Media's Role In The Vietnam War

The media played a critical role in the ending of the Vietnam War. With television rising in popularity at exceptional rates, the media quickly began to be the most efficient method of gaining knowledge of the world. Due to the “The Buddhist Crisis” in 1966, America already had a negative opinion of Vietnam. “The Buddhist Crisis” was the result of the South Vietnamese political leader, Ngo Dinh Diem, imposing his Catholic government. This resulted in the public suicide of Buddhist monks, which turned the citizens against Diem for his embarrassing insensitivity and intolerance. Since the way the monks committed suicide was by burning themselves in the middle of streets, this caught the attention of American reporters. Soon the pictures of burning bodies horrified the public and instantly gave Americans a negative view of Vietnam.
When North Vietnam invaded South Vietnam under Ho Chi Minh, who planned to unify Vietnam , American government leaders feared the Domino Effect would occur. The Domino Effect is the fear that if one counter communist country falls to communism, then many other neighboring countries would follow one by one in a domino-like fashion. In South
When they failed to find their target this resulted in the horrific slaughter of many civilians. According to History.com, “Frustrated by unanswered losses due to snipers and mines, the soldiers took out their anger on the villagers, indiscriminately shooting people as they ran from their huts and systematically rounding up the survivors, allegedly leading them to nearby ditch where they were executed.” When the public was made aware of this occurrence, it “sparked a wave of international outrage and led to a special investigation into the matter.” On September 5th 1968 William Calley was charged with the deaths of 106 Vietnamese