Media and Elections
This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.
Good day everyone. I wanted to talk about how media affect
elections and people. Elections are going to take place in many
countries this year. Surely, the political parties will try to popularize
themselves to get more votes. They do this through campaigns,
rallies, and advertisements. It’s fine as long as political parties do
this, but things go bad when media also gets involved in this.
Before elections, news channels try to predict which party will form
the government based on exit poll, surveys and peoples participation
in political activities and try to show the possible results. This can
manipulate the actual result because after watching such news,
people can change their opinion. For example, a news channel shows
that party A has more chances of winning than Party B. This can
result in supports of party B shifting their support to party A
because they will think that if party B doesn’t win, their
participation in their campaigns, rallies and most importantly, their
votes will be a waste.
Media is regarded as the forth pillar of a democracy and media plays
a big role in ensuring that elections are held in an unbiased way. If
media doesn’t make people aware of political issues, then what is the
role of media? If they themselves are biased, how can they help in
promoting free and fair election system?
Comments (7)
I agree with you that the media is the soul of election. The media can win the election for a candidate even if he is the 'wrong' candidate because they are opinion shapers. They decide what they want people to hear and see. Sometimes a candidate with a huge financial power can buy over the mainline media and fill the whole social media with trolls such that there is a media blackout over an election.
For a free and fair election, the media must be an unbiased umpire for the sake of the masses.
Thank you.
Indeed, the media plays a crucial role in disseminating information, particularly about politics and elections. However, in order for them to carry out their responsibilities effectively, they must be free of bias and self-interest. Additionally, I think that the media represents the people, so it must act impartially and on their behalf.
Yes, I agree with you media plays a vital role when it comes to elections by providing unbiased information, equal coverage of all candidates. Educate voters and promote a free and fair democratic process.
But in a case where they are biased, is a very crucial issue. Media can promote equity, by providing fact check information, and encouraging diverse perspectives also, independent oversight. They should be able to provide responsible journalism that will encourage a fair system.
The points you have raised here are absolutely correct but only happen in ideal situation is rarely the case. The media are never unbiased in election, a closer look at media house will tell you their candidate no matter how they get to hide it.
Sometimes, media house can be paid to be silence and that is also support. If truly media can be unbiased, we will have free, fair and credible election.
I solemnly agree with you because, if the people don't know what is happening in the country, I'm afraid that the people might go into deep problems because they were not informed about what is going on in the country. These applies to election, If the people don't know the date and day for the elections, I don't really think there will be a leader in the country because nobody was informed and nobody voted. In my opinion, I will strongly tell you that the media are the number one as regards to the elections.
Yes, the media is necessary, but journalists sometimes try to take advantage of the situation and manipulate it. In a society where corrupt officials also attempt to persuade journalists to disseminate false information or negatively impact the public, anything may happen.
Hello phenomenal_technology
That is true and also, the media plays basic role when it comes to elections because they are in charge of revealing and unleashing secrets that warn people not to vote for a particular party or candidate and may likewise enlighten voters about candidates with all their philanthropic activities thereby putting in a good light. But sometimes these candidates sometimes tend to fake it just for publicity. The media is very important but sometimes not everything we see on the media is true and voters must be very careful so as not to make the wrong choice in selecting a leader who is not truly who they claim to be.
Thank you.
I agree with you phenomenal_technology, this is because the media does have a big effect on elections whenever it is fair or unfair. This is because it can make a big effect on elections to big influences on votes and make it unfair because of false advertisement
I think that the media can share opinions, as long as they aren't intentionally trying to manipulate our opinions. For example, in my country, the main/top candidates for president are Donald Trump and Joe Biden. The news can't just say something like "this person voted for Trump because he's the best." Also, they can't only provide the opinions of only Trump supporters. If they want to write a news article, they would need to leave all opinions out except for the ones being quoted. Also, they have to provide BOTH sides of an argument to be fair. Therefore, I think that all news articles should be checked for these criteria to remain unbiased and not manipulative.
Thank you, and what do you think?
You are right. News are the medium that inform us of any political issue. If they do this unbiased, then their role is achieved. News are transferring the information quickly and regardless of which political party a politician comes from they should report any opinions as they are so the voters to know the truth and the motives of each politician.
Media plays a vital role in elections, acting as a watchdog and ensuring transparency. It provides a platform for debate and informs the public about candidates and policies. For a democratic election, media freedom is crucial, allowing voters to make informed choices and participate fully in the electoral process.
Yes, I agree that the media and what it shows the public through the Internet can have an impact on the people's opinion afterwards. This is because if people see the media publicly supporting a specific candidate or political party they might decide since the media is always based on facts, evidence and the opinions of most people, that surely this particular political party is going to win this time. And then they will change their minds and go for the party the media is supporting. The media is seen as the platform of truth, where people get first hand information of the political happenings of the country. And if the media is biased, many will be deceived and tempted to support whichever candidate or party the media think will win. But if the media is unbiased, this will enable a free, just and fair election as the media will show all the different political campaigns and perspectives of the election. Thereby, giving the people a general view of the election and leaving the final choice to them.
Well-quoted, "Media is regarded as the forth pillar of a democracy."
I agree that the media, in its corrupted form, is not a fair game. Newspapers and television outlets are being paid large sums of money to report stories that support one party over another, and they are even paid to demean the opposition. The purpose of the media is to present both the positive and negative aspects of various political parties, but twisting and fabricating news in order to increase voter turnout is wrong. In my opinion, the judiciary is the best means of monitoring legislation and its execution in this situation, the legislature, the executive, and judiciary are the three primary pillars of democracy, media being the fourth, should add up the value of democracy.