Blog Post #7: Antiwar & The American Conservative

AntiWar & The American Conservative

    Websites such as ANTIWAR.COM and The American Conservative showcase very strong antiwar voices that are often missing from the mainstream media stories. A lot of people, including myself, have not heard of these outlets, despite the depth, consistency, and accuracy of their criticism of the United States' policies, including the foreign policies, militarism, and interventionism. There are a few reasons that could explain why these outlets are so hidden and hard to find, including conflict of interest, target audience and demographics, and more. 

In modern times, mainstream media outlets are often tied to political parties or organizations. For example, CNN is right leaning, and FOX News is more left leaning. Modern day mainstream media outlets are often significantly funded by contractors through advertising or influenced by government access. There is very little incentive to platform voices that challenge the basic assumptions or opinions of the United States' policies, especially those that question the political organizations. Also, with mainstream outlets being heavily influenced and driven by political organizations, it creates a conflict for the target audiences. Of course, stories revolving around threats, war, and more tend to spike ratings more, when compared to criticism of militarism or calls for diplomacy, are often viewed as boring or unnecessary to watch or learn. So media companies tend to favour dramatic stories over thoughtful stories, to maintain a more widespread audience and views. 

Also, antiwar voices - such as Antiwar.com and The American Conservative - often get dismissed or misidentified. Sometimes the stories will be categorized as extreme for stories such as refusing to play by partisan rules. With mainstream outlets being so biased nowadays, a red and blue alliance against war does not work anymore; it makes it harder for these voices of criticism to be seen and valued. It is never a coincidence that strong and consistent journalism is hard to find because the modern day media algorithms are not designed to show it.