Effects Of Social Media In The Media

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In the media,there is often two kinds of criminals: those with mental illness, and violent thugs.However, the distinction is based on the color of one’s skin and not the crimes they committed. The media influences criminal stereotypes against Blacks in many ways. News programs use racial slurs to discuss Black Americans; the movies constantly use the stereotypes of Black thugs, and social media reacts negatively towards the struggles of Black families. The case of Dylan Roof, Zimmerman,and Mike Brown are only a few cases of the media’s unfair portrayal of criminal stereotypes. Whereas white people can use mental illness to get sympathy from the media, Blacks are harshly criticized for the same crimes.Why is this accepted by American society? …show more content…

Most of the people today tend to look for information on social media such as Facebook, and Twitter. When a story about a black family is told on social media, their criminal background is often talked about. An example are the families whose children were attacked by animals. The little black child was attacked by a gorilla at the zoo. He fell into the cage while on a trip with his mother. His father’s criminal record was brought up on social media. Even though the offense was 20 years ago and the father was not there, the media depicted him as a criminal and thought he was the cause of the child falling into the cage. A few weeks later a white child was eaten by an alligator at Disney World. His father was there in the water with the child and instead of the media blaming the father, they showed a family picture and blamed the amusement park for the tragedy. It is easy to contrast how Black and White parents are portrayed in the media. While the white parents are sympathized with, the Black parents are …show more content…

The killing of Alton Sterling is an example of this. The media showed the police officers killing him. Instead of sympathizing for his family, they showed his mugshot from his past. The crime he committed before his death had nothing to do with why he was killed, but it was mentioned in the media more than his death was. The media reveal this because they want to label all minority groups thugs. When they bring up criminal records, they are giving off the impression that the person that was killed deserved to be killed. The criminal records justify the death of blacks. It makes the death of black people acceptable because in the eyes of the people they are criminals. The mugshots make the people forget about the police officer killing a person. It makes society view blacks as thugs and criminals.With white people you see the opposite. Dylan Roof, the shooter in the Charleston nine, posted racist comments on social media. When he was found, the police officers deleted the racist post and took him to jail with a bullet proof vest. While on trial, it was stated that he was “ mentally ill.” The media often states this when a white person has committed a crime. The media wanted Roof to seem innocent. They wanted to justify his life and not the ones he took.This projected that a white man can be a racist and kill nine people in a church and still be protected. It gives off the impression that a

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