“To your request of my opinion of the manner in which a newspaper should be conducted, so as to be most useful, I should answer, “by restraining it to true facts & sound principles only.” Yet I fear such a paper would find few subscribers. It is a melancholy truth, that a suppression of the press could not more compleatly deprive the nation of it’s benefits, than is done by it’s abandoned prostitution to falsehood. Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper. Truth itself becomes suspicious by being put into that polluted vehicle. The real extent of this state of misinformation is known only to those who are in situations to confront facts within their knowledge with the lies of the day. I really look with commiseration over the great body of my fellow citizens, who, reading newspapers, live & die in the belief, that they have known something of what has been passing in the world in their time; whereas the accounts they have read in newspapers are just as true a history of any other period of the world as of the present, except that the real names of the day are affixed to their fables. General facts may indeed be collected from them, such as that Europe is now at war, that Bonaparte has been a successful warrior, that he has subjected a great portion of Europe to his will, &c., &c.; but no details can be relied on. I will add, that the man who never looks into a newspaper is better informed than he who reads them; inasmuch as he who knows nothing is nearer to truth than he whose mind is filled with falsehoods & errors. He who reads nothing will still learn the great facts, and the details are all false.”
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the third President of the United States and one of the Founding Fathers. He advocated for liberty, democracy, and American independence.
This quote exposes Jefferson’s critical view on the press of his time and warns about the dangers of false information spread as truth. It reminds us to think critically and always question the sources of our information.
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Thomas Jefferson on Newspapers: Why Truth in Press Is Hard to Believe Today!
Thomas Jefferson warns against false information in newspapers and emphasizes the importance of true facts and critical thinking for a free society.
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, philosopher, and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence. He served as the third President of the USA from 1801 to 1809 and is regarded as one of the most influential figures in American history, particularly for his ideas about democracy, individual liberty, and human rights.
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