ANTIWAR

ANTI-WAR Platforms

The mainstream media these days is often very tailored to the individual. Since people are using platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and X to stay up to date with current news topics, our phones do a really good (but sketchy) job at showing us what we want to see. For example a conservative scrolling on TikTok is more likely to see FoxNews clips or Charlie Kirk podcast snip-its. With that being said, we aren't doing our best as a society to go online and do the research and read the articles that may give us a more well-rounded view. I bring this up because with this assignment, we were told to dive into these anti-war websites and they weren't something I had ever heard about previously. 

Antiwar.com began there mission back under the Clinton administration to fight against intervention. They include a range of voices to target multiple audiences such as the "leftists," "greens," and "independents" that all share the common goal of opposition in regards to U.S. foreign policy. The American Conservative typically aims to be a voice for individual freedoms. Both of these platforms have pretty strong and assertive voices that have the desire to critique and advocate for the people. 

I think we don't hear about these platforms because the government wants society to fully be in support of their decisions. These types of sites run the risk of Americans becoming educated on what's going on and possibly increasing the desire to take a stand. The government unfortunately has a lot of control over the media and are able to easily change the narrative. Since government tends to be in support of war, these websites run a greater risk of the people understanding and therefore disagreeing with their course of action. 

The benefit of these sites is that we are able to learn from an "unpopular" view and perhaps eliminate the lack of transparency. An example of this is an article in The American Conservative that discusses the new DOGE goals by Vivek and Elon. This is not something we will see in the mainstream news simply because it is showcasing a solid plan that basically tells us what has been going on for the past four years has put us in a major sinkhole. It is stories such as these that allow people that may lean left, to see a different perspective and realize that good can come from a change in office. 

All-in-all, I really like the idea behind these websites/platforms because they are very educational and tailor to both sides. War is something that not everyone likes to talk about or admit that it's happening, but maybe having all of the facts can help society understand the gravity of the situation.