The following article by The Atlantic grapples with the complex realities of protest coverage in the media. These sources employ tactics that may misinterpret the details of an event, causing the spread of skewed information. Sarah J Johnson’s writing aims to address this problem by outlining its impact on movements toward racial justice, specifically the Black Lives Matter Movement.

With 28 million participants of #BlackoutTuesday, a means to spread awareness of BLM, the movement had gained significant traction. BLM aimed to demand justice for those wronged by institutional racism and police brutalities, like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Michael Brown; with the media tasked with sharing their intentions with the world, Jackson brings attention to how they have responded to “black American resistance” all these years (Jackson 1). Although not a direct causation, this response has given rise to strong polarization and animosity within communities. These effects are further made evident through the growing tensions and creation of counteractive movements such as All Lives Matter. 

The portrayal of current events through news media, especially activism, can carry a large influence on the public’s understanding of the movement, and it’s important for these outlets to value the accuracy of their reporting. As Sarah describes it, “how the news covers activism matters profoundly to a democracy because the media can influence public support or rejection of policies that might solve social ills such as racism and police brutality" (Jackson 2).

Stories of media sources being manipulated due to a conflict of interest (the party in question holds influence over the media organization)

How can the media’s incentive for profit influence their reporting of events?