“We are the wealthiest country in the world at the wealthiest moment in our history–there’s no question we can afford Social Security.”

Video: YouTube / The Zero Hour with Rj Eskow

Nancy Altman joins RJ Eskow on The Zero Hour to discuss the impact the media has had on the effort to strengthen and expand Social Security benefits for Americans.

Perhaps more now than at any time in our country’s history, Americans are putting their news sources under a microscope. After a presidential campaign cycle rife with accusations of false or biased reporting, media literacy and the impact our media giants have on the nation’s psychology is dominating discussions from the dining room table to the Oval Office.

In this episode, Altman talks about what she calls “a billionaire-funded campaign to undermine confidence and support in Social Security”–a campaign she asserts is being waged through mainstream media.

Recently, several heavy-hitting news outlets came under fire for repeating bogus narratives about Social Security disability–including the Washington Post, Fox News, CNN, and the New York Times to name a few. Following the White House’s lead, many major media outlets perpetuated the claim that the Congressional budget kept a promise not to cut Social Security–despite featuring very deep cuts to Social Security disability.

But Altman says this is only the most recent attack the mainstream media has made on our benefits–and more importantly, on the way we perceive them.

Though Social Security has long had overwhelming bipartisan and intergenerational support among Americans, messaging about a failing, bankrupt Trust Fund, a government-sponsored Ponzi scheme, and young people never seeing a dime of their contributions has become second nature.

But given most people’s positive opinion of Social Security, why have so many of us simultaneously accepted these messages? How can so many of us believe our benefits won’t be there for us when they’ve never failed in the history of the program?

That, Altman would say, is the fault of our news media. But it’s a tide she says is turning–thanks to the rise of social media and grassroots reporting from average, everyday citizens.