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.
Photo Taken When Kate Middleton And Prince William Presented Third Royal Baby To The World
I don't know if its odd, but i show number 3 by pinching the pinky finger down to thumb, not this way!
I don't find that odd, that's exactly how I put my fingers for three! To each his own!!
I'd love to see William actually give someone the middle finger, the world would be shocked!
I love this because it totally shows how people see things from different angles.
People are complaining how he is showing "3". That is how you show the number 3 in ASL.
OH! And they flip you off in the UK by a backwards "Peace" sign showing the back of their hand.
Load More Replies...
When you show 3 directly, then yeah I do it the pinky finger down way but while counting from one, it's the other way. So maybe he was counting.
Strange way to display a three. The thumb would be one of my digits, but then one is not royal.
Seriously what idiot has a problem how someone shows the number 3 on their hand. This is the problem with social media. Even idiots are entitled to their opinion no matter how ridiculous and aggravating it is.
This really isn’t news. The media has been lying for the past several years about a lot of things. They spread disinformation constantly.
Ever wonder how Romans ordered 5 beers at a bar? They showed the V sign.
If they are trying to say this is supposed to be the same picture just from different angles then someone is not being truthful. Look at his mouth, not just the fingers. It's not the same picture.
He might say he nowhas three children and explaining all the poses theyhad use to get ir, by sign language because of the noise. People tend to move their fingers when they speak by signs to people.
Load More Replies...
HI My name is Jonathan Demme, am from France i will brief you more oncei hear from you as soon as possible i will like to discuss with you,but not here in boredpanda email me to (dj76354641@gmail.com) With Regards Jonathan Demme
Let's be clear: all of us in the UK know instinctively that this photo is misleading because Prince William, being a true Brit, would never give the bird. He would flick the Vs. Case closed.
In American sign language that would be the sign for nine, but flipped. However, I went to Europe last year and saw a lot of people do this for three.
And yet they continue to misconstrue the truth at every turn. They don't care if its not true. As long as you buy their magazines etc.
That's the way the British show the number 3. The Germans use their thumb and first two fingers to indicate the number 3.
Prince William is BRITISH!! They don't give "the finger"!! They give what I can best describe as a reverse peace sign!
He's a Royal and heir to the Throne and would never believe the first photo. FAKE NEWS!
I never thought about it until now, but holding up the first three fingers to represent the number is also sign language for the letter "W." You don't know who is looking at the picture, and how they are interpreting it. I like a good perspective change every now and again. ;-)
All media is biased, it is usually owned by individuals or groups of people with political views. Before print gossip was the way people learned the truth. You heard many views from many people and decided what to believe. That power was taken away by the press, radio and television. Today though, through the internet, and social media we are all able to gossip once again, so the truth cannot stay in the hands of those who have been brainwashing the people for centuries.
Must be a British thing to denote the # 3 that way..?? or just a scret Windsor thing.?
my husband and his father switched to doing three this way because their hands (as they aged) wouldn't crease in the way needed to do 3 with pinky down and pointer up.
Ever single media source made it clear he was NOT giving anyone the finger. It was mostly media refuting Morin’s on Facebook. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/699086/Prince-William-Kate-Middleton-Louis-Royal-news-St-Marys-Hospital-Lindo-Wing/amp The media did its job. This is a bad article.
Every actual media source explained how the prince was taking about his child. It’s not “the media. It’s jerks on Facebook. Your very first example is absolute BS.
why do people persist in calling her Kate Middleton when she has been married for 7 years?
why do people even care about royalty?
Load More Replies...
As Wills is British if he was "giving you the finger" he'd be using two fingers - index and middle
That's 'up-yours'. Giving the finger is still just the one finger.
Load More Replies...
You can tell The Duke of Cambridge was never a Boy Scout. If so, he'd have done it like the Scout Sign: thumb holding pinky down, other three fingers erect, palm facing the front. ✌️This is the Cub Scout sign. Add your right ring finger for the Boy Scout sign. It's the same sign worldwide. And Scouts shake hands with their left hands, except in cultures where it's verboten.
I was the crowd lining the street on "the strand" for the wedding , I was in Hyde Park for the fireworks the night before. we slept in Woolies Window on the Strand in central london the right .We saw it all - we herad Diana get the name wrong - collective groan CharlesPhillip Arthur George . it was a brilliant day
Load More Replies...
Tv News Station
U.s. Marines From The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit Help An Iraqi Soldier With Water From A Canteen In Southern Iraq, March 21, 2003
Presidential Inauguration Of Donald Trump
He's waving at the camera and reporters because there aren't any other people except security.
Hillary Rally In Omaha
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.
Soldiers Playing With Kids
Conservative Leader Theresa May Launches The Party's Campaign Bus In Northumberland
Photographer Ruben Salvadori Covered The Conflict Between Israeli Soldiers And Palestinian Youths. The Picture Above Was Staged In Cooperation With A Young Palestinian
Pro-Immigration Protest
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.
Tax Protest In Paris
Hillary Clinton Event In Ohio
Example Of How The Media Can Manipulate Us
All I learned was that apparently no one is really interested anymore to show up for politics ^^;
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
This is a low point in bored panda history - mistaking memes for "the media" and playing into this stupid rhetoric
Toby, thank you for articulating that. This needs to be higher up.
Load More Replies...
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.
What's surprising is that commenters are surprised by this. It's nothing new.
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.
It's a facet of Fake News. Manipulation to show the side they wan't whether real or not :)
Load More Replies...
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.
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.
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...
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.
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.
“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
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.
How much of this is the media and how much of this is what the PR person supplied to the media?
You are responsible for fact checking what you publish.
Load More Replies...
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... 
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?
These are all just examples of photo-editing, as always done in newspapers.
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?
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.
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...
This is how it is these days. Truth is worth nothing anymore. Perception is.
Do we actually need the media? We can make our own news and it would be more authentic.
apparently the bored pandas are having a hard time dealing with this truth
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...
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!
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.
#4 isn't even on the same street. The background people aren't even the same. Nice try.
That is why I do not watch the media or believe anything they say or show.
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
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... 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
All I learned was that apparently no one is really interested anymore to show up for politics ^^;
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
This is a low point in bored panda history - mistaking memes for "the media" and playing into this stupid rhetoric
Toby, thank you for articulating that. This needs to be higher up.
Load More Replies... 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.
What's surprising is that commenters are surprised by this. It's nothing new.
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.
It's a facet of Fake News. Manipulation to show the side they wan't whether real or not :)
Load More Replies... 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.
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.
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... 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.
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.
“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
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.
How much of this is the media and how much of this is what the PR person supplied to the media?
You are responsible for fact checking what you publish.
Load More Replies... 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... 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?
These are all just examples of photo-editing, as always done in newspapers.
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?
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.
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...
This is how it is these days. Truth is worth nothing anymore. Perception is.
Do we actually need the media? We can make our own news and it would be more authentic.
apparently the bored pandas are having a hard time dealing with this truth
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... 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!
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.
#4 isn't even on the same street. The background people aren't even the same. Nice try.
That is why I do not watch the media or believe anything they say or show.
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
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... 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
