If I could teach any class right now, I’d start with teaching students about media literacy. “Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms,” according to the Center for Media Literacy. Consumption of media has the power to shift your entire worldview. It inspires peace, inspires violence, creates social change, justifies war, shames aggressors. 

With a war going on in Ukraine and Russia’s state-owned media outright lying about it, I’m painfully aware of media literacy right now. Russia’s media outlets report on the US Stock Market dips, criticize US IT companies and references the “Ukraine Op” as going well. 

In America, we are blessed with independent journalism. But, unfortunately, we are not immune to media bias. When you only closely follow one media source (be that CNN or Fox News), you’re getting one media outlet’s biases and framing. 

Ultimately, for news to sell, it has to shock, enrage or excite you so that even the blandest of news (say an infrastructure bill) can be spun into a political headline that will shock, enrage or excite you. 

When you only read one side of the story, you are allowing your mind to only know one side of the story; therefore, your opinions and how you view the world are shaped by the opinions and values of the media conglomerate you chose to read every day.  

Your values and ideology must be strong enough to pierce through media bias, even your own bias, and understand the messages before you start pointing fingers. 

Do you know your own values outside of the media and your political party? What is your ideology? 

Are you consuming one-sided information? I guarantee you the CNN and the Fox headline do not say the same thing. Can you disagree with a bias when you read the news and still understand that news? 

Media literacy already shapes our society and our minds. It’s why I’m passionate about reading BBC, the New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. I get news from Twitter. I get news from places like CNN and Fox. 

I’m working on increasing my media literacy and filtering every message. It impacts your mind, it impacts your politics and it impacts your values. 

Unfortunately, I don’t think we have the luxury of not caring about media literacy, especially when looking at Russia as a case study. And it can happen here too. I’m sure you can come up with a few examples in 2020. 

Ultimately, politics and media are deeply intertwined in people. If we as voters decide to not care about politics or media consumption, I guarantee there are people who do care and their vote might not line up with your ideology.  Make sure your voice is heard; this is the backbone of democracy. 

I urge people to vote, to spread true information, to use words with responsibility, and to be actionable people.

When social media messages shock you, entertain you, enrage you or excite you, understand why you are sharing them and what they say before you share them. 

Democracy’s greatest defender in the 21st century might not be guns; it might be our media literacy, our ability to distinguish fact from fiction. 

Organizations and governments only exist as long as society lets them. As Americans, we are given the freedom and right to vote, to voice our opinions and share information. 

We should take that right and freedom with responsibility. That right is not afforded to everyone.