Anti-War Censoring

       The moment that Russian troops crossed into the border of Ukraine, it ignited a media frenzy all over the world. Ukrainian news reported that the unhinged President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, had committed an atrocity. Russian news reported that Russia had finally begun a justified invasion of Ukraine in defense of the Russian-speaking people in Ukraine. American news, in the mean time, reported a similar point of view to Ukraine. It also called into question if we should intervene, with varying levels of extremism to the point of view. 

      

       The American media coverage of the war between Russia and Ukraine has been a disaster. From senator Lyndsey Graham calling for Putin's assassination on live TV to the media's disinformation of Russia preparing to launch chemical attacks on Ukraine, the media handling of the conflict has had one consistent message: The US should go to war with Russia. 

        The important thing which most Americans understand is that in the event of a war between the US and Russia, there are no winners. Countless people would die and it would take the world decades to recover. That is operating under the assumption that nuclear weapons would not be used, as both the US and Russia have enough nuclear firepower to cause the extinction of humanity by themselves. 

        So, why is the American media pushing for war? I believe that a large part of this comes down to media consolidation. Given that all mainstream American media is owned by six large businesses, there is not much room for variance in perspective. Big businesses profit off of war. War, while being an awful thing, is terrific for the economy. Unfortunately, I believe that in most cases, big business prioritizes money over all else; including human lives. 

       The question of why anti-war voices are so hard to find in American media is a microcosm of a much larger question for American media. Why is American media in the hands of such a small collection of owners? The media in the US has only become less trusted as it becomes more consolidated, and this is due to the relative lack of perspective offered. Not only this, but the perspective of the US media is not the perspective of the average American, as reflected in the polls when the question of war with Russia was presented.