Media and Elections The medias role in influencing modern el

Media and Elections

The media’s role in influencing modern elections cannot be understated, yet issues of media bias, negative ads, and unequal access continue to draw criticism.

Question:

Do you think that political attack ads should be permitted as free speech? Should they be regulated?

Should all candidates, rich and poor, have equal access to advertising? Why?

Solution

Answer: (1) No I do not think that the political attack ads should be permitted as free speech. Politics is full of false allegations which are harmful for the image of the candidates. If political attack ads are permitted under the free speech then there are high chances that they will be used as a political weapon to tarnish the image of the opponents. If political attack ads are permitted as free speech they will be purposely used for carry out ugly campaigns based on falsehood. Therefore they should not be permitted as free speech on the other hand they need to be regulated so that they cannot be misused. There are now even laws in some states like Colorado which have now made spreading lies against a candidate a public offense.

(2) Yes I feel that all the candidates whether rich or poor should have an equal access to advertising in order to have a fair election campaign. If all the candidates do not have an equal access to advertising then only the rich candidates will be able to put across their views and reach the voters. This will not be fair as poor candidates even if they are well qualified will not be able to reach the voters properly.