Methods Used To Manipulate Information In The Baltimore Riots

Everybody in the United States has a certain way of getting information about what’s going on in the country. Some of the media giants in this country include CNN, Fox News, NBC, among many others, and nearly all of them have been criticized for being biased and promoting “hidden agendas.” Today, the clear majority of the public get their news very quickly, so people prefer television news or through apps or websites on their phones. Connor Friedersdorf of The Atlantic took note of this in an article he wrote titled “Why Does the American Media Get Big Stories Wrong?” He states that the media has shifted to less informative methods of reporting on stories and that today’s media is ripe with flaws, many of which are easily identifiable. Opposed

In his article, “The Political Impact of Media Bias,” Ethan Kaplan states that, “In a representative system of government, policy outcomes are affected by the political preferences and the beliefs of the voters. The media plays a key role in shaping these preferences and beliefs. It collects, summarizes, and frames the information that voters use in their voting decisions”(Kaplan 1). As previously stated, the media provides us with our information, and they control what it is we receive. This information is what leads us to our ideas and our beliefs. Therefore, the media is able to shape our very mind to fit their agenda. An example of this is

Your television and computer are controlling every choice you make. Scary thought? Everyday Americans log into their computer or turn on their TV and are fed information from our trusted media. In fact, a Marshall survey states, “By 2015, it is estimated that Americans will consume both traditional and digital media for over 1.7 trillion hours, an average of approximately 5 and a half hours per person per day.” Unknowingly at times, we are allowing our media to shape the choices we make, the ways we see others, and the way we view ourselves. With most of Americans unaware of the media's control on their choices and views, this can be an alarming realization. Media has a major impact on multiple parts of our society.

Malcolm X said “The media is the most powerful entity on Earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” The media is powerful. The world is full of lies. People have to be able to tell what is the lie and what is the truth. People get their news from websites and newspapers, often from only one source. People should read multiple news sources, because again, the world is full of lies. If a person always gets their news from one source, they will be brainwashed by it and believe it.

As a society, us Americans tend to put stock in varied forms of mass media. From Disney to Gannett we grow up with selective views of the world and shaped opinions based on TV ratings. There are many theories on hegemony in American society. Dr. Noam Chomsky, a preeminent authority in 20th century political philosophy, discusses how news media is a tool for disseminating propaganda provided by the powerful elite in his book Manufacturing Consent. He discusses how American mass media is a tool of democracy to placate the majority of the populous and encourage compliance without overt use of force. He makes several major points throughout his book. Chomsky discusses how propaganda is necessary to the functioning of our “democracy” similar to how other types of government either overtly or covertly enforce support among their regime. He makes the point that our media and news outlets are inescapably tied to the political machine. Most importantly, he discusses what he calls the propaganda model of the media.

In today’s society, remaining connected and knowledgeable of current events and the newest trends is vital to staying ahead in business, education, and social standing. This information is supplied to everyone through the internet, newspapers, television, and radio. One can tune into stations such as CNN, NBC, Fox News, Al-Jazeera, and many others (“SQs of Media Outlets”). In order to meet the needs of viewers, readers, and listeners, the ideal media system would contain accurate, quick information, with a purely impartial view on the facts as they are known. However, this modern media system has not maintained an objective view, pushing opinionated and slanted reporting onto the population in order to create profit and gain customers. The exploitation of information media for personal gain has created a toxic and inaccurate present, constant in today’s society.

Hour by hour minute by minute the media blinds us with propaganda and manipulates us into believing a biased opinion. People see this everyday with tabloids and the media. They lie to us with one sided opinions in politics for a quick buck and they lure people away from the truth. America needs to start thinking for themselves and stop letting the media control their lives. The media is creating filters and providing fake news on important situations in the world. And Americans need to wake up and solve this

We live in a world of technological innovation where mass media is a major part of us today. People make assumptions on what they hear. They do not try to analyze the situation to see who is right and who is wrong, and mass media is the main source of manipulating one's mind. The concept of propaganda has changed over time. Propagandists create ideas stereotypically through the use of propaganda and use media to promote it and target people's minds to have influence on their views towards a certain group of people. These ideas create negative or positive images in the intended audience's minds. However, it is notable that the information is only the one that is exemplified through media and therefore, can be

To begin, just imagine how many times a day we encounter some sort of media. It is almost impossible to avoid it, which is why media plays such an enormous role in our lives. Every day we see glamorous images of people that depict a perfect reality. It may or may not come as a surprise that these media outlets affect the way we think about our lives and even the events that we are able to remember. Since people have a numerous amount of options when it comes to entertainment, there is so much competing going on that the stories can be over glamorized. ” “Entertainment has superseded the provision of information; human interest has supplanted the public interest; measured judgement has succumbed to sensationalism.”

Propaganda is the most dangerous form of controlled media, as it is widespread and manipulates the viewer to think whatever idea or opinion it is projecting. However, propaganda is often simply an “effective appeal to the emotions”(Weir) of citizens and does not actually deliver the truth, let alone the whole story. The issue of propaganda is that people “believe what they are fed,”(Weir) but that may not be their fault. If media is censored and any outside sources of information are unreachable, it is impossible for unbiased or more factual reports to be found. All citizens’ decisions must be based off of what they have been told, rather than from their own opinion. Any ideas or viewpoints have been morphed into thoughts that are compliant with what the government wants. Citizens can no longer make decisions for themselves, rather they must benefit the

"Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one." This quote by A.J. Liebling illustrates the reality of where the media stands in today's society. Over the past twenty years there has been an increase in power throughout the media with regard to politics. The media's original purpose was to inform the public of the relevant events that occurred around the world. The job of the media is to search out the truth and relay that news to the people. The media has the power to inform the people but often times the stories given to the public are distorted for one reason or another. Using slant and sensationalism, the media has begun to shape our views in society and the process by which

Media is an extremely popular tool of communication this most of the world use often. Media has many different forms that makes it easy for people to gain access to it. Media can be seen on used on internet site such as twitter and news websites, on television, radio, and newspapers. The public doesn’t have to look very hard to get in contact with some form of media. Media can be a powerful tool because of the involvement it has when many people’s lives. This is common knowledge though, the people working in media knows the influence it has on others and take advantage of that. People use the media to corrupt others, make money, and persuade the world to believe what they embed in their heads. Many examples of this had been done throughout history. It occurs during commercial ads when companies talk highly of their product/service in order to sell it, or companies will talk down on another company’s product to make theirs’ seem more appealing. This practice of corruption was used a lot during the 2016 presidential election. Media influenced or even brain washed most Americans into voting for the candidate that they embedded into their mind.

It has become common for the modern day society to rely on different sources for their news. Because of the internet and other technological devices that have developed over the years, our access to the news have greatly increased. However, along with this comes the familiar issue of media distortion. In the beginning of the year, I decided to study the power of media in depth—specifically media bias and its influence on public opinion on current events. I chose the media as my subject not only because it affects all aspects of our lives, but also because many people can identify themselves with it, like me. Eventually, I realized that I did not want to limit my research solely on bias in the media, so I decided to also focus on influence on the public as well. Throughout my research, I analyzed diverse but relevant articles in order to better my understanding the effect of the media.

Is society being influenced by the negative manipulation that exists within the realm of media? Is manipulation being enclosed more by exaggeration or by well thought tactics to drive ratings? Manipulation has been a long going issue that has taken its tolls on numerous populations. Society is just now realizing the drastic effects it can have on one’s mind, soul, and intellect. Media Manipulation continues to grow as an evil power as it consumes the minds of not only the public audience but also to the ones who decide to use it to their advantage. The overall population has been long overdue for a wakeup call of how manipulation is impacting not only their lives but the lives of their loved ones as well. The media uses manipulation to negatively influence the general public’s knowledge on social issues.

Too often, people do not question or challenge the views media presents to us and simply accept the views at face value. Politicians rely on this during campaign elections. The popularity of negative advertisements depreciating opposition parties has grown tremendously over the years because they are often successful. The public embraces the negative media messages, then votes accordingly. Oftentimes, people do not even know they have been acted-upon by the media.