Media manipulation

Techniques in which partisans create an image that favours their interests

For other uses, see Manipulation.

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Examples of televised manipulation can be found in news programs that can reach mass audiences. Pictured is the Polish newscast program Dziennik, infamous for having attempted to slander capitalism in then-communist Poland using emotive and loaded language.

Media manipulation refers to orchestrated campaigns in which actors exploit the distinctive features of broadcasting mass communications or digital media platforms to mislead, misinform, or create a narrative that advance their interests and agendas.[1][2][3]

In practice, media manipulation tactics may include the use of the use of rhetorical strategies including logical fallacies, deceptive content like disinformation, and propaganda techniques, and often involve the suppression of information or points of view by crowding them out, by inducing other people or groups of people to stop listening to certain arguments, or by simply diverting attention elsewhere. 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.[4] It is used within public relations, propaganda, marketing, etc. While the objective for each context is quite different, the broad techniques are often similar.

As illustrated below, many of the more modern mass media manipulation methods are types of distraction, on the assumption that the public has a limited attention span.

## Contexts

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### Activism

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Main article: Activism

Activism is the practice or doctrine that has an emphasis on direct vigorous action especially supporting or opposing one side of a controversial matter.[5] It is quite simply starting a movement to affect or change social views. It is frequently started by influential individuals but is done collectively through social movements with large masses.[6] These social movements can be done through public rallies, strikes, street marches and even rants on social media.

### Advertising

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

Main article: Advertising

Advertising is a form of promotion that seeks to persuade a certain audience to purchase a good or service. One of the first types of marketing, it aims to persuade its target market to either buy, sell, or carry out a particular action.[7] This tends to be done by businesses who wish to sell their product by paying media outlets to show their products or services on television breaks, banners on websites and mobile applications.

These advertisements are not only done by businesses but can also be done by certain groups. Non-commercial advertisers are those who spend money on advertising in a hope to raise awareness for a cause or promote specific ideas.[8] These include groups such as interest groups, political parties, government organizations and religious movements. Most of these organizations intend to spread a message or sway public opinion instead of trying to sell products or services. Advertising can not only be found on social media, but it is also evident on billboards, newspapers, magazines and even word of mouth.

### Hoaxing

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Main article: Hoax

A hoax is something intended to deceive or defraud. Misleading public stunts, scientific frauds, false bomb threats and business scams are examples of hoaxes.[9]

### Propagandizing

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Main article: Propaganda

Propagandizing is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position by presenting only one side of an argument. Propaganda is commonly created by governments, but some forms of mass communication created by other powerful organizations can be considered propaganda as well. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda, in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda is usually repeated and dispersed over a wide variety of media in order to create the chosen result in audience attitudes. While the term propaganda has justifiably acquired a strongly negative connotation by association with its most manipulative and jingoistic examples (e.g. Nazi propaganda used to justify the Holocaust), propaganda in its original sense was neutral, and could refer to uses that were generally benign or innocuous, such as public health recommendations, signs encouraging citizens to participate in a census or election, or messages encouraging persons to report crimes to the police, among others. [10]

Propaganda uses societal norms and myths that people hear and believe. Because people respond to, understand and remember more simple ideas this is what is used to influence people's beliefs, attitudes and values.[11]

### Psychological warfare

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Main article: Psychological warfare

Psychological warfare is sometimes considered synonymous with propaganda. The principal distinction being that propaganda normally occurs within a nation, whereas psychological warfare normally takes place between nations, often during war or cold war. Various techniques are used to influence a target's values, beliefs, emotions, motives, reasoning, or behavior. Target audiences can be governments, organizations, groups, and individuals.

This tactic has been used in multiple wars throughout history. During World War II, the western Allies, expected that the Soviet Union would drop leaflets on the US and England. During the conflict with Iraq, American and English forces dropped leaflets, with many of the leaflets telling the people how to surrender. In the Korean War both sides would use loud speakers from the front lines.[12] In 2009 people in Israel in the Gaza war received text messages on their cell phones threatening them with rocket attacks. The Palestinian people were getting phone calls and leaflets warning them that they were going to drop rockets on them. These phone calls and leaflets were not always accurate.[13]

### Public relations

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Main article: Public relations

Public relations (PR) is the management of the flow of information between an individual or an organization and the public. Public relations may include an organization or individual gaining exposure to their audiences using topics of public interest and news items that do not require direct payment. PR is generally created by specialized individuals or firms at the behest of already public individuals or organizations, as a way of managing their public profile.

## Techniques

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### Internet manipulation

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Main article: Internet manipulation

#### Astroturfing

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Main article: Astroturfing

Astroturfing is when there is an intent and attempt to create the illusion of support for a particular cause, person, or stance. While this is mainly connected to and seen on the internet, it has also happened in newspapers during times of political elections.[14] Corporations and political parties try to imitate grassroots movements in order to sway the public to believing something that isn't true.[15]

#### Clickbait

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Main article: Clickbait

Clickbait refers to headlines of online news articles that are sensationalized or sometimes completely fake. It uses people's natural curiosity to get people to click. In some cases clickbait is simply used to generate income, more clicks means more money made with advertisers.[16] But these headlines and articles can also be used to influence a group of people on social media. They are constructed to appeal to the interest group's pre-existing biases and thus to be shared within filter bubbles.[17]

#### Propaganda laundering

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Main article: Propaganda

Propaganda laundering is a method of using a less trusted or less popular platform to publish a story of dubious origin or veracity for the purposes of reporting on that report, rather than the story itself. This technique serves to insulate the secondary more established media from having to issue a retraction if the report is false. Generally secondary reports will report that the original report is reporting without verifying or making the report themselves.[citation needed]

#### Search engine marketing

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Main article: Search engine marketing

In search engine marketing websites use market research, from past searches and other sources, to increase their visibility in search engine results pages. This allows them to guide search results along the lines they desire, and thereby influence searchers.[18][19]

Business have many tactics to lure customers into their websites and to generate revenue such as banner ads, search engine optimization and pay-per-click marketing tools. They all serve a different purpose and use different tools that appeal to multiple types of users. Banner ads appear on sites that then redirect to other sites that are similar. Search engine optimization is changing a page to seem more reliable or applicable than other similar pages.[citation needed] Pay-per-click involves certain words being highlighted because they were bought by advertisers to then redirect to a page containing information or selling whatever that word pertained to. By using the internet, users are susceptible to these type of advertisements without a clear advertising campaign being viewed.

### Distraction

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#### Distraction by major events

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Commonly known as "smoke screen", this technique consists of making the public focus its attention on a topic that is more convenient for the propagandist. This particular type of media manipulation has been referenced many times in popular culture. Some examples are:

* The movie Wag the Dog (1997), which illustrates the public being deceitfully distracted from an important topic by presenting another that whose only quality is that of being more attractive.
* In the U.S. TV series House of Cards, when protagonist Frank Underwood finds himself trapped in a media rampage, he addresses the viewer and says: "From the lion's den or a pack of wolves. When you're fresh meat, kill and throw them something fresher".

Politicians distract the public by showing them "shiny object" issues through the use of TV and other media. Sometimes they can be as simple as a politician with a reality show, like Sarah Palin had for a short time back in 2009, which aired on TLC.[20]

#### Distracting the public

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This is a mere variation of the traditional arguments known, in logic, as ad hominem and ad populum but applied to countries instead of individuals. This technique consists on refuting arguments by appealing to nationalism or by inspiring fear and hate towards a foreign country or to all the foreigners. It has the potential of being important since it gives the propagandists the power to discredit any information coming from other countries.

Some examples are:

Q: "What do you think about Khokara's politic on X matter?" A: "I think they've been wrong about everything for the last 20 years or so..."

Q: "Your idea is quite similar to the one proposed in Falala." A: "Are you suggesting Falala is a better country than ours?"

#### Straw man fallacy

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Main article: Straw man

An informal fallacy. The "straw man" consists of appearing to refute the opponent's argument while actually attacking another topic. For it to work properly the topic that was actually refuted and the one that should have been refuted need to be similar.

#### Distraction by scapegoat

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Main article: Scapegoating

This is a combination of the straw man fallacy and the ad hominem argument. It is often used to incriminate someone in order to argument the innocence of someone else.

### Audio manipulation

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Main article: Sound bite

### Photo manipulation

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Main article: Photo manipulation

Visual media can be transformed through photo manipulation, commonly called "photoshopping." This can make a product, person, or idea seem more appealing. This is done by highlighting certain features on the product and using certain editing tools to enlarge the photo, to attract and persuade the public.

### Video manipulation

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Main article: video manipulation

Video manipulation is a new variant of media manipulation that targets digital video using a combination of traditional video processing and video editing techniques and auxiliary methods from artificial intelligence like face recognition. In typical video manipulation, the facial structure, body movements, and voice of the subject are replicated in order to create a fabricated recording of the subject. The applications of these methods range from educational videos to videos aimed at (mass) manipulation and propaganda, a straightforward extension of the long-standing possibilities of photo manipulation. This form of computer-generated misinformation has contributed to fake news, and there have been instances when this technology was used during political campaigns.[citation needed]

## Compliance professionals

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A compliance professional is an expert that utilizes and perfects means of gaining media influence. Though the means of gaining influence are common, their aims vary from political, economic, to personal. Thus the label of compliance professional applies to diverse groups of people, including propagandists, marketers, pollsters, salespeople and political advocates.

### Techniques

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Means of influence include, but are not limited to, the methods outlined in Influence: Science and Practice:[21]

* Authority
* Commitment and consistency
* Reciprocation
* Scarcity
* Social proof

Additionally, techniques like framing and less formal means of effective obfuscation, such as the use of logical fallacies, are used to gain compliance.

## See also

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* Media portal

Related topics

* Agnotology
* Concentration of media ownership
* Consumer confusion
* Consumer psychology
* Consumer science
* Crowd manipulation
* Deception
* Disinformation
* Demagogy
* Front organization
* Gatekeeping (communication)
* Gotcha journalism
* Guerrilla marketing
* Outline of public relations
* Ideocracy
* Ideology
* Indoctrination
* Internet manipulation
* Internet censorship
* McCarthyism
* Media regulation
* Media transparency
* Meme
* News management
* Pallywood
* Promotion (marketing)
* Sensationalism
* Spin (public relations)
* The True Believer
* Under color of authority
* Viral marketing

Notable compliance experts

* Edward Bernays
* Ryan Holiday
* Ivy Lee
* Frank Luntz

Notable media manipulation theorists

* Noam Chomsky
* Edward S. Herman
* Michael Moore
* Michael Parenti

## References

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1. ^ Diaz Ruiz, Carlos (2023-10-30). "Disinformation on digital media platforms: A market-shaping approach". New Media & Society. doi:10.1177/14614448231207644. ISSN 1461-4448.
2. ^ Marwick, A. E., & Lewis, R. (2017). Media manipulation and disinformation online. Data & Society Research Institute
3. ^ Coxall, Malcolm (2 Mar 2013). Caswell, Guy (ed.). Human Manipulation - A Handbook. Cornelio Books. ISBN 978-8-4940-8532-1.
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ "Definition of Activism". Merriam-Webster. 2015.
6. ^ "What is Activism". Permanent Culture Now. 2016.
7. ^ Young, Megan. "Marketing vs. Advertising". American Marketing Association. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
8. ^ "Non-commercial Advertising". Business Dictionary. 2015. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
9. ^ "What is a Hoax". Hoaxipedia. 2016.
10. ^ Woolley, Samuel. "Digital Propaganda: The Power of Influencers". Journal of Democracy. JOD. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
11. ^ "Media's Use of Propaganda to Persuade People's Attitude, Beliefs and Behaviors". web.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
12. ^ "psychological warfare". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
13. ^ Jerusalem, Hazem Balousha Toni O'Loughlin in (2009-01-03). "Text messages and phone calls add psychological aspect to warfare in Gaza". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
14. ^ Bienkov, Adam (2012-02-08). "Astroturfing: what is it and why does it matter? | Adam Bienkov". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
15. ^ "10 Fake Grassroots Movements Started By Corporations To Sway Your Opinion". Business Insider. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
16. ^ Frampton, Ben (2015-09-14). "Is clickbait changing journalism?". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
17. ^ Ohlheiser, Abby (2016-11-18). "Analysis | This is how Facebook's fake-news writers make money". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2016-11-19. Retrieved 2022-02-27.
18. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "What Is Search Engine Optimization / SEO". Youtube: Search Engine Land. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
19. ^ Ratliff, James; Rubinfeld, Daniel (May 2014). "Is There a Market for Organic Search Engine Results and Can Their Manipulation Give Rise to Antitrust Liability?". Journal of Competition Law and Economics: 1–25.
20. ^ Leibovich, Mark (2015-09-01). "The Politics of Distraction". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-12-03.
21. ^ Cialdini, Robert B. (2000). Influence: Science and Practice. New Jersey: Allyn & Bacon. ISBN 0-321-18895-0.

## Further reading

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Overviews

* Chomsky, Noam; Herman, Edward S., Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, New York: Pantheon Books, 1988.
* Cialdini, Robert B., Influence: Science and Practice, 4th Edition New Jersey: Allyn & Bacon, 2000.
* Ewen, Stuart, Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and the Social Roots of the Consumer Culture, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976.
* Ewen, Stuart, PR! A Social History of Spin, New York: Basic Books, 1996.
* Ewen, Stuart; Ewen, Elizabeth, Channels of Desire: Mass Images and the Shaping of American Consciousness, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1982.
* Ellul, Jacques. Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. New York: Knopf, 1965. New York: Random House/ Vintage 1973
* Jamieson, H. K, Dirty Politics: Deception, Distraction and Democracy Oxford University Press, 1992.
* Jowett, Garth S.; O'Donnell, Victoria, Propaganda and Persuasion, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 1999. ISBN 0-7619-1147-2.
* Parenti, M., Monopoly Media Manipulation, Mediterranean Quarterly, Spring 2002.
* Lutz, William D., Doublespeak, New York, NY: HarperPerennial, 1990. ISBN 0-06-016134-5.
* Rushkoff, Douglas, "They Say", in Coercion: Why We Listen to What "They" Say, New York: Riverhead Books, 1999.

Case studies

* Beeston, R., Bin Laden Heads List of Suspects, Terror in America Times, 12 September 2001.
* Bohannon, J., I Fooled Millions of People into Thinking Chocolate Helps Weight Loss, Here's How IO9, Gizmodo, Debunkery, 27 May 2015.
* Braddock J., Historian says US backed "efficious terror" in 1965 Indonesian Massacre, World Socialist Website, 7 July 2009.
* Cashmore, E.; McLaughlin, E., Out of Order: Policing Black People, Routledge, 1991.
* Hodges, D., West Africans Are Streaming Across the U.S. Southern Border Carrying the Ebola Virus, The Common Sense Show, 3 August 2014.
* Howard, Philip N.; Ganesh, Bharath; Liotsiou, Dimitra; Kelly, John; François, Camille, The IRA, Social Media and Political Polarization in the United States, 2012-2018. Computational Propaganda Research Project, 17 December 2018.
* Kellner, D., 9/11, Spectacles of terror, and media manipulation, Miscellany, 15 August 2006.
* Ostrow, J., Politics in Russia: A Reader, Sage Publications, 26 June 2012.
* Sniffen, Michael J., Libby case witness details art of media manipulation, Boston Globe, 28 January 2007.
* Turner-Sadler, J., African American History: An Introduction, Peter Lang Publishing, 2009.

## External links

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* "The Persuaders" Frontline
* "Understanding Jargon: A Short Bibliography" by Philip E. Agre

* v
* t
* e

Media manipulation

Context|

* Bias
* Crowd psychology
* Deception
* Dumbing down
* False balance
* Half-truths
* Media
* Obfuscation
* Orwellian
* Persuasion
* Manipulation (psychology)

Activism|

* Advocacy
* group
* Alternative media
* Boycott
* Call-out culture
* Cancel culture
* Civil disobedience
* Culture jamming
* Demonstrations
* Deplatforming
* Grassroots
* Guerrilla communication
* Hacktivism
* Internet
* Media
* Occupations
* Petitions
* Protests
* Youth

Advertising|

* Billboards
* False
* Infomercials
* Mobiles
* Modeling
* Radio
* Sex
* Slogans
* Testimonials
* TV
* Criticism of advertising
* Annoyance factor

* Censorship
* Media regulation

* Books
* Broadcast law
* Burying of scholars
* Catch and kill
* Corporate
* Cover-ups
* Euphemism
* Films
* Historical negationism
* Internet
* Political
* Religious
* Self

Hoaxing|

* Alternative facts
* April Fools'
* Deepfake
* Fake news
* websites
* Fakelore
* False document
* Fictitious entries
* Firehose of falsehood
* Forgery
* Gaslighting
* List
* Literary
* Lying press
* Photograph manipulation
* Racial
* Urban legend
* Virus
* Video manipulation

Marketing|

* Branding
* Loyalty
* Product
* Product placement
* Publicity
* Research
* Word of mouth

News media|

* Agenda-setting
* Broadcasting
* Circus
* Cycle
* Emotive conjugation
* False balance
* Infotainment
* Managing
* Narcotizing dysfunction
* Newspeak
* Pseudo-event
* Scrum
* Sensationalism
* Tabloid journalism

Political campaigning|

* Advertising
* Astroturfing
* Attack ad
* Canvassing
* Character assassination
* Dog whistle
* Election promises
* Lawn signs
* Party platforms (or manifestos)
* Name recognition
* Negative
* Push polling
* Smear campaign
* Wedge issue

Propaganda|

* Bandwagon
* Big lie
* Crowd manipulation
* Disinformation
* Fearmongering
* Framing
* Indoctrination
* Loaded language
* National mythology
* Rally 'round the flag effect
* Techniques

Psychological warfare|

* Airborne leaflets
* False flag
* Fifth column
* Information (IT)
* Lawfare
* Political
* Public diplomacy
* Sedition
* Subversion

Public relations|

* Cult of personality
* Doublespeak
* Non-apology apology
* Reputation management
* Slogans
* Sound bites
* Spin
* Transfer
* Understatement
* Weasel words
* Corporate propaganda

Sales|

* Cold calling
* Door-to-door
* Pricing
* Product demonstrations
* Promotion
* Spaving
* Promotional merchandise
* Telemarketing

Related|

* Influence-for-hire
* Media bias
* United States
* Media concentration
* Media democracy
* Media ecology
* Media ethics
* Media franchise
* Media influence
* Media proprietor

* v
* t
* e

Disinformation and misinformation

Types

* Algorithmic radicalization
* Alternative facts
* Big lie
* Cherry picking
* Circular reporting
* Cognitive bias
* List of cognitive biases
* Conspiracy theory (list)
* Deception
* Denialism
* Disinformation attack
* Doublespeak
* Euphemistic misspeaking
* Factoid
* Fake news
* online
* list of websites
* Lying press
* Fallacy
* List of fallacies
* False accusation
* False dilemma
* False flag
* Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
* Firehose of falsehood
* Forgery as covert operation
* Gaslighting
* Half-truth
* Historical negationism
* Hoax
* Infodemic
* Internet manipulation
* Manipulation (psychology)
* Media culture
* Media manipulation
* Potemkin village
* Post-truth politics
* Psychological warfare
* Memetic warfare
* Military deception
* Propaganda
* black propaganda
* counterpropaganda
* State-sponsored Internet propaganda
* Quote mining
* Scientific fabrication
* Smearing
* Social bot
* Spin
* Truthiness
* Urban legend
* Whataboutism
* Yellow journalism

Books and documentaries

* Disinformation by Ion Mihai Pacepa
* Dezinformatsia: Active Measures in Soviet Strategy
* The KGB and Soviet Disinformation
* Who's Who in the CIA
* Merchants of Doubt
* After Truth: Disinformation and the Cost of Fake News

Examples

* Bermuda Triangle
* Congo Free State propaganda war
* Climate change denial
* Free energy suppression
* Genocide denial
* Holocaust denial
* Illuminati
* International Jewish conspiracy
* Misinformation in the Israel–Hamas war
* Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
* New World Order
* Red mercury
* Reptilians
* Rothschilds
* Strategy of tension

| Health|

* 5G
* COVID-19 misinformation
* by governments
* Ebola
* HIV/AIDS denialism
* Mental illness denial
* Misinformation related to abortion
* Vaccines
* anti-vaccination
* autism
* COVID-19
* Water fluoridation controversy

|

Operations and events by country

| Canada|

Jihadunspun.com

|

China|

* Chinese information operations
* 50 Cent Party
* cyberwarfare
* Little Pink
* Internet Water Army
* PLA Unit 61398
* Spamouflage
* COVID-19
* Global Times

Czechoslovakia|

Operation Neptune

Germany|

* Funkspiel
* Propaganda in Nazi Germany
* Myth of the clean Wehrmacht

India|

* Fake news in India
* Godi-media
* Paid news in India
* OpIndia

Israel|

Team Jorge

Korea|

Voluntary Agency Network of Korea

Kuwait|

Fintas Group

Mexico|

Peñabots

Philippines|

* COVID-19 misinformation in the Philippines (ChinaAngVirus disinformation campaign)
* Fake news in the Philippines
* Historical distortion regarding Ferdinand Marcos

Russia /
Soviet Union|

| Soviet era|

* Active Measures
* K-1000 battleship
* Operation INFEKTION
* Operation Toucan
* Seat 12
* Soviet influence on the peace movement
* U.S. Army Field Manual 30-31B
* Useful idiot

|

Post-Soviet era|

* Cyberwarfare
* on Estonia
* during the Russo-Georgian War
* Information war against Ukraine
* Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
* On US elections
* 2016
* 2018
* 2020
* 2016 Brexit referendum
* Russian Institute for Strategic Studies
* Trolls from Olgino
* Web brigades

South Africa|

HIV/AIDS denialism

Turkey|

* Conspiracy theories
* Media censorship and disinformation during the Gezi Park protests
* AK Trolls

United Kingdom|

* Bell Pottinger
* Double-Cross System
* Clockwork Orange plot
* Euromyth
* Lancet MMR autism fraud
* Operation Mass Appeal
* Psychological Warfare Division
* Zinoviev letter

United States|

* 1995 CIA disinformation controversy
* Attempts to overturn the 2020 election
* Conspiracy theories
* 9/11 conspiracy theories
* CIA Kennedy assassination
* QAnon
* Sandy Hook
* COVID-19
* Fake news
* online
* Election denial movement in the United States
* The Freedom Fighter's Manual
* Habbush letter
* Information Operations Roadmap
* Litter boxes in schools
* Mohamed Atta's alleged Prague connection
* Niger uranium forgeries
* Tobacco industry playbook
* Operation Shocker
* Yellow rain

Venezuela|

Bolivarian Army of Trolls

Vietnam|

* Public opinion brigades
* Force 47

Opposition

* Fact-checking
* Fact-checking website
* Active Measures Working Group
* Counter disinformation unit
* Counter Misinformation Team
* Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act
* The Disinformation Project
* East StratCom Task Force
* FactCheck.org
* Full Fact
* Logically
* NewsGuard
* PolitiFact
* Snopes
* StopFake
* United States Information Agency
* USAFacts

* v
* t
* e

Propaganda techniques

* Accusation in a mirror
* Ad hominem
* Appeal to fear
* Appeal to emotion
* Atrocity propaganda
* Bandwagon effect
* Beautiful people
* Big lie
* Black propaganda
* Blood libel
* Buzzword
* Cartographic propaganda
* Censorship
* Cherry picking
* Cult of personality
* Demonizing the enemy
* Disinformation
* Dog whistle
* Doublespeak
* Emotive conjugation
* Exaggeration
* False accusation
* False balance
* False dilemma
* Fake news
* Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
* Firehose of falsehood
* Flag-waving
* Framing
* Gish gallop
* Glittering generality
* Half-truth
* Historical negationism
* Ideograph
* Indoctrination
* Lawfare
* Loaded language
* Newspeak
* Managing the news
* Minimisation
* Monumental propaganda
* Moralistic fallacy
* New generation warfare
* Obscurantism
* Overcomplication
* Oversimplification
* Plain folks
* Psychological warfare
* Propaganda of the deed
* Public relations
* Rally 'round the flag effect
* Scapegoating
* Senbu
* Shooting and crying
* Slogan
* Spin
* Weasel word
* Whataboutism
* White propaganda

* v
* t
* e

Media culture

Media|

* 24-hour news cycle
* Alternative media
* Digital media
* Electronic media
* Independent media
* Mass media
* Mainstream media
* New media
* News broadcasting
* News media
* Old media
* Social media
* State media

Principles|

* Media development
* Media policy
* Media independence
* Freedom of information
* Freedom of speech
* Media pluralism
* Media transparency

Ideology|

* Advanced capitalism
* American Dream
* Bipartisanship
* Consumerism
* Pensée unique

Deception|

| Forms|

* Advertising
* Propaganda
* Fake news
* Public relations
* Spin
* Tabloid journalism

|

Techniques|

* Cult of personality
* Dumbing down
* Framing
* Media circus
* Media event
* Narcotizing dysfunction
* Recuperation
* Sensationalism
* Viral phenomenon

Others|

* Catch and kill
* Crowd manipulation
* Managing the news
* Media manipulation

Philosophers|

* Theodor W. Adorno
* Jean Baudrillard
* Edward Bernays
* Noam Chomsky
* Guy Debord
* Walter Lippmann
* Marshall McLuhan
* Jacques Rancière

Counterculture|

* Boycott
* Call-out culture
* Cancel culture
* Civil disobedience
* Culture jamming
* Demonstration
* Graffiti
* Occupation
* Political satire
* Protest
* Punk
* Review bomb
* Strike action

In academia|

* Influence of mass media
* Media studies
* Mediatization
* Semiotic democracy
* The Lonely Crowd

Issues|

* Anonymity
* Concentration of media ownership
* Exploitation of women
* Freedom of speech
* Media bias
* Privacy
* Social influence
* Transparency
* Violence

Synonyms|

* Advanced capitalism
* Culture industry
* Mass society
* Media franchise
* Post-Fordism
* Society of the Spectacle

* v
* t
* e

Media and human factors

* Cognitive psychology
* Externality
* Evolutionary psychology
* Behavioral modernity
* Cognition
* Mismatch
* Media psychology
* Media studies
* Social psychology

Media practices|

* Betteridge's law of headlines
* Gatekeeping
* Infotainment
* Human-interest story
* Junk food news
* Least objectionable program
* Soft media
* Media bias
* Media manipulation
* Pink-slime journalism
* Propaganda
* Public relations
* Missing white woman syndrome
* News values
* Sensationalism
* Hot take
* Spiking
* Tabloid television
* Yellow journalism

Attention|

* Attention economy
* Attention inequality
* Attention management
* Attention span
* Chumbox
* Clickbait
* Cognitive miser
* Low information voter
* Digital zombie
* Phubbing
* Doomscrolling
* Human multitasking
* Media multitasking
* Mobile phones and driving safety
* Smartphones and pedestrian safety
* Texting while driving
* Influence-for-hire
* Infodemic
* Information explosion
* Information overload
* Information pollution
* Information–action ratio
* Rage farming
* Screen time
* Binge-watching
* Television consumption
* Sticky content

Cognitive bias/
Conformity|

* Availability cascade
* Availability heuristic
* Bandwagon effect
* Confirmation bias
* Crowd psychology
* Mobbing
* Moral panic
* Mean world syndrome
* Negativity bias
* Peer pressure
* Social-desirability bias
* Social influence bias
* Spiral of silence

Digital divide/
Political polarization|

* Algorithmic radicalization
* Youth
* Echo chamber
* Fake news website
* Post-truth politics
* United States
* Filter bubble
* Knowledge divide
* Knowledge gap hypothesis
* Political polarization in the United States
* Social media use in politics
* United States
* 2016 U.S. presidential election
* 2020 U.S. presidential election

Related topics|

* Computer rage
* Criticism of Facebook
* 2021 Facebook company files leak
* Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal
* Criticism of Netflix
* Cultural impact of TikTok
* Digital media use and mental health
* Effects of violence in mass media
* Fascination with death
* Griefer
* Mass shooting contagion
* Psychological effects of Internet use
* Sealioning
* Social aspects of television
* Social bot
* Social impact of YouTube
* Technophilia
* Neophile
* Technophobia
* Violence and video games

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