In their February 23rd editorial article, the Dallas Morning News Editorial’s argument is directly in the title of their piece - “Elected Officials Have An Obligation To Avoid Spreading 'Fake News'”. The Editorial focuses on two stories spread by Texas politicians that have been proven to be false or have no reliable information in relation to illegal immigrants. The Texas Agricultural Commissioner, Sid Miller, posted a statement for the support of tougher immigration reforms when two Texans were shot by “illegal aliens”, when they had actually shot each other. The author also mentions that Texas governor, Greg Abbott, had tweeted about a mugging done by an illegal immigrant. However, upon further investigation, law enforcement discovered no illegal immigrants were involved. This falsification of news spread by what we assume to be credible politicians have garnered support for harsher immigration reforms and resulted in widespread fear of people of color.
It’s frustrating to witness politicians that citizens hold to a high standard succumb to the current misrepresentations of the diverse American population. Spreading false information does not boost their own ratings with the people, but delegitimizes their position. Wanting to fit in with the present day administration comes with a price and supporting its policies and political ideologies without verifying the truth brings backlash, as it should. Miller claims to not be “a news source” but that does not excuse him of his wrongdoings. You can not simply brush off something that would result in mass distrust of a person because you are “not a news source.” This is not the responsibility that we entrusted him with, but cowardice. Politician’s duty is to represent the people. How will the people understand these important political topics if they are given incorrect information by people they trust?
I completely agree with the author’s argument. Politicians have no right to claim the media as crooked when they themselves are the ones spreading the false information. These two accusations by respected politicians infuriates me. This false information should never have been circulated, yet it was. I want the truth; everyone wants the truth, especially in relation to the government and its policies.
Although there is no specific author mentioned, details such as the opposition to “fake news” and slander against immigrants suspects me to believe this author has a liberal viewpoint rather than conservative. Because there is no author listed, we cannot research whether this person is credible, however we can assume so due to the evidence presented in both cases in Texas. The mere fact that the author is against “fake news” suggests that this person is against lying to their audience about pertinent information on illegal immigration. This liberal viewpoint indicates that the audience would be liberals as well, however I suspect the author would like to inform all Americans about the fabrications told by today’s politicians that should be further investigated.
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