Lets talk about the current big news story. Let me start off by saying that I feel sorry for both the citizens of Ukraine and the citizens of Russia. This war is causing devastation to both groups, although I am sure the Ukraine citizens have it worse. Russia’s war against Ukraine is getting a lot of media attention. It seems like every angle is being covered. You would think that there is nothing else to cover. But there is one thing that has not been covered. That is the media coverage itself.
The media coverage of this event is a good example to demonstrate how the media is used to manipulate opinion. It is a good event to examine, as we are mainly observers of this event, rather than directly affected by it, at least for now. For that reason, we can look at how different groups are using the media to manipulate public opinion, without as much emotional response as we might have to other issues.
There have been many stories in our media talking about how much the sanctions have affected Russia. There have even been articles stating that Russia was about to default on loans. Putin has been portrayed as crazy and easy to depose. This is a carefully crafted message to convince us that our leader’s reactions are having a big effect to minimize Russia’s willingness to continue on the war path.
There have been other stories talking about the futility of sanctions. Stories talking about Putin’s reasons for attacking Ukraine. Stories talking about the futility of Ukrainian defenses. Even claims that Russia is glad the US is providing weapons to Ukraine so they can get control of them. This is a carefully crafted message to convince us that Russia is in full control and that anything we do will have little to no effect on Russia’s eventual defeat of Ukraine.
All of these stories are published by the media, and have evidence to prove they are true. But obviously, they cannot all be true, since they contradict each other. But the stories either quote some named high level official who should know, or they quote some unnamed official who is speaking on condition of anonymity because they “are not approved to talk to media”. These are widely used techniques for manipulating the news, because they work. It helps if you start with news media whose bias leads them to accept your story. Soon other media will run with the same story. It is often referred to as public affairs, or messaging, but the truth is that their goal is manipulation of public opinion.
There are many organizations that are actively doing “messaging”. Both of our major political parties do it, as well as most if not all politicians. Special interest groups such as LGBTQ, BLM, NRA and pro/anti abortion groups also use messaging techniques. Many corporations also do messaging to make their products look better. Of course other countries are doing their own messaging too. Basically anybody with an agenda and the influence to do so are using messaging to progress their agenda.
This is nothing new. When Watergate happened, some media friendly to the Republican party reported the news with the headline “Ho-Hum, another third rate burglary”. World War II was fought as much with messaging as with guns and bombs. Many bombing raids then were accomplished more for the message they put out than for the military victory achieved. Messaging has been going on as long as media has been around to pass the word. But it does seem to be easier and more successful than in decades past.
So what are we to do? First and foremost we must realize that we are being bombarded with messaging that is disguised as news. In addition, we need to acknowledge our own biases that lead us to immediately accept those stories that agree with our biases. Then when we read stories in the news, always ask yourself “what is the agenda here” Who is trying to influence you through messaging and what message are they trying to get across. Read stories with biases that both agree and disagree with your bias.
I have an old saying that there are three sides to every story. There is your side, the other person’s side, and the truth that lies somewhere in between. Only through realizing the messaging around us and looking at all sides of a story while keeping our biases in check can we settle on that truth that lies somewhere in between. We can still have our opinions and beliefs, but now we can support our opinions with factual information and rational arguments, not with emotional memes and attacks. Sometimes, we may also find that our opinions have been influenced by messaging and are not supported by the facts. Then maybe we will be open minded enough to alter our opinions.