The media controls [American] society’s view of politics and the political parties. [American] society puts too much trust into what the media reports, [which] causes disputes between political partie

Impacts of Media on American Politics

Introduction

The American political media has changed significantly over the past two decades than in the last fifty years combined. Political media refers to any form of intercommunication or connection that promotes the creation, dissemination and sharing of political content. Politics have been changed by the rise of social networks and the widespread internet use. These networks also allow interaction and formation of political groups. Unlike traditional media, the new media has altered public opinion and perceptions about American politics. Traditional mass media like newspapers, radio and television broadcasting has been backed up by online live streaming services, videos, podcasts, webinars and digital newspapers and blogs accessed through the internet. Access to information is now easier than before. The new forms of media have a variety of implications in political practices, democracy and governance (Allcott et al.218). They have changed how politicians communicate with their followers and how the Federal institutions are run. The roles of journalists have also been changed.

Statement of the Problem

            The rise of social media has transformed how political content is created, disseminated and shared. The ease of access to information has shaped public opinion and American politics. As a result, political polarization has escalated thereby dividing the American society into the Democrats and the Republicans. The rift between these political parties has continued to widen. This has sometimes has led to hostilities and violence against minority groups in the United States.

Purpose of the Study

This study intends to establish how media shapes public opinion of American society.  It also identifies the impact of opinion polls, fake news and propaganda on political ideologies of voters. Besides, it examines the political credibility of media in America and the strategies that can be used to restore media credibility related problems.

Research Objectives

1.      To determine the impact of media, especially social networks, on public opinion and American politics.

2.      To identify how politicians use social media to communicate their political ideologies.

3.      To establish the impact of opinion polls on the perception of politicians and voters.

4.      To determine how the members of the public share news and opinions using social media and the internet.

5.      To examine the effects of fake news and propaganda influences the political alignment of the Americans.

6.      To identify the strategies that can be used to restore the political credibility of the American media.

Research Questions

a)      What are the impacts of media, especially social networks, on public opinion and American politics?

b)      What are the strategies used by politicians on social media to communicate their political ideologies?

c)      How do opinion polls impact the perception of politicians and voters?

d)     What are the effects of fake news and propaganda influences the political alignment of the Americans?

e)      What are the strategies that can be used to restore the political credibility of the American media?

Research hypotheses

a)      Political media has many negative influences on American politics.

b)      Fake news and propaganda cause a shift in the political paradigms of the Americans.

c)      Political leaders attack mass media through social networks to gain popularity and win more followers.

d)     The political credibility of American media has decreased by 30%.

e)      Opinion polls can alter the results of an election.

Literature review

The American political arena has undergone massive transformation since the last two decades. These overwhelming changes are due to the increased popularity of the use of the internet in the United States. Currently, the media, especially social networks, is a significant component in accessing public opinion and political campaigns. Radio and television are still effective in campaigning. Political leaders and their supporter are constantly posting their political views on Twitter and Facebook. During political interviews on radio and television, hashtags are used to hold discussions, ask questions and criticize each other on social platforms. The American society believes in the freedom of expression and therefore everybody takes advantage of it.

The internet has changed the speed at which information is being relayed. In the past, Americans had to wait for television shows, radio broadcast and the next newspaper to get information regarding politics.  In the age of internet and social networks information is relayed faster. Political news, propaganda and poll results can be shared all over the United States with minutes (Kerbel 16). Besides, information is published online through blogs and social media posts which can be accessed at any time without any expenses. Traditional mass media houses also have websites, YouTube channels Twitter and Facebook pages. They back newspapers, television and radio with the social networks to allow integration, active discussion and access to public opinion. Because the majority of Americans spend more time in the social networks than any other political websites, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter have become a popular source of political news (Levendusky & Malhotra 285). This is where people get the latest news and trending topics of discussion concerning politics.

The major problem with social media is the propagation of fake news, conspiracies, propaganda and rumours. In the United States, the political campaigns are influenced by any news shared by the media whether it is legitimate or fake. Fake political news that is posted daily on the media creates political confusion and changes in public opinions.  Glasser (56), argues that in the American post-truth media coverage subordinates the objective facts of the news to the beliefs and emotional appeals of the public in shaping their political opinions. Fake news may also come from prominent political leaders with large social media accounts. For instance, in 2016 President Donald Trump (at that time a Republican nominee) use his twitter account to raise false, unverified and exaggerated political claims that shifted many people opinions. He claimed that the former president Obama was no an American born citizen he also argued that the father of his fellow contender (Ted Cruz) was involved in the death of J F Kennedy (Byers & Carson 76). The unfounded claims by Trump were widely shared by cable news institutions like MSNBC and CNN. Many of such conspiracies were also widely shared on YouTube, Snapchat and Facebook.

False news websites are also in the rise in the US. For example, in 2016, a fake website called The Denver Guardian (emulating the real newspaper, The Denver Post), published a false regarding an FBI agent. It claimed that the agent that was investigating the emails of Hillary Clinton (presidential candidate) had killed his wife and then committed suicide. The post also alleged that Donald Trump had been endorsed by Pope Francis.

Internet polls also have a considerable impact on American politics. They of lead to confusion especially during the campaigns because the results of different opinion polls usually differ. The polls influence the political decisions of both politicians and their followers due to self-fulfilling prophecies (King et al. 770). The disparities exhibited by the results of different opinion polls indicate how the reliability and credibility of the media have fallen.

At present, demographic targeting is used to pass political messages to the right audience. In the United States, for instance, political ads are used to influence public opinion. Twitter and Facebook ads are the most commonly used. The politicians use Facebook and Twitter analytics to relay the agenda to a targeted audience (Fowler &Erika 30). This results in a bias in the political view of the Americans. Besides, giant media companies like Twitter, Facebook and Google focus on maximizing advertisement profits. Therefore they use political content to attract a large audience.

The media has created an intense political polarization in the US. According to the study conducted by Phew research center in 2017, social media has widened the rift between the political ideologies of the Republicans and the Democrats. They display divergent on race, taxation, government policies and even religion. This division has been escalated by the farfetched discussions on the media.

Research design and methodology

            Because this research had a wide coverage on the impact of media on politics in the whole of the United States, secondary sources were used to collect data. An in-depth review of academic journals, articles, social accounts and cable news outlets was done. Secondary sources were reliable, especially, for this research that covered a wide area.

  The data collected was analyzed using qualitative techniques. Empirical and deductive was also used in the analysis of secondary data.

Research findings

 The media has a profound impact on public opinion. Despite the confidence that Americans have on the media, it is widely used to shift their political paradigms. Politicians use political ads and demographic targeting to influence public opinion. The major corporations in the political ads business are Facebook and Twitter. Besides, media companies use political ads to attract a large audience.

            Opinion polls lead self-fulfilling prophecies during elections. They also cause confusions and changes in political ideologies among the members of because of differing results.

 In the US, it is difficult to differentiate between legitimate and fake political news, especially in social networks. Politicians that command a large audience in their social accounts, use media to perpetuate political propaganda.

            The internet has increased the speed at which political content is created and shared.

Recommendations

1.      Political ads and demographic targeting should be banned to allow free political reasoning in the US.

2.      False news websites and social media accounts should be investigated and pulled off the internet.

3.      The political opinion polls should also be removed especially during the campaigns because it alters the political paradigms of the members of the public.

4.      The politicians should stop using the media to perpetuate political stereotyping and polarizations which are likely to cause violence among the members of the public.

Conclusions

Americans rely on the media to receive political news. Social networks and political websites are the major sources of political news. Fake news and conspiracies are the major challenges of receiving political information from the media. The politicians can use their social accounts to communicate their manifesto and spread propaganda. Public opinion is influenced by the media due to the daily political discussions held such sites. Political ads and demographic targeting can be used to influence a certain group of individuals.

                                                                                   Works Cited

Allcott, Hunt, and Matthew Gentzkow. "Social media and fake news in the 2016 election." Journal of economic perspectives 31.2 (2017): 211-36.

Byers, Jason S., and Jamie L. Carson. "Trump and the Republican Congress: The Challenges of Governing." The Forum. Vol. 15. No. 3. De Gruyter, 2017.

Fowler, Erika Franklin. Political advertising in the United States. Routledge, 2018.

Glasser, Susan B. Covering Politics in a" Post-Truth" America. Brookings Institution Press, 2016.

Kerbel, Matthew Robert. Remote and controlled: Media politics in a cynical age. Routledge, 2018.

King, Gary, Benjamin Schneer, and Ariel White. "How the news media activate public expression and influence national agendas." Science 358.6364 (2017): 776-780.

Levendusky, M., & Malhotra, N. (2016). Does media coverage of partisan polarization affect political attitudes?. Political Communication, 33(2), 283-301.