Besides the below tweet being just stupid it actually sets up a false dichotomy. The work of challenging media narratives IS a form of “protest[ing] for peoples real rights” [sic]. Let me elaborate. 
Directly related to police violence think about the decades of media that glamorize the police. Endless TV shows follow detectives who are “the good guys working to make cities safer by putting the bad guys away”. Repeat the above but with prosecutors.
These narratives almost always wrap up in tidy bows showing that ultimately whatever lengths the state goes to apprehend the criminal it is worth it because in this fantasy world the state is always good and just and fair.
This same logic is built into our favorite big blockbuster superhero movies or video games where the powerful arm of the state (whether sanctioned or vigilante) is, at the end of the day, inherently good and just.
Or how about decades of mainstream news media (especially local media) showing a parade of Black and Brown men as violent aggressors disproportionate to actual crime statistics which works to manufacture and amplify racist fears in middle class white folks.
How about right now when the mainstream media is amplifying the most sensational parts of the protests instead of reporting on communities coming together to support each other in this time of pain. They continue to demonize the protestors instead of the cops.
The media is a socializing agent just like schools, families, religious centers etc.
Media is not apolitical. It promotes, shapes, and molds value systems.
Challenging oppressive media narratives *is* protest.
Media is not apolitical. It promotes, shapes, and molds value systems.
Challenging oppressive media narratives *is* protest.
We talk about this stuff a lot on Feminist Frequency Radio (@femfreq) and will be doing a specific episode this week about some of this. Plus there are loads of other amazing thinkers and writers talking about media impacts. The space has grown so much in the last decade.
