Bringing Back Responsibility in the Media

State Of Mankind - How Much Do You Know?

Excerpts from "How the Specter of Communism Is Ruling Our World"

If we say that the specter of communism had only partially infiltrated and controlled various areas in the world over the past century, by today the specter is already ruling our world—all aspects of the human world have already been subject to corruption. The immense influence of the media over humanity has been used effectively to brainwash, deceive, and corrupt human morality, causing people to unconsciously deviate from tradition.

In Western countries, many liberal media establishments have become tools for concealing the truth and deceiving people. Many have forsaken basic professional ethics and instead resort to all sorts of unscrupulous attacks, abuse, and slander, regardless of the impact to their reputation or to society.

The specter has been successful because it has exploited human failings: the pursuit of fame and gain, ignorance, laziness, selfishness, misapplied sympathy, competitiveness, and the like. Some journalists self-righteously rebel against traditional values under a facade of knowing the truth. Some conform to the already morally debased “public demand” in order to get views. Some conform to the lowered standards for the sake of their careers. Some fabricate fake news out of jealousy and hostility. Some believe fake news because of their ignorance and laziness. Some exploit the kindness and sympathy of others in advocating social justice and thus tilt the entire society toward the left, resorting to unscrupulous tactics to achieve their political and economic goals.

The mission of the media is a lofty one. It is meant to be the lifeline by which people obtain their information about public events, and it is also an important force in maintaining the healthy development of society. Objectivity and impartiality are the basic ethical requirements of the media and are key to the trust people place in it. But in the media today, chaos reigns, severely affecting the confidence people have in it. Reclaiming the mission of the media and re-establishing the glory of the news profession is the noble responsibility of people employed in this field.

Restoring the media’s mission means that the media needs to pursue truth. The media’s coverage of the truth must be comprehensive and come from a place of sincerity. When reporting social phenomena, many media outlets present partial realities that are often misleading and can do more harm than outright lies.

Part of the media’s mission is to promote compassion. The compassion of the media is neither an abuse of sympathy, nor political correctness. Its goal must be the long-term well-being of mankind. The way out for mankind is not to obtain short-term economic benefit, not to fall for a fabricated communist utopia, but to follow the traditional path set forth by the divine, to raise moral standards, and to return to one’s original place, the true and wonderful origin of life itself.

The media is good if it can help society value and uphold morality, as good and evil are both present in human society. It is the responsibility of the media to spread truth, extoll virtue, and to expose and restrain evil.

In returning to its mission, the media must pay more attention to the major events that affect the future of mankind. The last century was witness to a great confrontation between the free world and the communist camp. While it appeared to be an ideological confrontation, it was in fact a life-and-death struggle between righteousness and evil, for communism is ruining the morals that hold together the civilizations of mankind. Yet following the collapse of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe, its ghost lingers on, undefeated.

In China, a country of ancient culture, the Communist Party has since 1999 persecuted the spiritual practice of Falun Gong, which upholds the universal principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. This persecution has affected millions of people across the expanse of the world’s most populous country; it has lasted nearly two decades and is being perpetrated to a degree of brutality that is hard to match. It is the largest persecution of faith in contemporary history.

The persecution of Falun Gong is a persecution against the core values of human civilization and a monstrous assault on the freedom of belief. However, its coverage by the Western media has been disproportionately weak when placed beside the magnitude and severity of the actual events taking place. Most of the mainstream media outlets have been influenced by the Chinese Communist Party’s political clout, and have exercised self-censorship or remained silent on this matter of grave concern. Some have even been complicit in helping the CCP spread its deceit.

At the same time, a trend has emerged that opposes communism and advocates a return to tradition. In China, more than 300 million people have withdrawn from the CCP and its affiliated organizations in the “Tuidang” (Quit the Party) movement. Yet such a major phenomenon, which holds great significance for the future of China and the world, is rarely mentioned in the Western media.

Today, as the world undergoes great changes, truth and traditional values are more important than ever. The world needs media that can distinguish between right and wrong, conduct good deeds, and maintain public morality. Transcending the interests of individuals, companies, and political parties to present the real world before the people is the duty of every media professional.

Today, when facing the moral decline in the media profession, it is imperative that readers and audiences make a conscious distinction between right and wrong, and scrutinize rationally the information produced by the media. People must judge issues in line with the moral tradition, regard social phenomena through the lens of universal values, and in doing so, push the media to fulfill its historic mission. This is also the key for mankind to stave off the influence of the communist specter and find the path to a better future.

From Chapter Thirteen: Hijacking the Media