media

By Mike Moen – Producer/Minnesota News Connection

The federal immigration crackdown in Minnesota and the increasing national backlash against it produce a nonstop flow of news and social media posts, and a journalism expert hopes news consumers do their part in letting the facts win the day.

Bystanders recording controversial ICE enforcement in Minnesota have allowed the public to disseminate and compare visual evidence with arguments from the Trump administration.

Elisia Cohen, director of the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota, speaking of her own accord, points to many news organizations quickly fact-checking arrest data and details cited by federal officials.

While it may be an onslaught of information everywhere, she says social media users have to vet their sources, too.

“We have to make sure that we’re not simply buying into what is served up to us,” Cohen urged.

“What some people might refer to as the ‘Daily Me,’ the daily things that I believe and kind of already think about.”

Cohen recommends people compare their daily dose of information with multiple sources deemed trustworthy.

Other tips include looking over a source’s website for its ethical standards.

She notes we are at a time where trust in both elected officials and the media is pretty low, but adds independent news organizations and outlets still take steps to validate stories instead of posting a quick online analysis.

Experts say it is getting harder to fight misinformation, with social media algorithms increasingly steering people into so-called echo chambers through false and emotionally charged content, along with artificial intelligence-generated images.

Watchdogs have also called out the White House for such practices.

Cohen stresses people should not feel they have to accept this is the only way information is circulated and processed.

“Democracy requires work,” Cohen stresses.

“The work of becoming more knowledgeable, reviewing facts, making and holding informed opinions.”

Cohen joined the list of journalistic voices expressing great concern about the Trump administration’s arrest of reporters who documented an anti-ICE protest at a Twin Cities church.

The White House accused the reporters of taking part in an effort to disrupt prayer services, but Cohen counters the public loses out if journalists are intimidated from reporting on events.

“We have less information, less ability to document and verify and search for, and ultimately, obtain the truth that holds officials accountable,” Cohen emphasizes.