Samim Faramarz and Ramiz Ahmadi had just wrapped up their live report of the most recent suicide bombing in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, when a car bomb was detonated just meters away, killing both of them. This event took place on Sept. 5, 2018 and raised the number of journalist deaths in Afghanistan to 14.

  In 2018, 53 journalists died while they were on an assignment or due to their controversial opinions.

  Journalism has immense power in regards to altering people’s beliefs and revealing the truth. When this power of expression is suppressed, all of the influence moves to the oppressor.

  Free journalism in the United States is not under physical attack but is still being suppressed. Almost all teens receive their news from social media platforms; if fake news and manipulation is infecting these sites then can’t trust what we see.

  With Donald Trump publicly telling CNN reporters that they “are fake news,” the trust in news outlets has started to diminish. Trump even came after primarily conservative Fox News over “false” coverage of Wall negotiations. If the media becomes distrusted, then the story can be manipulated in whatever way the person in power wants.

  This does not bode well for our generation. With free press around the world becoming more and more restricted, power is increasingly transferring to dangerous autocracies.

  We as the next generation need to rally together and fight the suppression of our first amendment.