s head when he got in the elder’s face. Piker’s argument is not clear since Phillip is not seen having any confrontation with Sandmann. Sandmann is only blocking Nathan’s way and he is smiling.
The false dilemma is one of the fallacy used where the writer argues there is a confrontation between Nathan Philip and Sandmann. This could convince the reader that Sandmann, being a student was a victim, which was not the case. That is false analogy.
Another fallacy used is hasty generalization where readers are made to belief that Philip was incorrect compared to the student. The writer argues without gathering sufficient evidence but generalized it as pure racism on the part of Nathan Philip.
Conclusion.
Based on the footage the writer misunderstood the information, I conclude that media manipulate information and they do not go further investigating the scenarios on both sides thus making one side been blamed, like the case of Nathan and the students.
Works Cited.
McNair, Brian. News and Journalism in the UK. Routledge, 2003.
‘Nathan Phillips and Covington Christian School.” https://youtu.be/GKZn2e9wDBs?t=2