My real life situation is based on the rise of anti asian hate crimes during the pandemic. This issue was brought to my attention by social media as the movement #StopAAPIHate started gaining attention on many platforms.Throughout the pandemic we have seen politicians and journalists exploit racial stereotypes to further their own agenda through the spread of misinformation fueling the fires of discrimination. Several asian activists and public figures are speaking out about the rise of hate crimes with figures such as actress Sandra Oh and K-pop group BTS supporting the movement.
Linking the real life situation to human sciences, specifically linking it to ethics and politics, as it is questionable the ethics of journalism when they use it to propagate misinformation and support politicians who are furthering their agenda by continuously attacking asians during the pandemic.
This prompts me to ask the knowledge question “Should harmful misinformation by journalists and politicians have ethical restraints?”. This is a crucial question to analyze as the rise of anti asian hate crimes is increasing, fueled by misinformation being spread by politicians and journalists all throughout social media.The hatred is mainly due to the idea that because of the fact that the virus originated in China, all asian people are in part responsible for it.
There have been two polar opposite perspectives that can give separate answers to this knowledge question. Specifically, conservative americans have stated their first amendment right to freedom of speech, stating that any restraint on social media websites is an infringement of their constitutional rights. Consequently, former American President Donald Trump himself, whose supporters are all conservative, has repeatedly spread racist rhetoric and has used Asians as a scapegoat for his own mishandling of the crisis. Concluding that ethics shouldnt impeed them from expressing their own opinion.
On the other hand, we should question the ethical responsibility these private social media companies have when giving people in power the platform to share misinformation that later can be turned into horrible acts of hate crimes against a vulnerable minority group. Arguing that misinformation as such needs to be addressed when spread out and restrain users from further spreading racist ideals that then lead to violence.
It is important to analyze both sides of the spectrum of opinions in order to understand the severity of the issue, because the importance of freedom of speech shouldnt be infringed upon in the democratic world we live in. However on the other hand, such acts of violence should not be condoned or supported by in social media where it can influence further hatred towards minorities.
Micaela Paitan
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