Communicating online is a minefield: Navigating the court of public opinion on the internet is a challenge many refuse to engage in. For the brave few who do engage, they’re faced with two decisions: conform or risk cancellation. Broken down further, the options are: water down your views or be ostracized from society. It happens all the time. Unless your perspectives match a specific narrative, they’re either twisted to fit it or thrown out and devalued. It’s a global mob-mentality that could be a catalyst for incredible change in the world — were it not for the fact most of the people participating in it are victims of media conglomerates saturating their feeds using algorithms and one-sided data. It’s why we’re hearing the same things from each group of people, whether they’re liberals, conservatives, idealists or realists. They’re each being inundated with their own dogmatic ideology, and they’re rarely exposed to the other side of an argument.
It’s not their fault. Their worldview is skewed because they’re only hearing one of the two people speaking in a debate. It’s why so many people on the left feel hurt and confused after the 2016 election. It’s why right-wing populism is on the rise. No-one’s social bubbles are being burst with any kind of objectivity.
But it’s time they were. The Doe is a news outlet offering a way to break free of the constraints of media bias. It’s a platform for lesser-known, often marginalized stories that give readers an opportunity to confront their biases and hear a perspective that’s different from their own. Founded by Milan Kordestani, who realized how people only felt free to speak their truth when it was anonymous, he set about designing a platform that could defy the culture of conformity we’re all entrenched in. By publishing an anonymously written story once a week, he seeks to give a voice to the side of an argument that gets less exposure. The authors of these articles will be vetted for authenticity, and their story written to level the playing field.
Most of us stay silent because we’re aware of the bias but don’t know how to combat it. We know because we understand the human experience is complex and far too varied to fit into neat, bundled narratives. It’s time to break free of the warped groupthink we’re entrenched in. It’s time to recognize the puppets we’ve become in the media, and it’s time to do something about it. Follow them online at thedoe.com and Instagram @wearethedoe for access to unfiltered and honest perspectives.
