Gatekeeping refers to restricting, limiting, or controlling the information that is readily available to the public. This was first introduced in 1943 by social psychologist Kurt Lewin.
Gatekeeping is similar to censorship which completely goes against our First Amendment free speech. This also affects the idea of inequality due to filtering the information. Gatekeeping can dictate the narrative in which our society lives due to holding the power to decide what news is shared, what news is hidden from public view, and what news is considered important.
For example, the increased amount of recent UFO sightings has not headlined the news, though other stories are being pushed in the media. This can even cross over to the idea of agenda-setting, which is when the media sets the agenda of public discourse. This generally has little to no benefits, though having access to all information in the media would incite public panic and chaos across our nation.
The media continues to shape and challenge our shared beliefs as a society. Gatekeeping can be very dangerous as it shifts the focus away from important things to create a narrative that is then pushed through the media. As media consumers, and even just citizens of the United States, we need to ensure that we are utilizing all of the resources available by diversifying our news sources, fact-checking, and challenging censorship.
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