As mainstream media watchdogs shirk their responsibilities, voters are forced to speak up for themselves.

I’ve covered the presidential race in depth, starting with President Joe Biden’s visit to Valley Forge in January To Democratic National Convention in Chicago. I talked about the recent Kamala Harris’s visit to Philadelphia and questioned Senator Tim Scott O Donald Trump’s threat to protect schools that teach about slavery.

I did this because I am a journalist and I care deeply about the fate of our country. That’s why I was sad to see that two of America’s most respected media outlets—The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times— refuse to support a presidential candidate under pressure from its billionaire owners. After this shocking moment occurred, it became clear to me that there were very few of the watchdogs that once protected us left.

Thus, the American people must now stand up for themselves, and there is only one place to do this – at the polls.

In times like these, when some journalistic outlets seem to function as echo chambers for the far right, while others help normalize hate by refusing to forcefully expose it, it is not surprising that there is a distrust of the mainstream media.

Unfortunately, the lack of public trust has created an information vacuum that has been filled by social media platforms. But just like The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times – newspapers that withdrew their presidential endorsements of Kamala Harris at the behest of their owners. – Most social networks are controlled by billionaires.

Donald Trump supporter Elon Musk owns X, platform formerly known as Twitter, and Trump himself controls the ironically named Truth Social. With unfettered access to millions of people, both men can instantly spread misinformation, calls for violence, or both. It’s dangerous.

However, in America we only seem to recognize the dangers of the media if it is controlled by a foreign entity such as Chinese-owned TikTok. The company, which has come under fire from politicians of both parties, is one of the most popular sources of news and information for young Americans. Are politicians right when they call a company? national security threat?

Considering the amount of consumer information such platforms collect, I think they are right. However, when Trump uses social media to proclaim his hatred of Kamala Harris supporters like Taylor Swiftwe brush it off as mere politics. But how did we know January 6, 2021social media and politics can quickly lead to violence, and there is little threat to our national safety comes first.

The watchdogs that once protected us are few and far between.

In an atmosphere where information can spread around the world in a split second, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who performed at Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage” and changed the tone of the presidential race. Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and other major Puerto Rican stars with millions of followers took to social media to denounce Trump.

For a moment, outrage over an apparently racist joke changed the course of the presidential race. Then Joe Biden used the word “trash” to refer to Trump supporters and turned the situation around. It didn’t matter The White House tried to paraphrase Biden’s words. The damage had already been done.

Likewise, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times may have caused significant damage to the reputation of the mainstream media. By refusing to take a stand in an election where the choices are so stark, these media and others who chose to remain silentabandoned by those desperately seeking context.

People need to hear from those who have access to candidates, documents and sources. Our readers need to be able to know what we’ve learned and what we think about it, and political leaders need to know that someone outside government is holding them accountable.

America’s founders were far from perfect. But even as their lofty rhetoric of freedom contrasted with the evils of slavery, the men who founded America knew that their own freedom could only be guaranteed by a free press. They saw English kings become tyrants with unlimited power, so they enshrined freedom of the press in the Constitution.

This freedom has been put to the test by billionaires who have successfully silenced the most powerful media outlets. In the coming days, as the results of the presidential election flood the American people, the press will be tested again. I pray that we will have the courage to do the right thing.