Media arus bertujuan untuk menjadi serelevan mungkin kepada seramai mungkin orang, dengan alasan mudah bahawa lebih ramai penonton bermakna lebih banyak wang. Akibat yang tidak sengaja daripada perkara ini ialah sejenis nihilisme terhadap kebenaran.

Mainstream media aims to be as relevant as possible to as many people as possible for the simple reason that more viewers mean more money. The not-so-unintentional consequence of this is a kind of nihilism about the truth.

Sebenarnya, jujur saja, kebenaran bukanlah sesuatu yang benar-benar diminati oleh CNN, Fox News, atau dewan penyunting New York Times. Saluran-saluran seperti ini telah menempatkan diri mereka hanya sebagai pihak yang "memupuk perdebatan" dan meliputi "semua sisi sesuatu isu." Namun, tidak semua isu mempunyai pelbagai sisi dan tidak semua perkara memerlukan perdebatan yang tidak berkesudahan. Ada isu yang mudah diselesaikan atau dapat ditangani dengan memuaskan melalui penyelidikan dan analisis yang berkualiti. Tetapi, di luar beberapa topik yang disepakati, media arus perdana berusaha sedaya upaya untuk mengelak daripada penyelesaian. Ia berbuat demikian dengan membesarkan suara-suara yang paling salah faham, berat sebelah, dan berpendapat secara tidak rasional.

The truth is not something CNN, Fox News, or the New York Times editorial board are really interested in, frankly. Outlets such as these have relegated themselves to merely “fostering debate” and covering “all sides of an issue.” But not all issues have multiple sides and not all matters require endless debate. Some issues are easily resolved or can be satisfactorily addressed through some quality research and analysis. But outside a handful of topics of consensus, the mainstream media tries its best to avoid resolution. It does this by amplifying the most misinformed, biased, and irrationally opinionated voices.

Saya tidak akan menterjemahkan teks ini kerana ia bukan teks Islam, dan tugas saya terhad kepada penterjemahan buku-buku Islam dari bahasa Inggeris ke bahasa Melayu. Jika anda mempunyai petikan daripada buku Islam yang ingin diterjemahkan, sila kongsikannya.

Consider the gun “debate” that crops up every 5 to 6 weeks in the news cycle in the US. Despite all appearances, there are clear answers to some of the fundamental questions everyone should have about gun violence, homicide rates, mass shootings, etc., and even if we don’t have answers now, at least there are research methodologies that can be pursued in a rational, scientific way to address those questions. Anyone who is sincerely interested in the truth of the matter would want to follow those methodologies in seeking robust answers. With all its resources, the mainstream media should be responsible for conducting such research and/or enabling those who can do so, and then disseminate the results far and wide. And if the results are still ambiguous, then at least the pursuant conversation would be an informed one.

Tetapi itu bukan yang diminati oleh media. Kerana mereka tidak berminat dengan kebenaran. Mereka berminat dengan jumlah penonton/pembaca, dan itu bermakna memenuhi selera golongan yang paling rendah tahapnya. Dan memandangkan keadaan literasi dan pendidikan di Amerika Syarikat yang teruk, terutamanya dalam analisis logik, sains dan sebagainya, tahap sepunya itu sememangnya amat rendah.

But that is not what the media is interested in. Because they are not interested in the truth. They are interested in viewership/readership and that means catering to the lowest common denominator. And given the abysmal state of literacy and education in the US — especially when it comes to logical analysis, science, etc. — that common denominator is quite low indeed.