Do you think TV news always presents the truth? They are supposed to convey the truth to the world but sometimes they are wrong.
The news could be manipulated in many ways, for many different purposes. Some examples to these instances would be the “Great Moon Hoax” (1835), the “German Corpse Factory” (WWI), “Pizza gate” (2016) and the Sinking of the USS Maine (1898). Background information on these incidents are as follows. The “Great Moon Hoax” (1835): The Sun (New York) published a series of articles claiming that a famous astronomer had discovered life on the moon, including “man-bats” and unicorns. The goal was purely to increase circulation, which it did—the paper became one of the most widely read in the world overnight. The “German Corpse Factory” (WWI): During World War I, British newspapers like The Times published reports that Germany was boiling down the corpses of its own soldiers to make soap and lubricants. This was a piece of deliberate wartime propaganda designed to demonize the enemy. Decades later, the realization that this story was false caused many people to initially doubt genuine reports of the Holocaust during WWII. The Sinking of the USS Maine (1898): When the battleship USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor, rival newspaper moguls William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer published unverified rumours that Spain had bombed the ship. Their inflammatory headlines—”Spain Guilty!”—helped ignite the Spanish-American War. Modern investigations suggest the explosion was likely an internal accident. “Pizza gate” (2016): A fabricated conspiracy theory claimed a Washington D.C. pizza Parlor was the base of a child trafficking ring. Despite no evidence, the “news” spread via social media and fringe websites, eventually leading a man to open fire in the restaurant to “investigate” the claims himself. What can easily be understood by these cases are that the news has a lot of power.
In the rush to be first, news outlets sometimes report unverified information that turns out to be false. These cases involve the intentional creation of false stories, often to drive sales, influence politics, or win awards. It can be seen through these examples that social media and news manipulate society so much so that any information is believed without any questioning, and people should protect themselves accordingly.