Media Persuasion tactics that influenced choices in social settings.

            Most people experience persuasion through network television media CNN,NBC, ABC, FOX and I was no different than the normal American whom had given into  their influence on people and influence on creating mass delusion creating a false reality based only in news created by the Network television and internet media.  The idea of Chile was it was an undeveloped third world country torn with political unrest.

This rapidly changed after traveling to Chile in December of 1990 and experiencing the people and society for four months to meet my adopted sister Diana and spend some time with my Dad younger brother and Mom.  While we were there, the military government was transferring power to the people’s congress of Chile.

My four-month stay in Punta Arenas Chile allowed me to observe the Western News media driven fear tactics employed and the intentional misinforming of the United States public to create mass fear and paranoia. This is utilizing informational influences of media on mass public and giving a false persona of expertness in Countries outside the United States allows the media to create a false sense of reality based in manufactured reality of the network news.

CNN manufactured a bombing of the Santiago Mc Donald’s  that did not occur mass riots at Bush sr. speeches that never occurred and then demonized General Pinochet as a monster telling only the Communist party’s point of view. They negated the fact that the communist party controlled schools, food distribution and gasoline distribution.  You had no card or no allegiance with them you did not receive any services.

This was the reason for  General Pinochet taking over forcibly  and saving the Chilean Citizens from starvation and indoctrination from the communist party which is outlawed now in Chile.     

            Truthfulness in news media would be interesting if the standards of Truth in Advertising were applied to the news media as they sometimes are to television commercials.  In that unlikely situation news writers would be required to use words that convey accurate information – as opposed to the words they use today in news media that are at the least misleading the general public and misinforming them.

Breaking the code of news media fear tactics used on general public is essential to rational thinking returning to the people of the United States of America.  I want to help you to break the code of media fear tactics so you can more easily find the valuable information that may (or may not) be part of the story.

My goal in this paper is to change the reader’s experience of news media, to help reader actually experience it differently.  The tools provided by me that you could use to ensure that when you experience news media only actual information gets through.

The following are example of key words and phrases used by the news media to misinform the public creating undue fear in the process.

Possible -   The word “Possible” does not have the specificity one hopes for journalism, given that it is completely accurate when applied to anything anyone can possibly imagine.  Example:  “A possible outbreak of…” means there has been no outbreak “ A possible connection..” means there is no confirmed connection. “Possible attacks..” mean there have been no attacks. Anytime the news media uses the word possible it’s probably not happening now and may not be a valid point but an opinion.

Links - Next up, possible links between Bin Laden and traffic jams.”

Are theses two things linked?  No.  Nevertheless, it got your attention.  Link are a great news media trick, because you can tie a remote, unconfirmed, or even unimportant story to something that is really pushing buttons.  When you hear the word link in the news media, there is no confirmed link or any connection between the two items.  Especially if they say possible links.

“Our Nations”  - Phrases like these are used to imply some large scale to a small story. Like a car, dripping motor oil onto the road becomes “A new threat to Our Nation’s water supplies.”  Our nation is enormous. Nothing, not even nuclear bombs, pose a threat to all of any system in our society at the same time. When the news media says “Our Nation’s “anything, they are usually trying to give grand significance to something that is insignificant and mediocre at best.  Just as a car, leaking a few drops of oil does not constitute a national effect on anything and at best may be a local problem of little or no national significance.

“Shocking New Details”  - “Shocking new details when we come back.”  Well first of all, the details are not likely to be new, and if they are so critical, why are we waiting until after the commercial or break, and anyway, what does shocking mean at this point?   Nothing just another ploy to get you to watch or suffer through the commercial it is another form of media hype and unless the reporter jumped out of the television did the hula and jumped back in I don’t think anything said is going to shock me.

            Auditors, Observers, Analysts, inspectors, loopholes- “Auditors cite loopholes in security at our nation’s Libraries.”   That is right anytime you have an audit or inspection you are going to find something. Auditors are people hired to make reports identifying deficiencies.  The implication projected in a story about security loophole is that somebody will come crashing through the loophole – but that is not necessarily so.  They tell you (and the terrorist) about the loophole because it is freighting not because of it being enlighting.

In an Carefully Worded Statement ____ said - Well I would think any statement or speech would be carefully and thoughtfully put together in cognitive form.  The words “Carefully Worded” are meant by the press to imply that something is being hidden when nothing is being hidden.

In top-secret government memos leaked to this reporter. This is an bold faced lie to mislead people into thinking the individual to has exclusive information unattainable from other sources than the media source.  If it was a real top secret file or information the FBI, NSA, And homeland security would have long ago arrested the individual and shut down the media source leaking sensitive top secret information. This just means the media source is holding the bogus top-secret papers that they created or received.

UFO Disclosure project uses this ploy.

Serious, “officials consider the threat to be serious” -  Is that to distinguish this threat from the threats they laugh about over lunch?  Taking something seriously does not mean the threat is great or imminent.  It just means officials are doing what anyone would do to address and answer the threat.  More likely, they are taking no chances that reporters will broadcast a report saying they are taking chances. In theses, case there is no need for alarm as officials have the threat handled.

Officials are closely monitoring -Used to  imply that something is imminent, and worthy of being closely monitored.  “Officials are on the look out for..” is the same - The implication here is as if  Officials are standing outside looking around with binoculars waiting for it to happen when in fact they have the situation fully under control.

Could, Perhaps, potential, Might- NASA reports that a large piece of space junk –perhaps as big as a freighter- could enter Earth’s atmosphere over North America tonight. Experts warn it could potentially slam into the Earth.  What are you to do with this report it is vague and lacks location in North America and it fails to say that it may enter over North America but actually fall in the pacific and poses no threat.

Alarming percentages - When percentages are used get the actual number and see if it really is alarming to you.  For instance if percentages are used and a reporter says the president’s approval rating has dropped to an alarming low of 34% . Well if they only called 1000  persons and 340 people actually responded then result of their study  was really 100% of the people the called approve of the president and the rest had better things to do than answer their questions.

As many as.. - Means somewhere between zero and the number given. This should also be taken just like the percentage  data are you really at risk not likely.

In a developing Story- Translation we don’t have a verified story yet.

Former employees- Reveal and yield nothing to an investigation but their opinion. Since they were fired or retired weeks before or years before an event and have had no contact with the event or the site it occurred at for months or years they are not “officials” But just another man on the street opinion.  Just like the so called experts on terrorism the media seems to barf up a retired general who last did military time 20 years ago is not an expert in terrorism.

Language being used from another story - Use of key words that came from other tragedies such as the terrorist attacks of 9-11-01. The hurricane is going to make a direct hit on Tampa Florida. That indicates the storm can control its own path and to the listener should indicate a storm is on the way if you live in that area you might want to take precautions.  

In a last minute development,  In a surprise development- Translation : We didn’t get the news crew to the scene in time Or we got things messed up and here is the correction.”

Disturbing questions- Yes so quit repeating them over and over since you have no real answers.

A new study reveals. A new report warns, experts fear, experts worry -Yes reports from news sources seem to warn, fear and worry a lot of people without any real reason.

Deadly- Where an new disease that might be fatal if not treated and undue fear is created by taking a few isolated reports and creating a total paranoia about a pandemic of a flu strain or anthrax both of which are survivable and treatable.

Experts say its just a matter of time before… - They sure do but it does not mean it is accurate after you edit it.

But ___ feel - You can put any city in the blank and grab a person on the street get their opinion  and that makes factual for everyone in that city or region. Hardly has it represented anything more than the individual’s opinion.

Warning signs -  Any list of signs that implies great risks. 

For instance the checklist on signs of carjacking

An armed stranger approaches car

            Taps on closed window

Looks around suspiciously.

Now the news reporter  gives you a checklist of precautions from some  self proclaimed Expert. Most of this boils down to useless common sense duh factor information.

Officials admit - Well what was the full context of the original question the reporter asked.  Was it  a what if this unlikely scenario happened and .…

Of course a reporter can lead an official into making a statement that can be later edited to sound like an out of context admission.

Experts - It may seem like you are getting expert advice on the news but that is far from the truth.  The moment an expert’s words are edited, thy might as well be thrown in a blender.  The news media takes thirty minuets of an expert’s opinion and edits down to twenty three seconds.   The news media brings you: Expert opinion edited, mediated, and minimized by non-experts who ask questions designed to elicit the most alarming responses.  Which makes the data useless and misleading at best This is utilization of perceived trustworthiness. 

Names and labels game - The news media will frequently assign a nickname for a wanted criminal or to a disease.  This is indicative of a hoped-for series of reports and the continual hyping up of the threat that does not exist to you as you have no involvement in the incident other than hearing of the report.

I told you so-  Find a group after a disaster that has been saying it was possible to happen and after the fact try to assign blame that is unassignable by the news media.

Disaster unreadiness stories - If disaster that fit this hypothetical scenario occurred would you be ready for it.  If answer is yes then change go to another official and change the scenarios until you get a no answer.  Now hype it up.  While being absolutely oblivious to any emergency response that may be planned incase that scenario happened.  Theses stories are bogus and meant to scare people and make them feel less secure.   This observed in the news reporting of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina in regards to FEMA and federal response.

Will never be forgotten- This is to give an accident or an incident more credence than what it is really worth.

            Steps for Counteracting News media induced fear and paranoia.

1. Turn off sensational, uninspirational, uneducaional, privacy-meddling, death pedaling, celebrity-snooping, rumor-repeating, minicamtoting, fear-promoting TV news.
2. If we turn it off, then we can face the important question of how we can live life
3. Keep it off long enough to see you are not missing anything but fear .
4. Get your information in print.
5. Get information do not let information get you.
6. If you are interested in something, research it for yourself in the library and on the web.
7. don’t let some media or religious talking head tell you what is important in your life

The media’s use of appeal to authority, social proof  and utilizing likeable personalities to deliver their reports makes them a great delivery device for commercial drugs advertisements designed to counter the effects of the false reality they create. By observing the drug commercials and advertizing it tells you what the Networks think of their viewers.