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FAKE NEWS: How The Media Twists Your Opinion 

It doesn’t take a genius to see that the media is biased to whomever is paying for the news headlines to be churned out

There have been plenty of studies and articles that have talked about the strategies that the media uses to influence the public and sway opinion and nothing has changed. The internet and social media have shined the spotlight on the narrative the media likes to push to us, and yet the influence isn’t always positive. 

We rely on the mainstream media to tell us what’s happening in the world, and some of the media articles out there use article extraction API to put articles together and grab our attention. There are many ways that the media can twist your opinion and make you feel one way or another about a topic, but how do they do it?

Image Source: Pexels

  • Creating a diversion. One of the key strategies that the media use for influencing opinions is a diversion. They bury the important information under the sheer number of smaller stories, so the stuff we need to see isn’t as obvious as it could be. We can filter the information we want to see, but many of us just pay attention to the headlines as they occur.
  • They like to exaggerate. The pandemic has been a huge issue, right? Well, half of the panic comes from the media headlines and the way the countries handle it is portrayed in the headlines. Exaggerations in the media are prominent and they’re there to sensationalize and scare most of the time
  • A gradual opinion. Did you know that the media can and do release information gradually? This is a strategy that certainly works because it helps people to form an image of a product, a person or an event!
  • The postponement. If people have to make a harder or an unpopular decision, these are presented as painful and yet necessary. The pressure is on the public, then, to make choices earlier than they may have planned. This includes things like politics and independent referendums and developing countries. 
  • They’re extra kind. There are some publications out there that use basic, kind language and intonations which makes people far less critical when they read. Brands then interpret that and aim for the simple feelings and impulses.
  • They play on emotion. News and emotions go together very well and there is nothing good about this. Emotions stop you from withdrawing the facts properly and your thinking becomes clouded – and media outlets know it!
  • Product pushing. The media will influence opinions with pressurized product pushing and the media is happy to push products that have no real purpose. People are influenced easily in social media and when paid influencer marketing is used, people relate to the products more and the media get what they want.

Finding ethical media outlets isn’t always easy but it’s better to know what to look for and how the media can affect you so that you can have the very best information. 

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