The public should be warned not to view the media as objective. Often the media is just a pawn of stakeholders, publicists, advertisers and many others. In the Netherlands, the media is not (yet) treated as manipulatively as in America, for example, but media manipulation will nevertheless become more and more integrated into society. In the near future, this time will be remembered as a time when the media was handled slightly better.
Developments in society
Recipients of media activities must have an insight into developments in society. In the perfect situation, the media would show all aspects of a case and provide objective commentary. This way the recipient can form an opinion in an honest way. However, this does not always happen. The media is often used to systematically express certain views and those who think differently are not given a chance. This happens more than once in politics. The extent to which this happens depends on the country and the prevailing political climate, for example in a crisis situation with terrorist threats and where the media is less critical.
Media manipulation also takes place in the Netherlands, albeit to a much lesser extent than in America, for example. This is partly due to our political system and the prevailing discussion culture in the Netherlands. The manipulation that takes place in the Netherlands is partly done by spin doctors. A spin doctor is an information officer for a political party or a political office holder, who has the task of presenting and defending his client’s policy to the outside world as best as possible and to coach his clients in this. The goal is to influence public opinion. The election period is of course high season for the spin doctors.
Media manipulation by the US government
Media manipulation takes place on a very large scale in America, namely with regard to the Iraq war. The US government exerts significant influence over the media to achieve its goals. The following three text excerpts from the doctoral thesis written last year by Birgit Voorhuis, then a student of Language and Cultural Studies, entitled Media Manipulation: Weapons of Mass Deception, provide a good picture of the manipulation by the American government to justify its Iraq policy.
The events in the United States in the run-up to the Iraq war – including the weapons of mass destruction hyped by the American government that turned out not to be there – seem to confirm Habermas’ thesis that the policy, which is increasingly focused on PR, through of the media manipulates public opinion, for example by hiding the political message behind a so-called general interest. In this case: safety; for the safety of American citizens, the threat of Saddam had to be dealt with (by force) once and for all. The Bush administration even had plans for a war with Iraq long before September 11, as appears from various sources. However, the government used the September 11 attacks to eventually attack Iraq under the guise of the War on Terror. Many people, including the soldiers, thought that they were also avenging the victims of September 11 in Iraq, as the Bush administration had claimed that Saddam Hussein was linked to Al Qaeda and had harbored and sponsored them, but this turned out to be untrue. Now the question arises: Did the Bush government manipulate public opinion through PR and thus direct the Iraq war?
The Iraq War is a good case to study the state’s manipulation of public opinion, as it is one of the most extreme cases of media manipulation in modern times. Moreover, it happened under the watchful eye of the entire (Western) world and the consequences of this war and media manipulation will only become more visible over time.
A more recent example is the first Gulf War with Iraq. Before this began, a story circulated in the media about Iraqi soldiers allegedly pulling Kuwaiti babies from their incubators and leaving them on the hospital floor to die. The story was first told by President Bush Sr., and presented as fact by radio and TV. It was also highly regarded by the United Nations Security Council and Amnesty International. It was only after the war that it was discovered that it was based on nothing and is therefore considered quite controversial propaganda, which should not be repeated. It was one of the main stories to demonize former ally Iraq and gain support for the war.
Media manipulation at all levels
Media manipulation takes place all the time, there is only a difference in the extent to which it happens. The US government affects not only the US population, but also the entire world population. Of course, manipulation of the media also takes place at other levels, such as at a national level by, for example, the NOS news. The editors who work there determine the news of the day, making a distinction between what they do and what they do not show. The NOS news is seen as objective news, but nevertheless it determines what the news is and thus influences public opinion and agenda setting.
To summarize
It can be concluded that media manipulation can be applied in all kinds of ways in both national and international society, as this article clearly shows. The White House employs full-time staff to convince the, mainly American, population of the necessity of the Iraq war, in political The Hague spin doctors are busy promoting politicians full-time and the NOS news also makes its mark on the media. society and of course public opinion.