Politics and Media
Politics in the US have taken a significant shift from the original patterns that politicians had for a long time been using. The impact of media was explicitly felt in the 2016 elections, with the influx of fake news playing a crucial role in giving advantage to some candidates. Fake news tends to get much following since people do not look at the authenticity of the news but rather the judgment that they draw from the information. In the short story, “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell expresses the declining quality of the English language and its relationship to politics. Generally, people pay less attention to details and end up accepting information without questioning. Similar to the English language, the patterns of conducting politics have changed due to the emergence of propaganda, and the electorates have been easily swayed by fake news. Generally, the media has been responsible for the destruction of the English language as well as causing unfair advantage in the political arena. Media manipulation plays a central role in twisting the direction of political patterns with the popularity of candidates depending on the support offered through the media platforms.
The 2016 US elections led to a significant shift in the way politics are done in the US. Several media platforms were used by candidates to spread fake news and propaganda in a bid to earn an unfair advantage over competitors (Fitzpatrick, 50). Also, some media platforms that were not alienated to any candidate were involved in the spread of fake news for individual gains. Generally, phony news spread due to two main reasons: candidates willing to tarnish the popularity of their competitors and personal websites going for the revenues obtained from the access to their content. Generally, content on the internet pays individuals when people open the articles from the original sites. The use of fake news draws attention from a wide range of followers since the news is aimed at touching the most sensitive topics. Moreover, spreaders of fake news are strategically designed that the sites adhere to the legal requirements but trick the audience into believing in the news.
Media platforms operate under strict regulations that filter the type of content to be shared. However, fake news always finds a way of sneaking into the platforms and reaching the ‘desperate’ audience who believe in them. For example, some websites are genuinely defined as being based on fantasy information. Such sites have disclaimers that are overlooked by most of the audience. Also, the disclaimer is only sensible to the individuals who access the news from the original site. Other recipients of such information receive it through social media platforms and share it with more users. At the end of the process, the originator of the information becomes the most significant benefactor, with the victims appearing helpless due to the disclaimer set at the original site. Moreover, social media platforms are mostly used as channels of spreading fake news, with the main origin being a series of websites.
The source of fake news is always established websites that take names to similar websites that have disclaimers to hide their ill intentions. However, most of the websites that spread fake news are short-lived and are only developed to serve a short-term purpose. For example, websites that were developed during the 2016 elections have since not been seen (Morris, n. p). The fact that such websites no longer exist means that they were only made for the 2016 elections. Also, the websites tend to mimic the names of legitimate websites and enjoy the enormous following and loyalty paid to such websites. An example of such websites is wtoe5news.com that was widely used to pass information that was seen to be benefitting the then-candidate and the present president, Donald Trump. The Guardian reported that teenagers were responsible for running most of the websites, although the primary reason why teenagers were not identified with certainty. However, some sources such as the Buzzfeed have reported that teenagers have been using fake news as a business venture by getting revenue from their websites. The ease of accessing information through the media has played a crucial role in the spread of unauthentic content and both the English language and politics have suffered similarly.
Accessing information from the media has been made easier by the developments in technology. Moreover, the ease in sharing information without worrying about its authenticity has also outgrown the need for quality. People have developed the culture of sharing information just for the sake of sharing and enjoying the benefits associated with the information (Orwell, 53). The English language has suffered severely since people have become popular with combining English words to come up with articles that do not make sense. The widespread use of unauthentic language patterns has created a perception of the minds of the Americans to show that pay attention to details is no longer necessary. Similarly, the spread of false information has benefitted from the perception of Americans that details do not matter anymore, and information is authentic as it appears. Moreover, fake news is different from biased and slanted media.
The spread of fake news is significantly different from biased media. Biased media follows a model that is based on the two competing frontiers in the political arena. Generally, the political arena is comprised of two blocs supporting contracting ideologies. The role of media houses is to develop the ideology from the bloc, which they support. The support involves making costly investments to see the ideologies receive the attention they require from the audience. For example, a media house that supports the federalists will go to any extremes to develop and instill the ideology being brought about by the federalists, no matter the costs of supporting the bloc. Generally, media houses that change their positions in terms of bloc support incur high costs by losing their following.
Individuals who spread fake news do not go to the extent of investing in research procedures to prove their points. Instead, the individuals rely on information from other media outlets and come up with twisted ideas to favor a particular party. For example, an article was spread on social media platforms concerning the killing of an officer who leaked email conversations from Hillary Clinton’s office. The news was fantasy, and no truth was associated with the news and only worked towards hurting the popularity of Clinton.
Manipulation is the main tool employed by individuals who spread fake news. The audience is made to believe the information passed by the sites due to the confidence portrayed by the narrators. Generally, consumers are used to relying on selected media outlets for information. However, boredom sets in when the media outlets are involved in vices such as bias, and consumers are left to seek other methods of accessing information. The attempts to seek information from other sources leads the consumer to manipulative sites that take the form of legitimate sources. For example, the sites take names that are similar to genuine sources to attract the consumer who does not pay attention to the identity of the sites. Also, the sites use the most recent and sensitive topics that are overlooked by legitimate sources to manipulate the consumers. Besides, the use of captivating headlines plays a crucial role in pulling consumers towards the sites associated with fake news. Moreover, the ability to use social media platforms to spread fake news plays a crucial role in reaching as many consumers as possible.
Social media platforms have been used by individuals to spread fake news without many regulations. The developers of fake news are conversant with the content policies of the various social media platforms and utilize the existing gaps to complete their ill-intended activities. For example, the articles containing fake news may use polite and persuasive language to earn access to social media platforms. Also, most consumers of information agree to use social media platforms as their primary source of information. Also, consumers overlook the risks of getting information from illegitimate sites and end up getting twisted information and benefitting the wrong people. Also, the results in the various elections are impacted by the spread of fake news since consumers develop the wrong idea of the candidates. Besides, candidates without specific ideologies turn to fake news to tarnish the popularity of their competitors’ ideologies and affect the decision-making of the electorates. Moreover, media manipulation continues to exist in the political arena and does not seem to be ending any time soon.
Media manipulation has been viewed as a strategy by most candidates and does not show signs of ending anytime soon. Candidates have come up with strategies to make use of media bias and the spread of propaganda to win the following of Americans (Marwick, Alice and Lewis, 34). For example, media houses alienated to a particular bloc will continue supporting the bloc irrespective of the candidate fielded for elections. Also, the use of social media platforms appears to have managed a long-term stand since people have continued to rely on the platforms for information without paying attention to the authenticity of the information. Generally, most advantaged candidates are the ones who strategically manipulate the various media outlets to support their ideologies.
In sum, media manipulation plays a central role in twisting the direction of political patterns with the popularity of candidates depending on the support offered through the media platforms. Manipulation takes several forms, and fake news is one of the strategies used in manipulation. Generally, spreaders of fake news are strategically designed that the sites adhere to the legal requirements but trick the audience into believing in the news. The most advantaged candidates are the ones who strategically manipulate the various media outlets to support their ideologies.
Works Cited
Deb, Ashok, et al. “Perils and Challenges of Social Media and Election Manipulation Analysis: The 2018 US Midterms.” Companion Proceedings of The 2019 World Wide Web Conference. ACM, 2019.
Fitzpatrick, Neill. “Media manipulation 2.0: The impact of social media on news, competition, and accuracy.” Athens Journal of Mass Media and Communications 4.1 (2018): 45-61.
Marwick, Alice, and Rebecca Lewis. “Media manipulation and disinformation online.” New York: Data & Society Research Institute (2017).
Morris, Talya. “Media, Party, and Voter Manipulation of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.” (2019).
Orwell, George. “Politics and the English language.” BRITISH ARMY REVIEW-LONDON- MINISTRY OF DEFENCE- (2002): 52-56.