By Star Noor, Features Editor
Truth in media. A simple concept. One that we have long been led to believe is not only our Constitutional right in the United States, but an inherent truth about how our media organizations behave. But as reality would have it, truth is relative and trust is an illusion, and we are told that this is simply what we must accept.
In the media today, we have more entertainment than truth. Gone are the days of John Peter Zenger, Martha Gellhorn, Hunter S. Thompson, and Woodward and Bernstein. Journalism is no longer glorified as it once was, and is now more about sensationalism than the hard facts of the human condition. But as any good journalist or observer of whole knows, what is broken can be fixed. And there are many out there, willing to put their lives on the line to care. Willing to struggle, walk the unbeaten path, go against the grain – there are still good, decent men and women out there willing to fight for the public’s right to know the TRUTH.
Ben Swann is one of these fearless and well-informed journalists who is going above and beyond with his outlet Truth in Media. Originally starting his career as a photojournalist in El Paso, Texas, he quickly moved to anchor and has during the course of his career, become a two-time Emmy Award journalist and the two-time recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award. He has challenged every topic in which he’s realized the truth was not being told by mainstream media including the “War on Drugs”, the Mexican drug war, the American electoral process, “the strangehold of the American two-party system and the suppression of voter’s choices by mainstream media.” He is the first journalist to confront President Obama about the Constitutionality of his “kill list” (which is not just a political myth), and is the only journalist to “confront Mitt Romney about the railroading of duly elected delegates during the 2012 Republican National Convention.”
Because of his fearless approach, Ben was able to move into creating his own independent platform and is now at the helm of the Truth in Media project, launched in June 2016. Through a crowdfunding startup process, Ben has been able to tackle such important and controversial issues as, “the truth behind Cannabis and CBD oil, safety of vaccines, the Root of Militarization of Police, and the Origins of ISIS.” He is arguably the most well received, successful, thoughtful, and respected independent journalist on the beat today, with Truth In Media’s mission statement reading, “The Truth in Media Project speaks truth to power. We are the source for breaking news, political analysis and topics the mainstream media refuses to cover.”
In his Truth campaigns, Ben raises narrative worth discussing, and pulls no punches questioning the mainstream media’s lack of discussion in these areas in the process. He is brilliant in his address and informative to those willing to let the wool down from their eyes.
In lieu of yesterday’s “mass shooting, in the Cascade Mall in Washington, we should take time to wonder what this recurring and considerably modern phenomenon is and why despite eye witness testimony that events like the Sandy Hook Tragedy or the Colorado Theater Shooting were not a lone gunmen commitment, do we never hear about the possibility of this theory in the networks, nor is our law-enforcement compelled to provide evidence laying to rest such disturbing theory in the first place.”
As Ben so boldly stated, “There is a good reason to question this narrative because there has been no evidence, no evidence provided by police, other than what they’ve told us, that there is only one shooter here. There’s an easy way to prove it. Police have not yet released the surveillance video outside the theater in Colorado, show the surveillance video, proving it was one person. Just as they have not released the video in the Sandy Hook Shooting, again, the video proving that there was only one person. You see, these questions are worth asking law enforcement until they provide evidence otherwise.” A statement that tragically rings true again, and for which he was thoroughly smeared for by his colleagues in the mainstream media machine.
We must ask ourselves, when did asking too many questions become a journalistic taboo; and when did journalists who dare ask the hard hitting questions become such liability that all independent journalists are now deemed unprofessional, untrustworthy, and possibly labeled as criminals? When did our First Amendment rights become a luxury in this country, censored and dumbed down by a system that was supposed to protect it? Is not the first and foremost job of the Federal Government to protect the Constitution of the United States of America, including the FIRST AMENDEMENT? We must ask these questions and keep asking them until we are given evidence to the contrary, as Ben so boldly and rightfully suggests.
For his hard-hitting, thought provoking, unapologetic and truthful journalistic approach, we commend Ben Swann. Keep fighting the good fight and pulling no punches. The world needs it.
IMAGES COURTESY TRUTH IN MEDIA