Liberals and conservatives, left and right, blue and red. These terms have never been as divided when compared to each other as they are now.

While the division between the democrats and the republicans define the basic framework of American politics, this division has become even more prominent during the Trump administration and extends beyond the political ideology that separates these two groups.

For instance, the administration’s recurring feuds with the media highlights the conflicts between two major sources in the country, both of whose voice people need to hear.

The latest controversy between the Trump administration and a CNN reporter, Jim Acosta, is an indication that when it comes to the ultimate truth, despite their political ideology, Americans might have to think a bit harder before believing anything they hear or see.

On Nov.7, President Donald Trump had an argumentative question and answer session with the CNN reporter Jim Acosta regarding the caravan heading towards the southern U.S. border from Latin America.

After this heated discussion, President Trump put a stop to the questions and had a White House intern take the mic away from the journalist.

While such heated discussions between the press and the members of Trump administration is common nowadays, this incident stood out because Acosta’s questions were not only unanswered, but he was also suspended from his position.

Sarah Sanders, the White House Press Secretary, released a video claiming that Acosta had “put his hands on a young woman who was just doing her job” which caused him to have his White House pass revoked.

This video of him swatting away the hands of an intern who was just doing her job does make Acosta seem like a highly unprofessional journalist.

However, another video which was released as the original footage of the incident redirects the question towards the present administration and its’ credibility when it comes to relaying the truth to the public.

In this other video, we see Acosta’s hand slightly brushing off the intern’s hand, something that he couldn’t have avoided when she tried to take his mic away.

In the video shared by Sanders, Acosta saying “Pardon me, ma’am” to the intern was also muted.

To many, this whole incident seems like a tug-of-war between the left and the right or another back and forth between CNN and the President, but it is so much more than that.

The attacks on the media by the current president is nothing new.

In fact, he has gone as far as to call them the “enemy of the people”. Trump’s administration has been called Orwellian many times, but it has truly lived up to this accusation when it tried to misinform the people about what actually happened as a retaliation to the political feud with the press.

The fact that this particular journalist was in a very contentious argument with President Trump highlights the whole fake-video-fiasco as an attack to the first amendment rights and the freedom of press.

An interaction watched by thousands of people was doctored to make one of the journalists look bad, and it was supported by the members of the administration.

An interaction watched by thousands of people was doctored to make one of the journalists look bad, and it was supported by the members of the administration.

Furthermore, putting a journalist whose job entails uncovering the truth for the people in the center of this shameful situation only creates more misunderstanding, confusion and mistrust in this already-divided America.

This situation also directs our attention to the fact that we need to keep ourselves alert about the current political environment more than ever. In the light of the recent murder of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, free speech and press freedom have been threatened more than before on a universal scale.

Use of such edited videos to tarnish the reputation of a journalist might not be equivalent to murder, but it is an act of silencing the press nonetheless and could be a beginning of something that defies the very core of American beliefs.

In today’s America which is fueled with the accusations of “fake news” adorning every response from the president and edited videos justifying the removal of a journalist from the White House, it falls upon the people to be aware of what is being fed to them.

When it comes to the truth, there should be no left and right.

America should be united as an entity which requires and demands a transparent and truthful administration. Just as we call for the media to be transparent, we need the federal geovernment to be just as unbiased.

Despite the differences between them, in the end, information is the only power people can rely on to make decisions.

And, they should be able to put these differences aside when it comes to getting the information they are entitled to in this divided nation.