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Combatting Authoritarianism Without Feeding It
As legacy outlets come under fire from both the far-right and disillusioned left, journalists face an impossible task: reporting the truth without handing ammo to an anti-media regime.
Isabel Ravenna
May 27, 2025
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I was scrolling through The New York Times a few days ago when a headline caught my attention: “Trump Gives Commencement Address at West Point, Stressing a New Era.” The dek? “The president said the graduating cadets would enter a service no longer subject to ‘absurd ideological experiments,’ or ‘nation-building crusades.’” Now, I’d just watched a video of that very speech, and I seemed to remember an incredibly self-celebratory deliverance. Within four minutes of the address, the president patted himself on the back: “I rebuilt that army and I rebuilt the military. And we rebuilt it like nobody has ever rebuilt it before in my first term.”
But beyond this egregious display of self-worship, I also happened to recall tangents of golf tournaments and trophy wives — which is obviously inappropriate, and if it were any other guest speaker, they probably would’ve been rushed off-stage.
The right is frustrated with corporate media’s “woke” agenda. Meanwhile, parts of the left are frustrated with legacy outlets’ refusal to call out authoritarianism more bluntly. And I don’t like to criticize the media because I respect legacy news. But for long, the far-right weaponized claims of bias to discredit the truth, leaving us in a world where simple facts just aren’t cutting it.
“It’s easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled.”
“Just report the facts,” Trump-supporters utter while changing the channel from NBC News: Sandy Hook coverage to Alex Jones’s Infowars. Now, corporate media continues to report “the facts” — all while being targeted with accusations of an “evil woke agenda.” Afraid of sounding biased, they’re defenseless — just where Laura Loomer wants ‘em.
The NYT, backed into a corner by its own ethical and editorial standards, can’t defend itself — not when its accusers follow Fox News on Instagram, watch it on YouTube, receive the weather report from it and power-walk on treadmills to the voices of Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson and Ben Shapiro. So, the NYT will continue reporting the facts — defamed, watered-down facts, hoping they’ll be consumable for power-walkers who roll their eyes at the headline before hitting “play” on Fox & Friends.
Rupert Murdoch has promised his far-right fandom that, if they continue asking questions (and let Tucker Carlson answer them) — they’ve critically thought their way to a sound conclusion.
“Only the mob and the elite can be attracted by the momentum of totalitarianism itself. The masses have to be won by propaganda.”
Perhaps the NYT’s tactic would’ve been an adequate plan of action at any other point of American history. But, as it turns out, the current US president is perfectly capable of announcing that a 9-0 Supreme Court vote not in his favor, was unilaterally in his favor — while sitting in the Oval Office, in front of cameras, from his mouth to America’s ears. And just like that, the country’s misinformed.
Wary of sounding partisan, would it be the most fair-and-balanced of me to publish, “Despite Trump’s Claim, SCOTUS Did NOT Rule in His Favor?” I’d say so. But I can read it already:
Trump already calls for legacy media to “lose their licenses.” How long before he targets smaller, independent media outlets — like this one?
These are not normal times. The president regularly discredits legacy outlets, even as they continue to publish non-partisan headlines — perhaps in hope that their basic reports will lure in ignorant readers and get them with some subtle truths. But we must admit that such neutral reporting about this level of calamity only amplifies the lies.
“If the people in the media cannot decide whether they are in the business of reporting news or manufacturing propaganda, it is all the more important that the public understand that difference, and choose their news sources accordingly.”
So people are done with corporate media — fine. But what happens when Fox holds onto the crown of America’s most-watched news network? The rise of pseudo-news outlets and far-right influencers will continue filling the vacuum.
Classic objectivity — just stating facts — is no longer effective when an entire portion of the population doesn’t accept facts as objective. Here lies a gap in the market: We don’t need to abandon classic reporting and objective headlines, but perhaps journalism must evolve — reporters don’t need to become activists, but to adapt: clearer framing, stronger context, tighter headlines and more audience awareness.
I still believe in legacy media. But belief alone won’t cut it. We have to evolve — before the only news left is propaganda.
“I think that Fox News is a bit schizophrenic.”
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