Media Bias and Propaganda

1 Media Bias and Propaganda Introduction Media bias and propaganda is the deliberate spread of partial information and news, based on personal opinions and agenda. A biased media is also prejudiced in their selection and coverage of events and stories. Recent mass shootings and other incidences of gun-related violence have drawn different opinions from the media; some believe that gun-related violence is perpetrated by individuals and therefore gun control laws have little impact.

Others believe that gun control laws are essential in the reduction of gun-related crimes. This paper examines three articles that are biased in their coverage of gun control and violence in the United States, the evidence of the bias, as well as the assumptions that a reader might make from reading these articles.

1. Gun Control Laws Are Not Effective The first article, by Fox News, opines that the ideas on gun control laws are not as good as they sound (Lott, 2016). The article belittles the crucial topic of gun control by calling it the ‘in thing’ in America. The writer only states that ‘only’ 47 percent of American teenagers believe that stringent gun laws are an effective solution to the recurring trend of mass shootings. This statement is biased because while 47% is the minority, it is still a significantly large percentage of the population sampled.

Buy this excellently written paper or order a fresh one from ace-myhomework.com

2

It is also a partial statement because the writer does not state the percentage of the teenage population that believes that the gun control ideas are not useful. The article proceeds to discredit the idea of banning semi-automatic guns that fire many bullets per minute stating that they are the same as game-hunting rifles because they fire one bullet at a time. This is a false statement; they both fire one bullet at a time but semi-automatic rifles fire more bullets at a faster speed and are therefore deadlier than game-hunting rifles (Crifasi, 2018). The article also disregards the idea of registering guns in the United States as a method of identifying the owners of the guns that are used to commit a crime. The writer believes that registering guns is not an important gun control technique because the guns that are used to commit offenses are usually acquired fraudulently. This statement is incorrect because even when the weapon is gotten through dubious means, the owner can provide useful information that will help in the investigation such as where the gun was stolen and by whom. The article also discredits the idea of raising the legal age of owning a firearm to 21 years. It states that people should be allowed to own firearms at an earlier age because it enables them to protect themselves. This statement is heavily biased and likely to increase incidences of gun violence because young people are more likely to make impulsive and dangerous decisions than older people. Additionally, statistics over the years have proven that mass shooters are often young individuals who have easy access to weapons (Haynes, 2016). Given this knowledge, it is dangerous and irresponsible to state that there should be an age limit on gun ownership.

2. Guns Do Not Commit Crimes, People Commit the Crimes The second article states that rigorous gun laws should not be implemented because it is not guns which kill people, it is people who commit these crimes against themselves

3 (Oxplore.org., 2017). This is a flawed argument because it minimizes the severity of the consequences of gun violence. It is obvious that guns do not kill people on their own.

Therefore the subject has never been whether it is guns or people who kill. The issue is the fact that guns have made it much easier for people to kill and commit crimes. The article also blames gun violence on hatred, mental illness, and toxic masculinity. While these factors can contribute to murder and other crimes, gun violence is specifically caused by the efficiency of guns as a tool of murder; without guns, many people would not have the ability or the courage to commit crimes. This article disregards the fact that guns inflict damage faster and more severely than weapons such as knives and clubs. While it is true that guns do not kill people on their own, they significantly increase the risk of the occurrence of mass shootings and other crimes.

3. Gun Ownership Has No Impact on Gun-Related Crimes The third article is biased because it states that there is no evident direct connection between owning a gun and gun violence and also disputes that the fewer guns there are in a society, the fewer gun issues there will be (Kopel, 2014). This is false research has found that there is a direct relation between the rate of crime and the number of guns available. The article draws a comparison between Switzerland and the United States in matters regarding gun control. Switzerland has very liberal gun laws; almost every adult male owns a gun.

However, the rate of gun-related violence in Switzerland is significantly lower than that of the United States. The article is biased because it over-simplifies the concept of gun violence in the United States and this perpetuates the occurrence of these crimes, yet there are significant differences between the two countries which cause the rate of gun-related violence to be higher in the United States despite their similar laws on gun ownership. The article also states

4 that strict gun laws would to a large extent be inconsequential because people would resort to producing their own guns, and that there would be a high number of bootleg guns in the black market. This argument is flawed because home-made and bootlegged guns cannot be as efficient as legally produced guns.

Conclusion Over the years in the United States, there has been an escalation in the rate of gun related crimes. It is a significant issue that needs to be addressed adequately through stringent gun control laws. Gun violence causes individuals, families, and communities to be deeply traumatized, causes loss of lives and leaves people severely injured. It is therefore imperative for the media to make in-depth research on the issue to avoid making biased reports on the subject by ensuring all the information provided is accurate since people’s opinions on the matter are formed by the information they receive on the subject from media outlets. The media has very significant influence over the citizens of the US, which they should take advantage of to help reduce the rate of gun deaths and other related crimes. It can achieve this mainly through impartiality, which is gained through thorough research on the topic.

5

References Crifasi, C. (2018). Gun Policy in the United States: Evidence-Based Strategies to Reduce Gun Violence. Applied Health Economics And Health Policy, 16(5), 579-581. doi: 10.1007/s40258-018-0413-7 Haynes, V. (2016). Gun Control in the United States. Journal Of Political Sciences & Public Affairs, 4(2). doi: 10.4172/2332-0761.1000206 Kopel, D. (2014). Trust the people: The case against gun control. [online] Davekopel.org.

Available at: http://www.davekopel.org/2A/IP/Trust%20the%20People.pdf [Accessed 11 Jan. 2019].

Lott, J. (2016). March for Our Lives: Gun control ideas sound good, but are deeply flawed and won't save lives. [online] Fox News. Available at: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/march-for-our-lives-gun-control-ideas-soundgood-but-are-deeply-flawed-and-wont-save-lives [Accessed 11 Jan. 2019].

Oxplore.org. (2017). Guns Don't Kill People - People Kill People. [online] Available at: https://oxplore.org/additional-resource/533/565#565 [Accessed 11 Jan. 2019].

6