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Manipulating the Message: How Powerful Forces Shape the News
Journalists hate the term fake news, but there’s a troubling reality — spin doctors routinely try to dupe them into reporting misleading and distorted stories.
Check the news on any given day and here’s what you find: Governments routinely lie. Companies tout products and practices that put lives at risk. Think tanks release studies with misleading data meant to deceive. Police departments, infected by systemic racism, downplay crimes against Indigenous and racialized people.
The public depends on media to help them understand the world, but are journalists catching all the daily lies, omissions, and distortions? Shrinking newsrooms and an army of spin doctors mean journalists can get duped. Despite valiant efforts by a handful of investigative journalists, the truth is routinely left behind.
Award-winning journalist Cecil Rosner insists there is something we can do about this. We can pressure news organizations to stop blindly regurgitating the firehose of press releases and focus on determining what is actually true. Rosner shares his techniques for empowering readers to detect misinformation and disinformation on their own.
Check the news on any given day and here’s what you find: Governments routinely lie. Companies tout products and practices that put lives at risk. Think tanks release studies with misleading data meant to deceive. Police departments, infected by systemic racism, downplay crimes against Indigenous and racialized people.
The public depends on media to help them understand the world, but are journalists catching all the daily lies, omissions, and distortions? Shrinking newsrooms and an army of spin doctors mean journalists can get duped. Despite valiant efforts by a handful of investigative journalists, the truth is routinely left behind.
Award-winning journalist Cecil Rosner insists there is something we can do about this. We can pressure news organizations to stop blindly regurgitating the firehose of press releases and focus on determining what is actually true. Rosner shares his techniques for empowering readers to detect misinformation and disinformation on their own.
275 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2023
2 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 21, 2023
"Everybody lies" - dr. House
Dr. House may have been a fictional character but it doesn´t mean he´s wrong. In fact, he is so painfully right. This book is a proof of that.
Who lies? Everybody! thats who. We all know that corporations are evil, but we all want to work for them because this is where the money is, right? Think tanks, glorified by many, are so popular in schools, but they aren´t always transparent, they are funded by someone and do exist to serve a purpose. Politicians are usually regarded as people whose job is to lie. But the military is there to protect, not to lie, right? Nope. The lie too. How about spies? Their job is to pretend, to lie, and to gather information that can be useful to others, that´s nothing new.
Cecil Rosner has been working in media long enough to know exactly what he´s talking about. He has packed his book with horrific examples of how facts are being manipulated, twisted, and turned upside down in order to achieve a goal that´s not always clear. Misinformation, disinformation, lies - that´s our everyday life. Who can we, the public trust? Should we? How can we spot all the mischief in the media?
"Every major government department and every private and public institution now tightly controls its information flow. Communications specialists and spokespeople have proliferated. The global public relations industry today is worth more than US$100 billion.
Alongside this growth is the decline in the number of people practicing journalism."
"There are fewer than 12.000 reporters in Canada compared to nearly 160.000 employees in the advertising, public relations, and communications industry. For every journalist trying to figure out the truth, thirteen people are influencing that journalist´s perception of reality. This isn´t a fair fight."
What is worth pointing out is that apart from all the obvious places where we can expect lies and manipulation, the author turns his attention to less obvious places, such as science/junk, polls, and influencers. These are incredibly important points and are way too often taken for granted. Science only appears to be scientific, but in many cases, the research that you read about in your daily paper has been paid for by someone who has an interest in doing so. The methodology is often flawed and should be questioned.
The especially interesting chapter is the one about influencers. Their connections aren´t clear, their content is often misleading and questionable. We all have heard about fake reviews. Trip Advisor is especially infamous in that regard. But this goes further. Influencers can spread propaganda in a cheap and effective way. For example recent World Cup tournament was promoted using paid influencers to bring people into the country. Of course, these influencers failed to disclose that they were paid for their work. Result: "1.4 million video views and a total reach of ten million." Where is the question about ethics?
With the rapid development of AI, we have no way to say which account is real, which is fake, which content is real, and which is not. Which content is fabricated to deceive or cause damage? (a recent example is what Hamas has been publishing, many of its claims regarding abuse from Israelis turned out to be false and the EU demanded strict and prompt action from Meta and TikTok to remove the fake information from their platforms --- not in the book).
How can we fight back? Can we at all?
Yes, we can. First "anyone who exercises skepticism and critical thinking can learn to spot misleading information in news reports". Ask: "Who created the content, and when did they create it? Is any evidence offered for the claims in the story?" If you see numbers, polls, science, etc more questions should be asked. Stop relying on press releases. Challenge conventional narrative. This seems to be becoming tougher and tougher every day. People don´t like it when someone asks questions. Authorities absolutely hate that. We train our kids to accept what they're told without questioning it. Why are we so surprised then when we get so easily fooled?
Dr. House may have been a fictional character but it doesn´t mean he´s wrong. In fact, he is so painfully right. This book is a proof of that.
Who lies? Everybody! thats who. We all know that corporations are evil, but we all want to work for them because this is where the money is, right? Think tanks, glorified by many, are so popular in schools, but they aren´t always transparent, they are funded by someone and do exist to serve a purpose. Politicians are usually regarded as people whose job is to lie. But the military is there to protect, not to lie, right? Nope. The lie too. How about spies? Their job is to pretend, to lie, and to gather information that can be useful to others, that´s nothing new.
Cecil Rosner has been working in media long enough to know exactly what he´s talking about. He has packed his book with horrific examples of how facts are being manipulated, twisted, and turned upside down in order to achieve a goal that´s not always clear. Misinformation, disinformation, lies - that´s our everyday life. Who can we, the public trust? Should we? How can we spot all the mischief in the media?
"Every major government department and every private and public institution now tightly controls its information flow. Communications specialists and spokespeople have proliferated. The global public relations industry today is worth more than US$100 billion.
Alongside this growth is the decline in the number of people practicing journalism."
"There are fewer than 12.000 reporters in Canada compared to nearly 160.000 employees in the advertising, public relations, and communications industry. For every journalist trying to figure out the truth, thirteen people are influencing that journalist´s perception of reality. This isn´t a fair fight."
What is worth pointing out is that apart from all the obvious places where we can expect lies and manipulation, the author turns his attention to less obvious places, such as science/junk, polls, and influencers. These are incredibly important points and are way too often taken for granted. Science only appears to be scientific, but in many cases, the research that you read about in your daily paper has been paid for by someone who has an interest in doing so. The methodology is often flawed and should be questioned.
The especially interesting chapter is the one about influencers. Their connections aren´t clear, their content is often misleading and questionable. We all have heard about fake reviews. Trip Advisor is especially infamous in that regard. But this goes further. Influencers can spread propaganda in a cheap and effective way. For example recent World Cup tournament was promoted using paid influencers to bring people into the country. Of course, these influencers failed to disclose that they were paid for their work. Result: "1.4 million video views and a total reach of ten million." Where is the question about ethics?
With the rapid development of AI, we have no way to say which account is real, which is fake, which content is real, and which is not. Which content is fabricated to deceive or cause damage? (a recent example is what Hamas has been publishing, many of its claims regarding abuse from Israelis turned out to be false and the EU demanded strict and prompt action from Meta and TikTok to remove the fake information from their platforms --- not in the book).
How can we fight back? Can we at all?
Yes, we can. First "anyone who exercises skepticism and critical thinking can learn to spot misleading information in news reports". Ask: "Who created the content, and when did they create it? Is any evidence offered for the claims in the story?" If you see numbers, polls, science, etc more questions should be asked. Stop relying on press releases. Challenge conventional narrative. This seems to be becoming tougher and tougher every day. People don´t like it when someone asks questions. Authorities absolutely hate that. We train our kids to accept what they're told without questioning it. Why are we so surprised then when we get so easily fooled?
July 2, 2024
Like if inventing reality was focused on Winnipeg. Never trust the lying news media
August 31, 2023
I loved this book. Rosner tells a fascinating story in a conversational tone and without any jargon. Rosner makes his points clearly and with a lot of examples, several from his own work, making the book somewhat biographical. I loved that this book has a Canadian take and it gave me a new look at Canadian history, things I may have missed when the topics discussed were current events. However, I think that the book contains broader lessons that are applicable everywhere. Thank you to Netgalley and Dundurn Press for the digital review copy.
October 30, 2023
I felt I was always too naive when hearing and trusting everything I heard on the news. This book really opened my eyes to how companies, journalists and reporters can easily distort the truth in their messages to the public. The author provides great insight into the world of Journalism and the shape of the industry to come. Also, he provides tips on what you can do the next time you hear a news story, so you’re not easily manipulated.
Thank you to Dundurn Press for the advance copy of this book. I’ve provided this review voluntarily.
Thank you to Dundurn Press for the advance copy of this book. I’ve provided this review voluntarily.
October 14, 2023
This book is about investigative journalism and how to apply it practically when getting information from any media source. The principles are genuinely very simple: check the information source and it's credibility. It is just that we do not do this normally. There are plenty of interesting and up to date examples of innovation investigation and sources check.
November 17, 2023
An interesting read and..... not always believe what you hear and read in media. A story how the messages are pass to us and what the value they carry.
November 23, 2023
This Review Is *NOT* A Paid Ad. Up front, because one of the large points Rosner makes is about just how much "influencer" peddling actually happens, let me be 100% perfectly clear: I had never heard of Rosner nor his publisher before picking up this book from NetGalley (yes, it is an advance reader copy). The title and description sounded like something that was interesting to me, so I picked it up. Period.
But that actually *does* get to the very points Rosner makes throughout this text, and he repeatedly uses real world examples both well known and very obscure to show his points. Basically, *everyone* is suspect - and you *should* do your own research. Yes, there are experts. Yes, objective truth exists. But are you actually hearing from them? Are you actually getting anything remotely close to the objective truth on the topic at hand? Rosner spends about 86% of his nearly 300 pages showing that... eh, you may not be, on either question. No matter where your "news" is coming from. At any level.
Truly a phenomenal expose on the topic, very well written and extremely informative. While Rosner is based in Canada and thus several of his examples are also based there, he also covers the situation in the US in particular quite well - and because of this, his points likely hold reasonably well at least through Western nations and *possibly* in every location on the globe (and beyond).
The star deduction is really two half stars - one half because at 14%, his bibliography is just shy of the range I normally expect to see in a book such as this based on my extensive experience reading these types of nonfiction ARCs, that range being closer to 20-30%. The other half star is due to the elitism that is so pervasive throughout the text. While actually decently balanced - while he spends an entire chapter *mostly* railing against Libertarian think tanks in Canada, he *does* also point out others of other political persuasions that are just as bad, and spends at least some actual time covering them and their faults as well, for example - even in the balance, the overall elitist disdain for so many of us just pours through his writing. And to be clear, I myself am a former political blogger - well before my book blogging days - that actually broke several local and even Statewide news items. And had more journalistic integrity than at least some of the "professionals" on those beats. (But those are ultimately stories for another time and place. ;) ) My point here being that at least this reader is not simply some fly by night *very* minor "book influencer" (as some authors have called me *with pride* - rather than disdain), and Rosner realistically should have expected that many, perhaps even most, eventual readers of this book would have some level of journalistic experience. Which makes the elitism that much harder to swallow.
Still, ultimately this truly was a very good, well written expose on just how much media manipulation is in our every day lives, from the local to the national and throughout even social media as well.
Very much recommended.
But that actually *does* get to the very points Rosner makes throughout this text, and he repeatedly uses real world examples both well known and very obscure to show his points. Basically, *everyone* is suspect - and you *should* do your own research. Yes, there are experts. Yes, objective truth exists. But are you actually hearing from them? Are you actually getting anything remotely close to the objective truth on the topic at hand? Rosner spends about 86% of his nearly 300 pages showing that... eh, you may not be, on either question. No matter where your "news" is coming from. At any level.
Truly a phenomenal expose on the topic, very well written and extremely informative. While Rosner is based in Canada and thus several of his examples are also based there, he also covers the situation in the US in particular quite well - and because of this, his points likely hold reasonably well at least through Western nations and *possibly* in every location on the globe (and beyond).
The star deduction is really two half stars - one half because at 14%, his bibliography is just shy of the range I normally expect to see in a book such as this based on my extensive experience reading these types of nonfiction ARCs, that range being closer to 20-30%. The other half star is due to the elitism that is so pervasive throughout the text. While actually decently balanced - while he spends an entire chapter *mostly* railing against Libertarian think tanks in Canada, he *does* also point out others of other political persuasions that are just as bad, and spends at least some actual time covering them and their faults as well, for example - even in the balance, the overall elitist disdain for so many of us just pours through his writing. And to be clear, I myself am a former political blogger - well before my book blogging days - that actually broke several local and even Statewide news items. And had more journalistic integrity than at least some of the "professionals" on those beats. (But those are ultimately stories for another time and place. ;) ) My point here being that at least this reader is not simply some fly by night *very* minor "book influencer" (as some authors have called me *with pride* - rather than disdain), and Rosner realistically should have expected that many, perhaps even most, eventual readers of this book would have some level of journalistic experience. Which makes the elitism that much harder to swallow.
Still, ultimately this truly was a very good, well written expose on just how much media manipulation is in our every day lives, from the local to the national and throughout even social media as well.
Very much recommended.
April 25, 2024
A catalogue of the Canadian political media over the past maybe ten years. Well explained, compelling, and even offers some suggestions and other projects to follow. I wish I followed the stories closer when they happened, but given the broad topic, his cursory coverage doesn't go much deeper than my memories of the issues. I kind of hoped for a deep dive on a particular aspect of Canadian media. But a smorgasbord of Canadian issued is always welcome too.
November 6, 2023
A no-holds-barred account of how powerful forces - government, business, thinktanks and others try to influence/manipulate the media so their message is delivered - as news. The book is full of examples of how they try to sway public opinion through their efforts. A must-read for these times.
October 21, 2023
An interesting and important work. A fascinating read in these interesting times.
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital review copy.
Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital review copy.
March 14, 2024
rounded up from 3.5. my media dork brain loved this, but the syntax reads like a book’s worth hard news reporting (that’s what it is, to be fair) and that becomes a tad grating.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews