The Success of the Media's Manipulation on the Public's Opinion of the War
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The Success of the Media's Manipulation on the Public's Opinion of the War
Source K suggests the media was more influential to the opinion of ordinary American citizens than the elected politicians of their country, whom many of the public had voted for and trusted. The source implies that the reason for this was because the horrific images of the war made the American public realise that the war was not going well, contrary to the claims of their government. Television coverage of the war meant that any American citizen could turn on the television and see that the war was going badly. This made the public less likely to believe the pro-war politicians (‘Hawks’) who proclaimed that the war was…show more content… Source A supports Source K by showing that the media was influential to the opinion of the American public, though it does not say that it was more influential than the politicians.
In Source B, a scene in a small town in America is described, where the inhabitants are pro-war. The source accuses the media of ignoring the ‘public acceptance’ of the war across America and it is claimed that the media are trying to create an ‘anti-war’ feeling across America. The source implies that there is more public support for the war than the media acknowledges and that the media creates a false impression of what the public opinion of the war is in America. The source suggests there would be a lot more people influenced into being ‘pro-war’ if the media showed scenes such as these. In some ways Source B supports Source K as it describes the influence the media has on public opinion and how quickly the media could change the opinion of millions of people It also implies that the media has done a convincing a job of the true public opinion of the war in America. On the other hand, Source B says that the media has not been totally successful in its ‘anti-war’ campaign, as there is still plenty of support for the war.
Source C shows the number of US troops deployed in Vietnam during the war. The statistics show that troops were pulled out of Vietnam since 1971. This shows that the government