Internets Freedoms And Shortcomings.

Whilst reading John Pilgers book “Distant Voices” I was struck by his cynicism towards the “freedom of the press” is supposed to exist. Pilger suggests that certain news gets little or no coverage. The news he is talking about is the kind of news that is not necessarily good for the powerful elite.In his chapter “Information Is Power” Pilger cites when the death of Robert Maxwell was given front page coverage on the same day 6’000 people who were killed by a typhoon in the Phillippines were treated as “any other business”.
Although this book was written in 1992, it covers issues that trouble many people today, as illustrated by the recent Carter Ruck super injunction debacle, an example of how the powerful and wealthy maintain whatever public persona they wish, by the flexing of a little financial and corporate muscle.
The evil of the super injunction was laid low by that new champion of free speech; Twitter which has aided other causes without voices. During the recent Iranian election, protestors against the gerrymandering of the election were able to organise protests via twitter in a manner that the government in power could not “nobble”.
Through these means the internet provides us with better access to information. Because of the ease and freedom of access to the internet it is easier for the oppressed and unheard to give themselves a voice. However, it is because of this ease of access that the internet should not be treated with the same respect given to books, which have to be passed by a publisher, and legal team. In contrast, a blog is virtually unaccountable. Therefore the internet is rife with unfounded conspiracy theory alongside the good information. It remains then, the responsibility of the individual to draw their own conclusions, and to check information cited, just as it is with the information we are spoon fed through the standard media.