Do you believe the news media misleads and manipulates people? If so, you are not alone.

We live in an age when trust in the media is at an all-time low. Statistics from 2021 indicate just over half of all Americans feel that “journalists and reporters are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations.” Not only do Americans find the media untrustworthy, but also they believe media to be outright manipulative and intentionally false.

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One news organization losing credibility in the eyes of the public is CNN. A poll from The Hill last year found that only 44% of Americans found CNN to be trustworthy, while 35% called it untrustworthy. Yet CNN calls itself “the world leader in online news and information.”

Further, despite the distrust, CNN still insists that it is far more trustworthy than right-wing competitors. In a recent tweet highlighting an article in The Washington Post,  Brian Stelter, CNN’s chief media correspondent, accused Fox News’ Tucker Carlson of “selling doubt.” The article claims Carlson manipulates his audience for profit, sowing doubt about the current Administration and stoking apocalyptic fear about the future.

In response, Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter, tweeted simply, “and you all are selling hope?”

Dorsey essentially reflected that Stelter, and his employer CNN, don’t offer hope to readers and viewers. He expounded upon this point in later replies, accusing CNN of creating conflict during the protests in Ferguson. When asked why he was defending Carlson, Dorsey insisted he did no such thing. He wrote, “not defending a thing. holding up a mirror.”

These words come as a bit of a shock. Twitter, after all, is known among conservatives as a leftist bastion. Twitter bans and censors conservatives, while allowing strident left-wing rhetoric without apparent consequences. Because of this history, one might assume that Dorsey would fully support leftist news sources like CNN.

Perhaps this signals change for Twitter. While Dorsey stepped down from his position as CEO of Twitter last year, he has since taken interesting stances against the platform he created. In particular, he strongly endorsed Elon Musk, tweeting positive sentiments when the Tesla CEO was appointed to the Twitter board. Could it be that Dorsey wants to see the platform change to better accommodate truth and freedom of speech?

What do you think? Is this a sea change for Twitter? For legacy media? Share your thoughts and prayers in the comments.

(Photo Credit: Jeremy Bezanger on Unsplash)