Divest Day 11 of 21: From Reactionary to Investigative

Have you been feeling frustrated by mainstream media lately? We at CODEPINK can relate. CBS’s award-winning “60 Minutes” just conducted an interview with Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salam ahead of his US tour, praising the repressive kingdom’s minor reforms as “revolutionary” while completely glossing over his massive war crimes in Yemen. And while the media loves dissecting all the latest belligerent Trump tweets, most of the American public has no idea that there have been around 2 million Iraqi deaths since the U.S. invasion in 2003.

The war economy thrives as mainstream media fails to 1) tell the truth, and 2) talk about what really matters. When corporate elites control the media, which depends on clicks for revenue, certain stories won’t be told and those that are are designed to elicit strong immediate reactions with little care for thoroughness.

In other words, mainstream media relies on us being reactive, mindless consumers. And that’s what we’ll divest from today!

Today’s Pivot

Instead of swallowing what the media feeds us, practice investigating what’s presented by asking thoughtful questions like whose interests are represented. Invest in quality programming - our staff recommends a daily dose of Amy Goodman and Democracy Now!

With the rise of social media and livestreaming, any of us can do on the ground reporting as well. You can follow local community leaders and organizations on Instagram and Twitter that give a heads up when ICE raids, police shootings, etc go down. Where are the resources in your community?

How do you pivot to what nourishes your intelligence instead of owning it?