AIBU to wonder why people buy in to a narrative set by the media ?

[CatServant2020]

AIBU to wonder why people buy in to a narrative set by the media ?

For example the media decide person A is an angel so do positive articles about them with photos which support this narrative.

The media decide person B is a devil so they only do negative articles about them with photos which support this narrative.

The media also does deals with various institutions that if you don't publish X story then we'll give you Y story.

I just don't get why people don't seem to realise this.

I also wonder how many of the people who were posting #bekind a couple of years ago are doing the opposite now.

#Bekind became a thing because some one was hounded by the media so much they commited suicide, how quickly people forget.

The media decides their position based on what sells more newspaper or gets more clicks and not for any other reason, I just wish people would realise this.

We are already at the point where we can chose our news source to fit our beliefs @jasminan. We have a greater problem on SM, where there is less regulation and individuals are micro targeted with misinformation. Especially in the run up to elections.

It's the same reason people are religious or believe in crystals or conspiracy theories. People believe what they want to believe. Not many people are critical thinkers.

For me, I try to do my own research and theories, especially when their is so much deception, secret projects, etc, one one has to look at history and how much espionage, development of scientific research, ect then apply that to modern day, ect, the media will have various narratives, due to x reasons, but in General, I prefer my own various sources, even if some are over the hill so to speak.

the truth may be out there

@CatServant2020
This part I conclude that it could be a number of reasons and not just profit that drives newspaper sales, especially e.g. War Times, or political campaigns etc, there is also agendas by various lobbyists , donors, various corporations with vested interests in x projects ect

"The media decides their position based on what sells more newspaper or gets more clicks and not for any other reason, I just wish people would realise this."

Rich people own the media and like us to do as we're told and to believe what we're told without question.

And unfortunately theres plenty in this country thick enough to fall for it. See brexit, the tories, and the fawning over a family of unelected over privileged multi millionaires. There's people queuing to see the queen's coffin who wont be able to heat their homes this winter but they'll wait hours to walk past a coffin with a crown on it that could probably save millions of lives from hunger. But instead of being angry at the utter injustice they are tugging their forelocks and doing as they are told.

@anon5678 well I must have been hearing things all week on R4 then ..they've been talking really quite a lot about Ukraine's counter offensive and the Russian response. Today they reported that the Chinese and Indian premieres are expressing concern. As a pp said "the media" is not just red tops, the Mail and FB / Twitter

Careful now, don’t peep behind the veil because you cannot “unpeep.”

Putting the Royal Family to one side for a moment, the classic example of this was with Covid. The media massively ramped up the hysteria - as we now know, unnecessarily - and so many people fell for it. Sadly, this also included Governments in many countries.
Perhaps there are people out there who like being told what to think? Now that IS depressing.

@AgentJohnson I'm not saying that people are gullible if they don't agree with me, I'm just think we need to question the media narrative sometimes and I'm quite happy to have an intelligent conversation or debate about it. You've kind of proved my point by saying the anti narrrative has a certain amount of public backing which in turn, keeps the beast alive and then the media feed in to this even more.

@lljkk well I'm female and don't like beer so no not enough media focus on fine beer and women isn't my issue.

My issue today is because of a media led narrative and the frankly disgusting bile which has been posted by people who support the media driven narrative. I don't agree with everything the person who this narrative is about has done, but over the past week they have done nothing wrong (in my opinion) but they have been accused of doing things which haven't happened (smirk) or being criticised for doing something that others did at the same time and place.

But this has lead me to thinking about how much some media narratives govern our lives and about the relationships they have with those in power.

I don't believe the world is going to the dogs and don't love to have something to hate but sometimes we do need to question things.

Maybe just walk away from your colleague if he starts his tirade again about company policies again or tell him that that you've heard the same story numerous times and either do something about it or stop talking about it with you.

@ForfuckssakeEXHstopbeingatwat thanks for clarifying what is and isn't media 😅 my point is that it was absolutely everywhere at the start of the war. Couldn't get away from it. Now it's been overtaken by the cost of living/the queen/whatever else and most people only see/hear what's pushed down their throats

Panem et circenses

Certainly a possibility at various points

I like it @wb3 but I don't think we are even getting that at the moment 😀

Bread and circuses" (or bread and games; from Latin: panem et circenses) is a metonymic phrase referring to superficial appeasement

Absolutely THIS ^

My issue today is because of a media led narrative and the frankly disgusting bile which has been posted by people who support the media driven narrative.

Why can't you just listen to different media?
As someone who follows BBC I am often very impressed by all the stories I miss. If not for MN (& Twitter), I'd have never known that MM was an object of so many personal attacks. I pick up so much gossip here about King Charles or Katie Price, honestly I'd never learn this stuff at all if I didn't seek it out. I learned years ago to buy tabloids if I wanted juicy gossip on some story (eg. Fred West) and to avoid certain media if I don't want to hear about certain stories. It is super easy to choose the media you listen to and then frame what you're exposed to. Even listening to BBC on podcast, I just fastforward thru the zillions of stories I don't care about. I could follow REDDUX if I wanted to believe in rampant trans people ruining the world. Only I don't follow Reddux.

DH & I often tell each other totally novel (to each other) news because we follow different news media.

YOU are choosing the media you are exposed to. No one else chooses that for you. Don't complain about what you choose to be exposed to.

@lljkk

I'm not complaining, my OP was asking a question about media driven narratives, the power we let them have and the relationship they have with government and other institutions.

I'm on Twitter basically because cats 😺I'd prefer not to get these sort of stories but Twitter doesn't give you the choice of what's in your feed and I don't seek them out.

Like you, i get my news from various different sources and look at various different views and then form my own opinion.

I am however happy to put my head above the parapet if I see (in my opinion) an injustice being done which I feel is being media driven and then people who read the narrative believe the narrative which then feeds the media's narrative even more.

I know there are different viewpoints and actually enjoy a good debate about an issue and am prepared to listen to different views and occasionally they change my perspective.

But to go back to my original point I just wonder why some people believe media driven narratives blindly and why we don't question the relationship between say government and the media more, it's a mutually beneficial relationship for them but not necessarily for us.

I do understand why people believe the media driven narrative blindly, I'm just interested in other peoples opinion on it.

PS the cats below don't want to be deleted which is they are there because cats 😀
😼😽

It's not about complaining about the media we chose to consume. It's about people unquestionably accepting what their choice of media tells them.

OP: You misunderstand Twitter. You certainly DO choose what you see on there.
You do this by choosing who you follow & don't follow, when you like-retweet-comment, clicking links, not muting/blocking accounts, because the other people you 'follow' like XYZ or Z (you see a very small % of their likes) or you have passed cookies. Twitter shapes what you see based on your engagement behaviour.

In some way you have indicated interest in almost everything you see, you have followed links, you have passed cookies. For instance, Meghan Markle hate. I'll wager there's lots of that on Twitter. I don't know because I have never indicated interest, although I did recently like/watch a piss take about MM-haters (the Meghan-Markle-hater-listener line piss take from Australia TV channel). I literally do not see MM-hate. If someone ranted about how much they hated MM-haters, I'd end up muting them fast. I don't care very much about opinions unless they are said in a funny way. The whole darn thing (MM-hating) would pass me by.

You have less control over what is on your 'Trending List' : but again Twitter tries to tailor this list to your interest.

ps: I will say that it's a very British thing to find camraderie in mutual moaning and that can lead to finding hate figures (to moan about). I'm foreign, I don't perceive my culture enjoys moaning so much, we traditionally frowned at moaners, actually.

ps: and as for people unquestioningly accepting : they aren't unquestionnably accepting. They seek out the media that expresses what they want to believe is true !! The media is competing to produce the message that has the hook that emotionally engages people. Ultimately, consumers want that product: they want THAT story. That sort of hate figure or hero.

Agree.

#Bekind is an abomination. She literally LAMPED him. Who in their right mind would hold her up as an example of how to treat people. All the whitewashing in the world won’t change this.

DM is a vile rag. Demonises whoever it sees as not powerful enough to do anything about it. Everyone knows what loathsome cunts they are, but you all read DM online and share the links on Mumsnet.

I won’t click on any DM link. It’s small and insignificant in the grease scheme of things, achieving nothing sadly, but it’s important to me not to support a rag that was so against everything I was/am.

the main issue with the news at the moment is that there IS apparently no news outside the death of The Queen. That suits our woefully inadequate and untrustworthy politicians doing fuck all to actually help those who most need it (see DM list of Those to be Demonised) in favour of stuffing yet more cash into the bulging and straining coffers of The Favoured. It’s classic distraction. Pay attention.

Ukraine is still hugely important, the discoveries and advances there are extremely significant.

I've been staying with family and friends in the UK and so many people have told me how much they hate Macron. It's weird I'm really happy with him as my president. Totally bemused by the hate from the Brits. Why do they care so much about a different county's leader. The British press really loves to stir up hate.

BBC world service (radio, DAB) has the most not-Queen news of BBC outlets.

I don’t think reading a range of media will help much. All sides of the spectrum are all about clicks these days. Not uncommon for a paper to run a story and for it to be copied wholesale by all media outlets without even basic fact checking if they think it will get more hits. Regardless of any damage that might be caused by doing so.

Good quality U.K. journalism is pretty much dead. That may be the fault of editors rather than the journalists but I can’t think of many outlets that have good consistently good quality output where stuff is actually challenged rather than some sort of false ‘balance’ provided.