If you watched the inauguration, you witnessed a president who has made it clear that civil rights, facts, and even the truth itself don’t matter. This isn’t hyperbole; it’s a calculated strategy. Trump lied more than 30,000 times during his first term,1 and there’s no doubt he’ll continue that practice in his second term. His administration’s first days have already been marked by over 100 executive orders targeting mass deportation, immigrant round-ups, abortion bans, billionaire tax cuts, pardoning 1500 violent insurrectionists, pulling out of the WHO, the Paris Climate Accords, and numerous other harmful policies—all while he sits in office as a convicted felon.
Yet, if you relied on mainstream media coverage, you’d hardly know the extent of these actions. Instead, we’ve seen outlets like ABC following up their $15 million capitulation to Trump with puff pieces praising his “popularity.” Meanwhile, major platforms like Facebook have announced they will no longer fact-check content, paving the way for even more disinformation.
This is the state of our media today, where truth takes a backseat to profit and power. Just how bad is it, and more importantly, how do we respond? Let’s Address This.
The Death of Accountability in Legacy Media
The erosion of accountability isn’t limited to the actions of the Trump administration. It extends to the very institutions that are supposed to keep power in check.
Consider the Washington Post. Once heralded for its “Democracy Dies in Darkness” tagline, the outlet is now losing relevance at a staggering rate. According to Semafor, its daily traffic has plummeted from 24 million visits in 2021 to just 3 million in 2024.
What’s their solution? Not a renewed commitment to hard-hitting journalism, but a rebrand. The new tagline? “Riveting Storytelling for all of America.” It’s a clear pivot away from holding power accountable and toward a sanitized, non-confrontational approach—one that protects its billionaire owner Jeff Bezos and shields Trump from meaningful scrutiny.
This same Washington Post recently killed a political cartoon critical of both Trump and Bezos, further proving that they’re more interested in protecting power than challenging it. And now, as billionaire Elon Musk throws up a Nazi salute (twice)…
…this is how the Washington Post covers his speech.
What “exuberant” storytelling indeed! And to be explicitly clear—it is not my opinion that what Musk committed (twice) was a Nazi salute. Holocaust scholars, senior Jewish members of Congress like Jerry Nadler, and frighteningly even neo-Nazis online recognized it as a Nazi salute. For the Washington Post to ignore it altogether is deeply problematic. But such failures make one thing absolutely clear—we cannot rely on institutions that bow to billionaires, censor criticism, and whitewash fascism.
The Problem of Media Bias and Disinformation
Because it isn’t just the Washington Post. With Facebook’s refusal to fact-check content, the floodgates for misinformation are wide open. Media bias isn’t just a nuisance; it’s a cancer that will further corrode our democracy. When the platforms that hundreds of millions rely on for information refuse to prioritize facts, the result is a public drowning in “alternative facts” and propaganda. Again, this isn’t hyperbole. Facebook has previously admitted its refusal to factcheck and remove false information resulted in ethnic cleansing and genocide of the Rohingya in Myanmar.2 Despite this history, Facebook is exposing the American people to the same potential danger. That is horrifying.
But as I’ve long said, I don’t propose problems without also offering solutions to those problems. We are not helpless to media capitulation—we can act to uphold facts and accountability.
A Solution: Independent Media and Ground News
When I write, I make a conscious effort to ensure every fact is backed by verifiable data. One of the most invaluable tools I rely on for this is Ground News. Ground News isn’t just a media aggregator; it’s a tool for understanding the bias and reliability of the information we consume. Here’s what makes it so essential:
Transparency: Ground News gathers related articles from around the world in one place, revealing how different outlets cover the same story.
Funding Clarity: It identifies who funds a news source, exposing hidden agendas.
Bias Analysis: It shows whether an outlet leans left, right, or center—and how reliable its reporting is.
Blindspot Feed: Highlights stories that are disproportionately covered by either the left-leaning or right-leaning media. This helps you see what one side may be ignoring and gives you a more balanced view of current events, reducing echo chambers.
Unlike billionaire-owned media, Ground News is subscriber-supported, meaning it answers to its readers, not corporate interests. And right now, if you subscribe to Ground News through the below link, you’ll receive 40% off their Vantage Plan, the same one I use to help research, write, and fact check my articles before publishing.
Why This Matters
Media bias shouldn’t exist—because journalism should focus on facts and truth. Unfortunately, that isn’t the world we live in. But we are not powerless.
By investing in independent media and in tools like Ground News, we empower ourselves and our communities to better understand the world around us. We create a culture where truth matters again, where misinformation is exposed, and where the powerful are held accountable.
ABC can praise Trump. The Washington Post can rebrand. Facebook can abandon fact-checking. But we don’t have to accept this reality.
Subscribe to Ground News. Support this newsletter. Together, we can ensure that democracy doesn’t die in darkness—it thrives in the light.
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/01/donald-trump-thirty-thousand-lies/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-46105934
After the coverage of Musk's salute and the two op-eds by Thiessen and George Will today, I finally canceled my subscription to the Washington Post. Very painful, but at this point we must be realistic, and I have no more room for dishonesty in my life.
Totally enjoying what you post…just getting started on Substack and phasing out of META platforms. Keep up the good work! It is much appreciated.