Creating Reality

My first book fifty years ago was a study of television news, called Creating Reality. The title was intended to show the irony of how news reporting could distort things in order to make them more visually interesting and entertaining. Now, fifty years later, I realize how common massive distortions have become. President Trump routinely distorts reality and strives to create something new. I capture this process in my recent book, Gonzo Governance: The Media Logic of Donald Trump. Reality distortion occurs through omission and commission. 

Through omission, his administration’s USDA has stopped reporting “Hunger in America,” stating that the report “failed to present anything more than subjective, liberal fodder.” The data helps state and federal agencies plan aid. The USDA commission estimated that in 2024 more than 47 million Americans, including 14 million children, were hungry. But no more. Illness and accident monitoring is another omission. The CDC will no longer collect data on car crashes, gun violence, and homicides. Presumably, no serious action is required if we don’t have clear evidence about the nature of the problem.

The Trump Administration also creates reality by acts of commission. As part of the anti-vaccine and anti-science policy of the Trump Administration, Tylenol (acetaminophen) has falsely been linked to autism, despite a preponderance of scientific evidence to the contrary. The President said “Fight like hell not to take it.” Another commission was the President’s executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” aimed at protecting US history from negative characterizations. All interpretive signing at national parks and the Smithsonian museums are under review to reverse a false narrative about negative aspects of American history, including, what Trump called an excessive focus on “how bad Slavery was.”

There are many other examples of creating and cleansing reality. The intent is to present a sanitized version of history and contemporary life that suits a broader narrative about liberal predecessors’ ideology so that the present and future can be created with firm control and conviction. This will be pursued even if it means that those who disagree will be censored, ridiculed, and punished. 

Obdurate reality eventually sets in regardless of how many twists and turns political editing may take.  More people will go hungry, and medical and psychological consequences will follow; more injuries and deaths will accompany fewer reports that chronicle risk and danger; more people will get sick and die because of fanciful medical and drug policies; and the baseline of civic and historical awareness about the United States and the world will decline and restrict public expectations of government. It’s a new world for us all.

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