Media manipulation

Examples of televised manipulation can be found in news programs that can reach mass audiences. Pictured is the infamous Dziennik (Journal) news cast, which attempted to slander capitalism in then-communist Poland using emotive and loaded language.

"Daisy", a TV commercial for the re-election of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson. It was shown once, in September 1964. It is considered both one of the most controversial and one of the most effective political ads in U.S. history.

Media manipulation is about using the media to favor one's own interests.^[1] For this, logial fallacies, deception, disinformation and propaganda may be used. Very often, other views of the argument are left out.

In Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, Jacques Ellul writes that public opinion can only express itself through channels which are provided by the mass media of communication – without which there could be no propaganda.^[2] It is used within public relations, propaganda, marketing, etc. While the objective for each context is quite different, the broad techniques are often similar. The more modern mass media manipulation methods are types of distraction, on the assumption that the public has a limited attention span.

See Also

• Internet censorship

References

1. Coxall, Malcolm (2 Mar 2013). Caswell, Guy (ed.). Human Manipulation - A Handbook. Cornelio Books. ISBN 978-8-4940-8532-1.
2. Ellul, Jacques (1973). Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes, Ch. 2.Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. Vintage Books, New York. ISBN 978-0-394-71874-3.