Media Uses Allegations to Shape the Nation

Our nation is captivated by the scintillating allegations against Judge Roy Moore. In the public eye for more than 40 years, Judge Moore has defended public displays of the Ten Commandments and upheld the Bible as more important than the Constitution. For these reasons, he has been attacked in the media for years. Yet the intensity of coverage of Judge Moore increased exponentially in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations from a number of women. Although Judge Moore denies these allegations, he has been asked to remove himself as a candidate in the Alabama Senate special election. Some senators have said they will attempt to remove him from the Senate if elected.

Meanwhile, in the shadow of this story, is the trial of Senator Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, who was indicted for corruption and abuse of office. In the history of the United States, only 12 sitting senators have been indicted. Menendez was indicted with a long-time friend, Dr. Salomon Melgan, who was convicted of Medicare fraud in the spring. The trial started 11 weeks ago; the juries have not reached a verdict yet.

I hope both men are innocent. We need leaders who are righteous and upstanding. And we need to pray for our leaders to be righteous and upstanding, which is why our ministry equips Christians with multiple prayer guides for our leaders.

But we also need to see clearly that the media bias is not just something to wring our hands over. The media coverage, or non-coverage, of controversies shapes our political and social culture. Look at the staggering difference between the amounts of coverage Senate-candidate Moore’s allegations have received, versus the amount of coverage given to the allegations, indictment, and trial of Senator Menendez.

A study by Media Research Center found that in the first four days of the allegation of sexual impropriety by Judge Moore, the big three (ABC, NBC, and CBS) covered the story 125 minutes and 11 seconds.

Contrast that with their study of the coverage of the Senator Menendez scandal. Media Research Center found, since the trial started on September 5, ABC, NBC, and CBS covered the story a total of 2 minutes and 10 seconds.

125 minutes to 2 minutes.

Even allowing for the difference in potential character flaws and that Medicare corruption is less salacious than sexual impropriety, this is a tremendous discrepancy. Further, the trial of a sitting senator is an historical event.

Rather than stand back and let the media determine what our nation will be, let’s respond to God’s invitation to join Him in shaping history through prayer. We must pray:

1. The American public would have the supernatural ability to see through media bias and be discerning about public controversies. “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord, but those who deal truly are His delight” (Prov. 12:22).
2. Truth revealed and evildoers punished, whether they agree with us politically or not. “He who walks uprightly walks surely, but he who perverts his ways will be known” (Prov. 10:9).
3. God would divinely intervene in the December 12th special election in Alabama, bringing His judgment. “A good man obtains favor of the Lord, but a man of wicked devices will He condemn” (Prov. 12:2). {eoa}

Rev. David Kubal is the president and CEO of Intercessors for America (IFA). IFA equips and supports praying Christians to shape the nation’s history through prayer. As the president, his vision is to mobilize a multi-generational army of intercessors. To learn more, visit IFApray.org.