Preliminary communication
https://doi.org/10.46640/imr.10.19.1
Today’s Media: Problems and Manipulations
Krešimir Pavelić
; Faculty of Medicine, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Croatia
Abstract
The media delivers information and data to the public, which means that the media should be objective and credible. The broader image of the media in the world, however, is not at all good. Public opinion polls and opinions of respected world journalists indicate currently key problems, such as a high level of unreliability, sensationalism, publication errors that are usually not corrected and inadequate disclosure of important information. One of the most emphasized problems is the dependence of the media on the source of funding, which calls into question their objectivity, their impact on society and a number of other problems. According to this thesis, many individuals “pump” the money into media, so that the media plays a huge role in creating public opinion. The media experience a growing sense of power so they growingly use their power in the most aggressive and selfish possible manner. Today, with the existence of certain regulations that control the purchase and sale of media, the manipulation of power takes place at the highest level. According to such an opinion, manipulating the media is a major disease that is spreading through our society. This is confusing to people because anyone can promote whatever they want as long as they have enough money. This article accordingly, highlights several recent examples of media dysfunction. The latest example is based on the so-called pandemic disease COVID-19 media covering. Ever since the COVID-19 crisis begun, the central media have exposed all their bias. Moreover, they propagated the idea of COVID-19 as a severe pandemic and the idea of vaccine as a lifesaving approach. They wrote about the ‘worst disease in history’, about a ‘life-saving solution in the form of a vaccine’, about ‘how drugs do not work at all’, etc. So they selected data and still do so through their ‘scientific media heroes’, excluding all other scientific facts that indicated or confirmed opposing views (PCR test and declaration of a pandemic, ineffectiveness and even harmfulness of vaccines, false scientific studies, etc.). An example of a perhaps greatest dangers that occurred to the media is also presented – the so called journalism of the Faktograf type. Under the guise of scientific scrutiny, medically undereducated journalists give themselves the right to comment and present the “universal truth” in public, almost always referring to selected scientific facts without the whole information context. They are not concerned by the evidence (meta-study - example of wearing masks, PCR diagnostics, meaninglessness of lockdown, Ivermectin). The verification of information started due to a need to verify the source and type of information but has ended now in the complete opposite and has degenerated from the starting idea. This is just an example pointing to a need for restructuring of the current media, to make them financially independent and re-install the reporting objectivity. The media should not create public opinion in any way but provide credible information and the look on the whole context.
Keywords
media; information; data; public; problems; manipulations; pandemic; COVID-19
Hrčak ID:
262465
URI
Publication date:
15.9.2021.
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