Media distortion of movements for social justice and violence?

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I think of people who were active in fighting for social justice getting attacked and threatened by thugs or people who hated what they were standing for.

But the media in America most often seems to have focused on violence or *potential* violence by the members of a movement. I have heard and read this both for civil rights and organised labour.

Do you think that the media in America can be expected to report negatively about movements for social justice because they are part of the system and are rewarded by it?