Political Corruption and Headline
Surfing Leaves Our Children at Risk

Our view of violence is wildly distorted. We don’t know the truth, but I think we can handle it. In the USA today, we think TV shows and the "news" represent reality. They aren’t. Instead of the truth, the news media feeds us the preferred biases of their selected audience spiced with titillating and emotionally charged subjects like violence and sexual scandal. That formula sells soap, insurance, and drugs, but it is also selling us a dangerous brew of politics. Unfortunately, that witches-brew of lies could get our children killed.

It is easy to think that the United States has become more violent over time. That false impression comes from our biased attention. Today, we carry a headline-machine in our pockets. Media algorithms deliver more of any headlines we clicked. That is why we see more stories about violence, when in fact, the rate of violent crime continued to fall for the last several years.

Due to our media-distorted perception, we think that mass murders are a hundred times more likely than they really are. .....