CSUN On Point

As the 2020 presidential election draws closer, the political climate is heating up. Impeachment proceedings continue to dominate the news cycle, and a crowded field of Democratic candidates is jockeying for position in the fight to win the nomination to take on Donald Trump, setting up a contentious election season.

With American politics divided along partisan lines, as evidenced by the last two presidential elections, the future is unclear. It could, however, be influenced significantly by the growing number of young voters, many of whom will be voting for the first time in 2020.

CSUN Political Science Department chair Dr. David Leitch said that a growing “generational split,” especially in the Republican party, could change the political narrative.

“In this election in particular, actually I do believe that young voters are unusually important,” Leitch said. “I think that we’re in a cycle now where we’re starting to see real changes in what the party labels mean, and what it means to be either liberal or conservative.”

Grassroots activists are working to register and educate young voters ahead of the election.

“I’m seeing young voters who are preferring not to choose a party,” said Michelle Fowle, activist and founder of The Resistance – Northridge, Indivisible. “They don’t want to be associated with a party, but they want to make their voice heard.”

Fowle said she spends much of her time speaking to potential voters and encouraging them to become politically active. These personal interactions are critical, especially for the youth.

“My sense is that young people right now are struggling to find opportunities for that face-to-face interaction,” Leitch said. “So many interactions are mediated – mediated by a screen of some type, mediated by text of some type.”

Young people may be frustrated by the obstacles to political engagement, but they also have “an awareness of the pervasive importance of politics,” Leitch said. “I think that there is a tremendous amount of potential energy that is looking for a route, and I’m hopeful that it finds [it].”

In Los Angeles, officials are introducing changes for next year’s election that aim to modernize the voting system and increase access for potential voters. A new ballot system, Voting Solutions for All People, will replace punch cards, and polling centers will now be open for a full 11 days before the election. Even on Election Day, citizens will be able to register to vote.

Although Leitch said he has concerns about cybersecurity threats, he said that increasing access is fundamental to a successful democracy. “Americans who believe in democracy ought to be in favor of maximizing access,” Leitch said.

Officials hope these changes will have a positive impact on citizen engagement in the next election. If young voters turn out like they did for Obama, Leitch said, they could swing the election.

Fowle said she would continue working to engage citizens, ahead of what could be a pivotal moment in American politics.

“[The] future is literally at stake,” Fowle said. “It really is crucial.”

Moderator: Tamie Benitez

Producer: Vivian Rayos

Anchor: Joe Willeford

Social Media Editor: Damian Gordon

Reporters: Jenny Almanza, Tamie Benitez, Damian Gordon, Vivian Rayos and Joe Willeford

Fake news has been on the minds of most adults in America, including President Donald Trump, who recently told Fox News’ Lou Dobbs that he coined the now infamous phrase.

Its existence raises the question, how can people fight it?

Experts say media literacy is the most effective way to combat fake news, and becoming media literate will help everyone, including students, understand the differences between real and fake news. The National Association for Media Literacy Education recently held its third annual Media Literacy Week to raise awareness about the issue.

According to a recent Pew Research Study “nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults (64 percent) say fabricated news stories cause a great deal of confusion about the basic facts of current issues and events. About a third of U.S. adults (32 percent) say they often see made-up political news online, while 39 percent sometimes see such stories, and 26 percent hardly ever or never do.”

Pew Research Center also reports a ten percent increase since 2016 in social media use for people over 50 years old. And the study also saw a ten percent increase in nonwhite social media users. In addition, 45 percent of all Facebook users say they rely solely on the site to deliver their news.

“I think it is less about the mobile devices themselves, and more about how they have changed our culture,” CSUN Communications Studies graduate student Anya Crittention said. “Also, I think [the controversy over fake news] is damaging to journalism itself. While people are now ready to believe fake news, there’s also this increasing cynicism and distrust of the media. And, I think that is also dangerous since the media inherently is meant to be for the people and if we turn our back on them, that’s also dangerous.”

Media historians say social media outlets have allowed for an emergence of more voices, and that makes the news more democratic. And now the news cycle has become 24/7 due to the emergence of digital media technology, and that makes news and information more accessible to more people.

“I think there’s been fake news around for a long time,” CSUN Cinema and Television Arts Professor Anna Marie Piersimoni said. “We just have more of it because we have more of everything, and more voices doing that, but from the early days of yellow journalism, [from] the building of the Hearst Empire to the building of the Murdoch empire, there’s been fake journalism.”

Piersimoni said sensational ‘clickbait’ headlines cause people to jump from one article to the next without taking the time to evaluate the story. And since people are not reading the full story, they are relying only on their own beliefs, and not using the critical and analytical tools of media literacy. These strongly held beliefs and biases create filter bubbles, and limit the amount of information people are exposed to, or willing to read.

“I think that the awareness of your own biases is the only way that you can start to pierce the bubble,”  CSUN Department Chair of Political Science Dr. David Leitch said. “If you don’t know what your preferences are, and if they’re sort of unexamined, unaware, unconsciousness, then you don’t have any strategies for confronting them. And I’ll be an advocate: I will say it’s good to confront your biases, not just because it is healthy and democratic, because it is fun.”

Media literacy experts say it’s important for students to read opinions written by sources they don’t necessarily agree with, and to be exposed to more viewpoints, even if they have to look hard to find them.

“The best thing, I tell my students, is to not only follow the money, but to follow the breadcrumbs,” Piersimoni said. “Especially if you go to Wikipedia. Down at the bottom of the page, check all the little footnotes, and double check, and then cross-reference. It is the best thing that you can do. And then see if you can find the opposite view of what you’re looking at.”

Moderator: Minerva Medrano

Producers: Diego Girgado and Tyler Jones

Anchor: Morgan Ball

Social Media Editors: Joselynn Castro and Shannon Ozburn

Reporters: Morgan Ball, Joselynn Castro, Diego Girgado, Tyler Jones, Minerva Medrano and Shannon Ozburn