On 5th November, Americans go to the polls.
On 20th January, either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be inaugurated as their next president.
But it’s what happens in the 76 days between those two dates that is of particular significance.
If Harris loses the election, history suggests that the Democrats will concede.
But if Trump loses, history suggests he will contest it fiercely, even if there are no grounds for doing so.
Not being the incumbent, he will have fewer options to thwart the election result than he had in 2020, but that won’t stop him trying.
Large numbers of Republican voters continue to believe that the 2020 election was stolen, because they were repeatedly told it was and certain sections of the media allowed that perception to take hold.
Such misrepresentation undermines democratic institutions and increases the likelihood of violence.
The mainstream media has it in its power to bring order to any post-election chaos.
Assuming that any claims of electoral wrongdoings are baseless, all sections of the mainstream media should:
- Acknowledge the winner immediately, conferring on them the title of ‘president-elect’ without delay.
- Report, unambiguously, the fact that the election was fair.
- Dedicate journalistic resource to swiftly investigate claims of wrongdoing and establish the facts.
- Report claims of wrongdoing, but set them in the context of them being groundless.
- Leave no room for ambiguity.
Sadly, there will be individual bloggers, podcasters and influencers who have what they see as a vested interest in perpetuating falsehoods, but their influence will shrivel and die in the face of resolute mainstream media reporting.
Ultimately, it’s all about truth.
I’ve just finished Times political columnist Daniel Finkelstein’s excellent book, ‘Hitler, Stalin, Mum & Dad’ in which he traces the history of both sides of his family, caught in the twin horrors visited on Europe by Hitler and Stalin.
The distortion of truth and its repercussions was a prominent theme of the book, and in the final chapter, Finkelstein summarises the set of values his family’s journey had left him with, which I’m sure inform his journalism today: “protecting civil rights under the law, defending liberal norms, ... moderation against extremism ... reason over irrationality ... optimism and resilience tempered by the memory of dictatorship and oppression.”
In particular, if the mainstream media prioritises ‘reason over irrationality’, then America might just emerge from the coming election strengthened.
This article was first published in InPublishing magazine. If you would like to be added to the free mailing list to receive the magazine, please register here.
