Exposing the dark truths of journalism: How headlines, data get manipulated and misused to defame & further oppress the vulnerable sections of society
By SHAMS UR REHMAN ALAVI
‘Media manipulation’ — the malpractices and traditional 'systems’, which are blindly or unknowingly followed in news rooms and the age-old prejudices and policies, that prompt the writer to selectively misinterpret and misuse data, info & even mathematics to misrepresent facts, tarnish image of entire groups, manufacture opinion against certain sections, demonise the vulnerable communities, must be known to all.
Media, quite often, plays a part in it, as a tool to misinform the society, resulting in instilling false beliefs among people, regarding communities and races, making ground for severe injustice with them.
Of course, media industry is one of the most powerful systems in the world as it has the ability to control public mind & also convince the masses.
Everyone knows its power but the extent of its power and reach is not fully known to even the experts who claims to understand power of media in creating perception and then using that false perception to create positive or negative image of entire community or group, and make them appear 'good' and 'useful' or 'regressive, criminal, destructive’.
As I intend to reveal the tricks and ploys, to float propaganda, FIRSTLY, let me begin with a land ownership related aspect.
Your ancestors have lived in a region for centuries but now you are suddenly presented as 'outsider, uneducated, useless, load on society' by media and this ‘narrative’ is misused, weaponised to turn public opinion against entire group, paving the way to justify the atrocities, discrimination or injustice as an entire section is seen negatively.
People feel that newspapers are dying, and while circulation is falling, they still sell in millions in many regions and clippings of TV reports are circulated through Whatsapp or Facebook, Twitter and used to make ‘informative’ or ‘historical’ videos for Youtube. Anything that is said by ‘established news outlets’ is something that people accept. Even if sceptical, the constant focus on a subject, unknowingly affects even the fiercest critic of media.
However, what is even worse is that media is able to present a victim as killer & a saint as an evil monster, because issue is that despite your education, intent to fight false narrative, you just get a barrage of cleverly twisted reports that are manufactured every day.
Even if you have some idea that media is used to divert masses’ attention, shift focus to help powerful politicians and business tycoons’ actions, and you get to enter journalism, your senior position is not enough, you may even become a person who has power to write an opinion piece or you even become boss but that’s not enough. You can’t tell the complete truth because its an age-old system and you may be a good reporter, columnist or editor, but you are a mere puppet. You don’t own the organisation.
Reality is that any ‘issue’ can be presented in any form, made to appear as biggest issue or non-issue because of interests of the powerful who run lobbies and control media, directly or indirectly.
The narrative is created through perception. NOW, this ‘perception’ is basically created by the POWER to ‘write & give headline as per your wish’, ‘the way that you want to convey’ and ‘exactly as per the facts, straight’.
But this is almost impossible to achieve. You are a journalist or columnist, your report is presented in a different way, its edited, rehashed or a word inserted in headline, twisting the story and sending a totally different message.
Many tribal communities or groups were historically mistreated or discriminated, and if you belong to them, hence, able to spot the trend and fed up of negative portrayal.
Your community did not have ‘influential’ people, and even if there are visionaries or opinion makers, but they are not given space or platform.
If they manage to reach top position in newsroom but even if he or she becomes editor, the person is still powerless, as he is editorial boss but he doesn’t OWN the media house.
Take a SECOND example: a basic chart that shows A, B, C & D communities' birthrate and it is turned into a story with bold headline that suggests that C is growing exponentially.
The reality may be that Group A was 100 and a year later, its 120. The group C was 1 and it became 2, the minimum possible increase.
The difference between A and C earlier was 99 and now it has widened to 118. So majority has increased a lot and there is no question that minority will ever reach close.
But the ‘experienced’ analysts exhibit bias by choosing to use percentage system or mention in headline that 'minority increased by 100%, its population doubles, majority up merely by 20%’.
It is HEADLINE that stays with you. Cleverly, fact turned into fiction and fear is ‘sold’.
People seldom read whole reports or the text that runs up to inside pages in continuation, besides, they often hear racist or xenophobic views and don’t have time to energy to see through this cunning style of weaponizing info.
It all looks simple, straight, at the most sensational, but it makes the people fall for conspiracy theories.
Take THIRD example, how data about six different communities in prisons, is always reported in same way.
There can be 30 major conclusions from the reports and charts released, but all the 'beat reporters' who cover it, in different papers, always spot one trend, think and write on similar line.
For example race C or group E accounting for as many percent of incidents.
Now, its a shameful aspect but data has layers and a lot comes out of it. The figures at various stages.
FOURTHLY. Like, when a person is booked, then when charge sheet filed and case goes to trial, subsequently, conviction.
Now if you just write about total number of prisoners, but never focus on detainees, under-trial prisoners and convicts separately, it’s a big problem.
A tribal community is over-represented as they are poor and don’t have documents or land. Hence, tough to get bail i.e. more likely to be in jail for longer period.
Or a group is charged more due to malice or political crackdown and hence gets targeted but has 97% rate of acquittal. But figure of convicts and acquits is not mentioned.
[FIFTH] Besides, yet again, you always write about group F over-represented in prison, but why can’t you ever write about how their share was 10% and now their presence has come down to 7.5%, that can be written as positive development or improvement.
[SIXTH] You don’t even know that it is not just judgment stage, you write that B commit more crime [theft, minor assault] but you don’t even see or bother to write about Group A thats ahead in 'Heinous crimes’--Rape, Murder & Robbery.
Is it because you entered the field with your biases intact, prejudices come in, along with selective data, and figures are misused by you to tarnish certain groups’ image?
The level of wrong interpretation and biased analysis of bizarre level, can be understood by the system that refuses to look beyond its extremely limited and narrow tunnel world view.
[SEVENTH] It knows one language but feels entitled to consider self as qualified on all others and terming others ‘illiterate’, as they refuse to accept or believe that as per data they have most illiterates, not others.
But they won’t even bother to check it, and even when they know, they cleverly classify in a different way by making separate bars out of the group on racial backgrounds [not mentioning other classifications, but harping on colour or religion.
[EIGHTH] If reporters don’t write that which group is responsible for most gun violence or rapes, because the person who has the authority and power, decides that my group can’t be seen as leading on a bad trend. So the table is classified not as Christian, Jew, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist, but on racial ground like Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Arabs, Whites, Africans or on the basis of ancestry, descent-- Chinese, Mexican, Polish, South Asian etc.
[NINTH] If you are editor and a man named James P Douglas committed rape and owner of your group is James or Douglas, you give a headline that 'Danny did it’, after making a huge effort to squeeze out more info from locals, finding his nickname and use it in report. In case of own race or community, may be, you are likely to show even more zeal to defend ‘own people at fault’, but target ‘others who are victim but you see them as opponent’? Objectivity!
TENTH. Identities of criminals are concealed on front pages.
In rape-murder cases, you publish prime suspect’s complete name and photo with caption when he comes from one background, but when suspect comes from a different background or particular group or community, you don’t print his photo, even the name gets shortened or is hidden, nickname used or surname concealed.
ELEVENTH. Its an age-old, organised system — when to use photo of a person with his complete name that gets mentioned repeatedly in report, use words like ‘monster’ in headline and print suspect’s photo but in a far more brutal crime that left multiple people and families affected, its the photo of policemen on scene of crime or an old photo of victim that is carried along wity report [not the suspect at all]. In fact, headlime makes it, all about 'victim’, evoking sympathy, but not hate and anger for culprit who is nearly absent from news--no photo, not a complete name, Bobby, Pappu, Timmy or Bablu, the nicknames used and it is added that 'he was perhaps worried about failure at work or depressed’.
TWELFTH. In fact, victim can be maligned or demonized and the evil criminal often ’humanized’, by adding box or a side story that 'I can’t believe he did it as he used to feed astray cattle’, say neighbours and friends.
THIRTEENTH. Isn’t, the mindset twisted when perpetrator or victim’s names are written on this basis. Just like parents try to save own kid or kin after he commits a crime.
Ultimately, headlines have such impact that entire city and region start thinking alike. l get to know the culprit in one case and less reference, if he ‘like us’.
FOURTEENTH. A group may have lost millions of girls in female foeicide and poor in education. A small group doing good on 102 counts but is not portrayed positively.
The second group that has done well on 10 indicators but lagging on just 2-3 points, is still termed 'regressive & and info about its positive march is also kept hidden.
FIFTEENTH. How it happens that all say something bad about a group that does well on 80 indicators and has few social evils, but no words about cause of concern towards group that is known for horrible regressive practices.
SIXTEENTH. Interestingly, when this happens, that opinion makers and owners come from a small but dominant & moneyed group, they are able to give a twist by sub-classification on another parameter i.e. man or woman, person of colour or immigrant, or age wise, so that their image doesn’t suffer and they are never shown as 'backward’ or ‘behind others’.
Its like your teenaged son goes out, fights or steals, molests someone and you still go to cops, try to save him.
SEVENTEENTH. That’s how person with power in media exercise it with the same concern, passion and making common cause, considering your group, section, ethnicity, faith or profession as close to your heart and no matter what happens, all attempts will be made to save own group and its 'reputation’.
EIGHTEENTH. If group A has 10 million illiterates and group B has 2 million, but you always read or here about B as illiterate people and no one ever telling total number of literates, publishing complete data and also search engine or AI appears failing.
NINETEENTH. The creation of a perception that group X is burden on society and don’t pay taxes, is dangerous.
It has such impact that it becomes vocal middle class’ acceptable position that ‘they’ are the ones who don’t pay taxes and money goes from our pocket.
No one bothers to report the statistics or tell that not even 5% among ‘dominant majority’ pays that particular income tax. But it is believed that ‘we all pay’, ‘they don’t’.
TWENTY. It is because the group that 'owns' media, that has power to give 'headline in their own way' don’t let anyone from weaker sections ‘enter’ [get job] and when all news reports are on same angle, and people are conditioned to believe whatever media tells them, there is no solution.
The newspaper form clipping with all elements like headline, sub-headline, box, blurb and photo with caption, together, that completely makes impression on mind.
All these elements together make a quick and long lasting impression.
Yet another example is that of an administrator or politician who belonged to other region, but noe claimed as ruler of other territory too and his statue installed here, memorial built, fake stories of his link with the region floated and the historical king’s connect established with this city and using his identity or name for cultural dominance and terming city as 'own’, while those living for centuries, made to feel inferior, powerless, a load on state’s economy, ‘outsiders’, ‘settlers’, otherizing their language and culture, basically, hijacking all, so simply.
The headline plus sub-heading or first two paragraphs are enough. People don’t read entire clipping or article, or go to end and see source & how selectively data is used, picked and chosen, to create a report and then give a headline that is false or ambiguous, but always in line to strengthen existing biases in the society.
That’s too deep and widespread practice. You may belong to a community and run a media house, protecting interests of your own, improving own community brand and creating a negative image of others, terming them ‘backward, illiterate, ousider, prone to violence’ and suppress all other voices.
You ensure publishing reports throughout the year regarding benefits of vegetarianism.
You bring the concept that meat eaters are violent, talk about own ancestors’ food habits, carry report on non veg stalls causing unhygienic atmosphere, promoting lunchbox checking in schools, sending a message that your region that has non-veg eaters in majority, has more vegetarians.
Worse, you make up statistics, hold small polls in which few participate, take opinion of women of similar social stratum or groups and they all say that non-veg is bad for mind, health and lot more.
Then you put up pressure and try to shift slaughter houses outside city. Urban region that determines the popular citizen voice is used to get municipal council or collector to close meat shops, stop trade and after food fascism, taking away liberty to right to food, you instead harass meat sellers, then, use own newspapers to tell a ' soft, positive story' that the particular group has agreed, decided to shun non veg and now ours is a veg town — a record, though it was forcible and disguised as pleading and persuasion leading to change.
Fascist tendency to police the food or control right to choice, is normalised as the episode presented as an example of communal harmony,not telling that it is the baron who runs media and his friends who want meat business monopoly of a group to go and hence pushing own sub-group or community into this business and at top level slaughterhouse ownership, meat export by the aupposed veg lobby that names own companies in a way that companies appear owned by other commumity or religion.
A law puts restriction on certain activity in a region and all media owners make it a national issue. However, more severe restrictions in other parts of same country, are never told.
Hundreds of millions fooled by coordinated one sided conspiracy to brainwash people.
A window is needed to tell truth, let light come out. One paper, howsoever small, that just informs that 'no, this restriction is nothing. You all are being misled. Read other pages of own constitution or official reports to find.
But, the cabal is such that one would neither enter nor dare open the window and just honestly tell the fact in a plain, straight headline without twist.
You don’t need any acrimony or abuse. Just bring facts, basic style, telling readers about truth.
Selfless people who understand nuances and the underworld of media, can help learn the system and be cautious.
Propaganda based on imaginary things can stir passions, create so much hate that entire society goes through turmoil and the social fabric is torn. Hence it’s high time that independent journalism initiatives are strengthened.
