SofiaUnplugged

As a member of Generation Z, I receive some of my news through social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok which are owned by Meta and ByteDance, although these social media are owned by big companies. News companies have accounts on these platforms such as The Daily Telegraph. Founded and owned by Rupert Murdoch, The Daily Telegraph is an Australian media source owned by NewsCorp. NewsCorp is the biggest news company in Australia owning some of the most well-known companies that everyday Australians use to source their news. Mark Zuckerberg is the owner of Meta, which is the platform which owns Instagram and Facebook, but does he control what NewsCorp posts on Instagram and Facebook?  

‘In late January, Mark Zuckerberg made clear the platform’s intent to emphasize “quality, trusted news” for users.’ (Lutz 2018). Zuckerberg also points out that with finetuned engagement strategies using analytics, national media and local news can resonate with users in a similar way. Media has the power to shape individuals’ perspective of the world around them, specifically through news stories. News can have a huge impact on the way people think, including their political opinions which can influence the way the country runs. Being one of Australia’s most influential and wealthiest men, Rupert Murdoch receives much criticism about the way he runs NewsCorp and puts news out into Australia. Murdoch has been described as ‘oppositional to liberal’ and having ‘unified positions on matters of public policy’ (McKnight 2012). This can have a heavy impact on the way he writes news stories to be biased therefore influencing the Australian population to be politically swayed, therefore being unreliable and untrustful as we don’t see an unbiased opinion.  

Instagram has recently faced criticism for its censoring of certain posts about the Israel-Gaza war which has charged political emission globally. Furthermore, this ties in with Rupert Murdochs involvement in ‘Fox and the Big Lie’ about how the network promoted Donald Trump and assisted in the destabilisation of the American democracy. “Fox certainly has participated in the destruction of democracy by promoting the types of things that Donald Trump did.” (Cameron 2021). By Murdoch revealing his position in American democracy, this implies the untrusting nature of NewsCorp and more broadly Australian media in general. This further reveals how media controls the Australian population and the perspectives we have of international democracy. This makes us question the notion of whether the news that is put on our screens is accurate an accurate representation of what is happening in Australia or, if the media are only interested in financial or political benefit of these news headlines.  

Personally, I trust and rely on Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) news for stories as they are government funded media source and have a reputation for being trustful and unbiased. In saying this, I feel although all media posts and news sources have somewhat of bias, but it depends on the level of bias and how much the story relies on bias to gain financial benefit.  

References: 

Fox and the Big Lie – Part One 2021, www.abc.net.au. 

McKnight, D 2012, Rupert Murdoch, Allen & Unwin. 

UOW Library Online Resources Login 2018, ezproxy.uow.edu.au, viewed 30 March 2024, <https://www.proquest.com/docview/2265600951?accountid=15112&parentSessionId=%2BeGtUmzRHukVXwF2HIC0w%2BqiMYheY3qi18r1ICiFnS8%3D&pq-origsite=primo&sourcetype=Trade%20Journals&gt;.