Mass media is manipulative. To what extent is this true?

Mass media is prevalent in the world today. Through mass media,

information true or false will be spread to all corners of the world almost
instantaneously. With its large influence on people, it is easy to use it as a
tool to manipulate its audience. To manipulate means to negatively
influence peoples thoughts, decisions or actions. It is with regret that it is
true to a large extent that mass media is manipulative.
Mass media is able to negatively influence peoples taste and preference.
For example, models that appear on fashion shows are often unbelievably
thin. This leads to people having the wrong perception of beauty, with thin
being the new beautiful. Due to this misconception, a large number of
people develop weight-related illnesses such as anorexia and bulimia.
Moreover, the constant advertisements on television negatively influence
peoples choice of food. Fast-food chains often present their food as
appetizing and delicious, enticing people into consuming them. This
especially affects young people. Being vulnerable and impressionable, the
young is easily manipulated by what is shown on mass media. It has been
proven that the increasing trend of obesity in youths is largely due to
advertising.
Manipulation of mass media is most evident in state-controlled mass
media. Information is centrally-controlled, filtered and censored such that
only certain information is provided to the public. Such is the case in North
Korea. North Koreans are manipulated by the media into supporting Kim
Jong-il due to the constant false positive news provided by the statecontrolled media. Certain vital information such as economic hardship is
kept from them so as to maintain political stability. The lack of presenting
full facts to people is a form of manipulation. In Europe, monopoly of media
is also seen. Axel Springer AG owns over two hundred newspapers,
magazines and television stations in thirty six countries. Information is
centrally controlled and the same information is rotated in the different
media outlets for four days in Europe under different contexts and titles.
Information can thus be manipulated easily without anyones knowledge.

In order to advance a political agenda, mass media is often used. One

example is during the Bush administration. In 2008, it was exposed that the
Bush administration prepared military analysts to appear on national
television to help sell the invasion of Iraq and put a positive spin on the
occupation, even though actual conditions on the ground deteriorated. This
shows that mass media can be easily utilized by those in power to
manipulate the people into thinking that their actions are right and influence
the people into supporting them.
Mass media negatively influences peoples behavior. Often, it is used as a
tool by terrorists to spread their false ideals and gain supporters. In South
East Asia, terrorist groups use the internet as a platform to justify their
actions and spread their conspiracy theories. People are hence vulnerable
to manipulation by such groups. Also, mass media often discriminates
certain groups of people. For example, sexist advertisements have caused
discrimination against women. For example, the advertisement by Dolce
and Gabbana portrays women as weak and fragile. Media is hence
effective into influencing peoples ideals and causing them to support the
wrong cause.
However, I have to agree that the mass media is not always manipulative.
People today, being more educated, are able to differentiate between right
and wrong. Hence, they will not be easily swayed by the false information
spread by mass media and their thoughts are not as easily influenced.
Mass media thus does wield much power in manipulating them.
In conclusion, whether mass media is manipulative is dependent on its
audience. However, it is true that mass media is manipulative to a large
extent due to its overwhelming influence on todays generation. This is also
evident through the many negative influences it has on its audience.
People should hence not naively believe everything portrayed on mass
media, but check it with various sources before accepting the facts.