The First Amendment in the Constitution gives Americans five basic freedoms: Freedom of Speech, Press, Assembly, Petition, and Religion. Freedom of speech is the freedom to say whatever you want without censorship or repercussions. Freedom of Assembly gives you the right to assemble peacefully to protest or rally. Freedom of the petition is the right for citizens to express how they feel about issues to government officials and people who are in charge. Freedom of press grants the right for media and publications to hold the government accountable. The press is independent of the government. Freedom of religion gives citizens the right to believe, or not to believe in anything they want.  

I’m going to be focusing on freedom of the press. A free press is a crucial part of democracy, as it provides citizens with information they need to make decisions on voting, form their own opinions, and hold their government accountable. Without a free press those in power can easily control the narrative and suppress the voice of the people. This can easily lead to corruption in government.  

However, freedom of press isn’t absolute. The press cannot print things that aren’t true, not without consequences. There are also limitations in cases where absolute free speech can cause harm such as hate speech and incitement of violence. It is also important for the press to operate ethically and without bias so citizens can be informed of the whole story and not just one side of it or one person’s opinion. Misinformation and propaganda can be just as harmful as censorship.