Freedom of the Press is a well debated topic especially in recent news. Where do we draw the line? At what point does the media take it too far? In 2015, some anti-abortion activist made a documentary about planned parenthood that clearly crossed the line. David Daleidan and Sandra Merritt were the pro-life activist who discretely filmed their interaction with a planned parenthood in Texas. The whole point of their documentary was to prove that Planned Parenthood was selling fetal parts or tissues for profit. They also found government documents that related to the point they were trying to make and altered them to bolster their claim of wrong doing. Daleidan and Merritt failed epically as it was proven that Planned Parenthood does not sell fetal parts as both have been indicted for altering government documents and attempting to purchase fetal tissue. You may say well case closed, this was one singular example and this is not something that happens often but you would be wrong. In this case, yes they were not main stream media, but they are acting in similar ways as some large media giants.
Modern Media either swings left or right and they will do whatever necessary to push their liberal or conservative agenda. Which includes making wild, fact-less claims as well as in some cases just flat out lying. This was the case with world famous NBC reporter Brian Williams. So how is this really any different than Daleidan and Merrit's documentary? The First Amendment protects the media through freedom of press but there has to be some other form of regulation. News is so instantaneous and accessible it is even more crucial that every piece of information put out be reputable, and of course there will always be the TMZ's of the world, but we can't have the self proclaimed reputable news sources making wild accusations and lies. How can the First Amendment protect a modern media that can lie to the nation without consequence?
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