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The traditional TV news media has been having a rough time in the last few years. According to a recent survey, more Americans have a negative (43%) than a positive (33%) view of the mass media, and are finding it harder to be well informed because it is getting harder to determine which news is accurate.
So what is media's biggest problem? It's bigotry. While ideally all types of media should be objective and hold power to account, in reality, we know that most news outlets are partisan and have their agenda to advance. Whether state-owned or run by some shady tax-avoiding billionaire, getting 'the masses' to view the world from a certain perspective has always been a priceless power to wield.
So why is trust in the media so low? Well, according to the same survey, 8 out of 10 Americans believe that the news media are critical to their democracy. The gap between these lofty expectations of an honest, objective media and the performance that they deliver is large. Times, when the mask slips and examples of media manipulation are exposed, is hugely damaging to trust (don't even get me started on the 2003 Iraq war), and people naturally turn to social media for other, even-easier-to-manipulate sources. Thus we are in the current state in which we find ourselves: confused, mistrustful and divided.
People have been posting examples of fake news and how media can use different techniques of deception, to trick you into seeing exactly what they wanted you to see. As you will discover, perspective is everything! It all goes to show that a healthy dose of skepticism goes a long way, and getting your news from a wide range of different sources is your best bet to a more rounded view of the world we live in. Social media is good in that respect, but bad regarding regulation, trolling and people shouting horrible things at each other. The good old traditional news media is needed as a forum for rational debate and expert opinion, but they must stop with the manipulation already! Scroll down to check out the cheeky photo manipulations in action for yourself, and let us know what you think in the comments!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Photo Taken When Kate Middleton And Prince William Presented Third Royal Baby To The World
Ladies and Gentlemen 7 years ago
I don't know if its odd, but i show number 3 by pinching the pinky finger down to thumb, not this way!
RELATED:
#2
Tv News Station
#3
U.s. Marines From The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit Help An Iraqi Soldier With Water From A Canteen In Southern Iraq, March 21, 2003
#4
Presidential Inauguration Of Donald Trump
Ruth Hempsey 7 years ago
He's waving at the camera and reporters because there aren't any other people except security.
#5
Hillary Rally In Omaha
Elle Campbell 7 years ago
That's more than 50 people. And it's still more than the "Yuge crowds" of legitimate(unpaid) tRump supporters that show up for his rallies.
#6
Soldiers Playing With Kids
Matt Richardson 7 years ago
The first looks more like, "Boy you're bout to get a paddlin" The second reveals that the reason he is cowering is because he's trying not get hit by the ball.
Load More Replies...
Master Markus 7 years ago
The first one didn't seem threatening to me, like, the soldier is really relaxed and he has what looks like a ping-pong paddle, for f**k's sake. Not exactly something a solider would try to hurt someone with.
Chelsea Bates 7 years ago
But some people are stupid and believe everything they see and hear
Load More Replies...
Peter Beard 7 years ago
One picture shows a child frightened by a soldier the other shows a soldiier playing with happy children. Whoever publishes those pictures has a duty to say what the truth is or be labelled a liar.
Christa Russell 7 years ago
I don't think the kid looks scared .. his body language does suggest he's trying to stay out the way but necessarily because he's scared. This is not a threatening photo at all, just simply playing.
Namea 3 days ago
My brother was in Afghanistan in the army circa 2007. They were actively encouraged to intimidate or harm locals, even non combatants. They literally told them "If they're brown put 'em down." Which was worse considering my brother is black. He also watched his co shoot a little girl in the back and laugh about it and joke about doing s****l things to her corpse. He reported it and was beaten up while his co got promoted eventually. The American soldiers overseas aren't usually playing with kids.
Wendy J Shores 7 years ago
People around the world need to see all of this and realize that not everything they see about America is TRUE!!!!
Pattie Kelly 7 years ago
Yes both pictures are fine but it's about the truth and the truth always prevails.
Stephanie Stevens 7 years ago
It makes it look as though the kid in blue is "cowering" and by himself when in reality he's just trying to stay out of the way.
Sally Vogel 7 years ago
I doubt that the first picture was used by any media outlet. It looks like the second picture was cropped by someone just trying to show how we can jump to conclusions by not seeing the whole picture.
#7
Conservative Leader Theresa May Launches The Party's Campaign Bus In Northumberland
#8
Photographer Ruben Salvadori Covered The Conflict Between Israeli Soldiers And Palestinian Youths. The Picture Above Was Staged In Cooperation With A Young Palestinian
#9
Pro-Immigration Protest
Paul O'Connor 7 years ago
Because it was demonstration ILLUSTRATING child detention, not purporting to actually show it. Hence the kids in the cages are holding protest signs. Someone took it and made a meme, which is why THAT photo is on a page talking about how pictures can lie. But yeah, kids were still put behind bars for real elsewhere.
#10
Tax Protest In Paris
#11
Hillary Clinton Event In Ohio
#12
Example Of How The Media Can Manipulate Us
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Unlikely 7 years ago
All I learned was that apparently no one is really interested anymore to show up for politics ^^;
Just a Purpler 7 years ago
There's a few really good pictures (Particularly at the beginning), but then there are a bunch where I'm like, "I don't understand what either of these pictures is talking about" XD
Toby Shew 7 years ago
This is a low point in bored panda history - mistaking memes for "the media" and playing into this stupid rhetoric
Meowton Mewsk 7 years ago
Toby, thank you for articulating that. This needs to be higher up.
Load More Replies...
H. von Roon 7 years ago
I'm sorry but anyone who in 2018 depends on pictures to tell a story instead of thoughtful, intellectually based curiosity as motivation for self-research shouldn't be voting, speaking, driving, or reproducing offspring.
Aunt Messy 7 years ago
What's surprising is that commenters are surprised by this. It's nothing new.
Talia Johnson 7 years ago
I think this shows bored panda manipulation! Some of these are incorrectly labelled, and they aren't all the 'fake media'! I think the point about how pictures are able to be manipulated is a valid one, and the lesson is to not take anything at face value, read more than one source, but bashing the media is unhelpful.
Skink Dog 7 years ago
It's a facet of Fake News. Manipulation to show the side they wan't whether real or not :)
Load More Replies...
Stille20 7 years ago (edited)
This is a good reminder that the media should be held to a higher standard than a freshmen on instagram, but every photo has something in it's periphery. Frankly, many Board Panda articles use photos to manipulate the readers. The articles are often set up in a narrative to frame people as victims, villains or heroes.
phil blanque 7 years ago
This is a HORRIBLE post! These are just photos...not the "media". Where were they published and by whom? They are completely unattributed with no context. In five minutes I could grab unpublished, unattributed photos off the web, crop them two different ways, and post them. Does that make me the "media"? Disgusting and irresponsible!!! A cheap way to generate hits by baiting people's distrust.
Skink Dog 7 years ago
Not really. It's something the media DO use a lot, newspapers the like. Nothing wrong with the article which is just pointing out we should think a little.
Load More Replies...
Elvia Szymanski 7 years ago
This is a very misleading article from Bored Panda and it only stokes the incensed calls to condem free press. People should also use their brains a bit.
Leon Mack 7 years ago
Actually, these don't always show "media" manipulation. They do show (as psychologists have said for decades) that we often bring more to a photograph than just what it shows. A picture may be with 1000 words but it is we who supply the words and the meaning. You can rarely and should never trust a single image to give you the whole story. All images are from a particular point of view with a specific cropping.
Zoyd wheeler 7 years ago
“Bored Panda is a leading art, design and photography community for creative people. Our submission platform helps artists and creators turn their stories into” Then what is this, thinly veiled right leaning propaganda post about? Very poor
Carolyn Robinson 7 years ago
Accept any story from the media with a grain of salt. The same thing with polls. You can slant a poll anyway by the way you ask questions and who you ask them from. I refuse to do phone polls for this reason.
Misterscooter 7 years ago
How much of this is the media and how much of this is what the PR person supplied to the media?
Full Name 7 years ago
You are responsible for fact checking what you publish.
Load More Replies...
Jon Smythe 4 years ago
I only researched #12. The gun is photoshopped. In reality, there's a guy a little further off to the right holding an UMBRELLA. And well all know how threatening umbrellas are to the Chinese.
Load More Replies... Wendy J Shores 7 years ago
The media is behind 99% of this country's problems. After seeing Anderson Cooper lie about the sniper fire in Syria, Hillary doing the same thing and even the damn weather channel cant tell the truth, how can anyone possibly believe ANYTHING they see on the news anymore?
Jacqueline Conway 7 years ago
These are all just examples of photo-editing, as always done in newspapers.
Chris Gill 7 years ago
I is not just pictures but in words. Years ago a 3% rise in GDP was lauded by the media under Clinton as a boom to the economy yet a 3.4 rise under Bush was called a lackluster rise. Maybe modern math escapes me but isn't 3.4 greater than 3?
Elizabeth Gardner 7 years ago (edited)
It goes to show the c**p that goes on to make something appear much bigger and or more desperate that it really is. It is FAKE news in all respects .I see that by doing this they are making people think that each photo represents something far more than it really is. People are basically sheep they follow the crowd. If they think that a huge crowd must be right with say a rally for something then they will agree and think that way themselves.
Peter Kovak 7 years ago
It's sad, but so true. It's so easy to create fake news, almost incredible. We judge people and facts from the wrong side, just because somebody wants us to do so. This is more and more one of our days' daily plagues, part of our culture. Sad...
Matthieu Bout 7 years ago
This is how it is these days. Truth is worth nothing anymore. Perception is.
John Sampson 7 years ago
Do we actually need the media? We can make our own news and it would be more authentic.
d bradley 7 years ago
apparently the bored pandas are having a hard time dealing with this truth
Emory Griffis 7 years ago
If I were to judge by the number of downvotes I've received since joining and commenting on BP; any truth makes most on here either uncomfortable or outraged.
Load More Replies...
Jovy Jergens 7 years ago
I used to be skeptical of Trump's claims of "fake news" until I started reading online news coverage of the same story from different sites on the internet. We are indeed manipulated by images and edited "quotes." I now notice the same thing on broadcast and cable shows. What a sneering contempt people in media have for the American public!
Effseven Six 7 years ago
Media pictures have become an art form.. like modeling. I dont beleive any pictures I see anymore, especially if they are centered around politics or protests. Staged photos and POV manipulation is everywhere in the media.
Christine Cruz 7 years ago
#4 isn't even on the same street. The background people aren't even the same. Nice try.
Michael Cox 7 years ago
That is why I do not watch the media or believe anything they say or show.
Maria Del Pilar 7 years ago
They did this recently showing an Israeli soldier giving water to a 74 year old Palestinian woman and used that to show that the soldiers have compassion but they didn't show that he shot her in the head and killed her right afterwards. #BDS #freepalestine
Full Name 7 years ago
Even your comment doesn't provide clarification though. What if that woman just shot a bunch of innocent people in the face and threatened to shoot more as soon as she could? Until you have a full-out first person comprehensive account, it's not enough information to make a proper judgement about.
Load More Replies... LuzMcKnight 7 years ago
The traditional news media has been having a rough time in the last few years. According to a recent survey, more Americans have a negative (43%) than a positive (33%) view of the news media, and are finding it harder to be well informed because it is getting harder to determine which news is accurate........... HERE► www.jobsthings.com
Unlikely 7 years ago
All I learned was that apparently no one is really interested anymore to show up for politics ^^;
Just a Purpler 7 years ago
There's a few really good pictures (Particularly at the beginning), but then there are a bunch where I'm like, "I don't understand what either of these pictures is talking about" XD
Toby Shew 7 years ago
This is a low point in bored panda history - mistaking memes for "the media" and playing into this stupid rhetoric
Meowton Mewsk 7 years ago
Toby, thank you for articulating that. This needs to be higher up.
Load More Replies... H. von Roon 7 years ago
I'm sorry but anyone who in 2018 depends on pictures to tell a story instead of thoughtful, intellectually based curiosity as motivation for self-research shouldn't be voting, speaking, driving, or reproducing offspring.
Aunt Messy 7 years ago
What's surprising is that commenters are surprised by this. It's nothing new.
Talia Johnson 7 years ago
I think this shows bored panda manipulation! Some of these are incorrectly labelled, and they aren't all the 'fake media'! I think the point about how pictures are able to be manipulated is a valid one, and the lesson is to not take anything at face value, read more than one source, but bashing the media is unhelpful.
Skink Dog 7 years ago
It's a facet of Fake News. Manipulation to show the side they wan't whether real or not :)
Load More Replies... Stille20 7 years ago (edited)
This is a good reminder that the media should be held to a higher standard than a freshmen on instagram, but every photo has something in it's periphery. Frankly, many Board Panda articles use photos to manipulate the readers. The articles are often set up in a narrative to frame people as victims, villains or heroes.
phil blanque 7 years ago
This is a HORRIBLE post! These are just photos...not the "media". Where were they published and by whom? They are completely unattributed with no context. In five minutes I could grab unpublished, unattributed photos off the web, crop them two different ways, and post them. Does that make me the "media"? Disgusting and irresponsible!!! A cheap way to generate hits by baiting people's distrust.
Skink Dog 7 years ago
Not really. It's something the media DO use a lot, newspapers the like. Nothing wrong with the article which is just pointing out we should think a little.
Load More Replies... Elvia Szymanski 7 years ago
This is a very misleading article from Bored Panda and it only stokes the incensed calls to condem free press. People should also use their brains a bit.
Leon Mack 7 years ago
Actually, these don't always show "media" manipulation. They do show (as psychologists have said for decades) that we often bring more to a photograph than just what it shows. A picture may be with 1000 words but it is we who supply the words and the meaning. You can rarely and should never trust a single image to give you the whole story. All images are from a particular point of view with a specific cropping.
Zoyd wheeler 7 years ago
“Bored Panda is a leading art, design and photography community for creative people. Our submission platform helps artists and creators turn their stories into” Then what is this, thinly veiled right leaning propaganda post about? Very poor
Carolyn Robinson 7 years ago
Accept any story from the media with a grain of salt. The same thing with polls. You can slant a poll anyway by the way you ask questions and who you ask them from. I refuse to do phone polls for this reason.
Misterscooter 7 years ago
How much of this is the media and how much of this is what the PR person supplied to the media?
Full Name 7 years ago
You are responsible for fact checking what you publish.
Load More Replies... Jon Smythe 4 years ago
I only researched #12. The gun is photoshopped. In reality, there's a guy a little further off to the right holding an UMBRELLA. And well all know how threatening umbrellas are to the Chinese.
Load More Replies... Wendy J Shores 7 years ago
The media is behind 99% of this country's problems. After seeing Anderson Cooper lie about the sniper fire in Syria, Hillary doing the same thing and even the damn weather channel cant tell the truth, how can anyone possibly believe ANYTHING they see on the news anymore?
Jacqueline Conway 7 years ago
These are all just examples of photo-editing, as always done in newspapers.
Chris Gill 7 years ago
I is not just pictures but in words. Years ago a 3% rise in GDP was lauded by the media under Clinton as a boom to the economy yet a 3.4 rise under Bush was called a lackluster rise. Maybe modern math escapes me but isn't 3.4 greater than 3?
Elizabeth Gardner 7 years ago (edited)
It goes to show the c**p that goes on to make something appear much bigger and or more desperate that it really is. It is FAKE news in all respects .I see that by doing this they are making people think that each photo represents something far more than it really is. People are basically sheep they follow the crowd. If they think that a huge crowd must be right with say a rally for something then they will agree and think that way themselves.
Peter Kovak 7 years ago
It's sad, but so true. It's so easy to create fake news, almost incredible. We judge people and facts from the wrong side, just because somebody wants us to do so. This is more and more one of our days' daily plagues, part of our culture. Sad...
Matthieu Bout 7 years ago
This is how it is these days. Truth is worth nothing anymore. Perception is.
John Sampson 7 years ago
Do we actually need the media? We can make our own news and it would be more authentic.
d bradley 7 years ago
apparently the bored pandas are having a hard time dealing with this truth
Emory Griffis 7 years ago
If I were to judge by the number of downvotes I've received since joining and commenting on BP; any truth makes most on here either uncomfortable or outraged.
Load More Replies... Jovy Jergens 7 years ago
I used to be skeptical of Trump's claims of "fake news" until I started reading online news coverage of the same story from different sites on the internet. We are indeed manipulated by images and edited "quotes." I now notice the same thing on broadcast and cable shows. What a sneering contempt people in media have for the American public!
Effseven Six 7 years ago
Media pictures have become an art form.. like modeling. I dont beleive any pictures I see anymore, especially if they are centered around politics or protests. Staged photos and POV manipulation is everywhere in the media.
Christine Cruz 7 years ago
#4 isn't even on the same street. The background people aren't even the same. Nice try.
Michael Cox 7 years ago
That is why I do not watch the media or believe anything they say or show.
Maria Del Pilar 7 years ago
They did this recently showing an Israeli soldier giving water to a 74 year old Palestinian woman and used that to show that the soldiers have compassion but they didn't show that he shot her in the head and killed her right afterwards. #BDS #freepalestine
Full Name 7 years ago
Even your comment doesn't provide clarification though. What if that woman just shot a bunch of innocent people in the face and threatened to shoot more as soon as she could? Until you have a full-out first person comprehensive account, it's not enough information to make a proper judgement about.
Load More Replies... LuzMcKnight 7 years ago
The traditional news media has been having a rough time in the last few years. According to a recent survey, more Americans have a negative (43%) than a positive (33%) view of the news media, and are finding it harder to be well informed because it is getting harder to determine which news is accurate........... HERE► www.jobsthings.com
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