The media in this country and everywhere else is free and uncensored; if only that was the truth

You can say that Mainstream media fiction has reached new heights. Where we search for truth lies a world full of fabrication and lies. Whereas before journalists were credited with honesty and bravery, now they are finding themselves at the backlash with people. The mainstream media is the most obvious in its inherent bias and manipulation, owned directly by large multinational corporations, and people who have statuses that can each reach every corner.

My saying has always been as long as you have money you can buy, but money is not the issue when it comes to mainstream media. There is much more sinister behind the desks and in front of our screens. Not everything you see meets the eye. Today the mainstream media is known for hiding behind the truth, war propaganda and manipulation. We only see the one sided stories on the mid east crisis, whether its Egypt or Palestine. We only see the protesters and rebels in Ukraine and Russian, not forgetting what’s happens in US and Venezuela. In a matter of fact, only 10% of the information we receive via mainstream is the truth; the other turns the tables of everything to make it political or have a war agenda. And the information that gets fed to us is what writes the history books. It is also important to address how the mainstream media is intertwined, often covertly and secretly, with the government, to suit their needs and protect them from defamation. So what are people turning to now, well with the use of social media where information spreads like wild fire, you also have bloggers, activists and independent sources. These sources could be individuals who go searching for the truth , academia, think tanks or independent journalists; not everyone can be brought remember.

It has never been so important to have independent, honest voices and sources of information. We are as a society are inundated and overwhelmed with a flood of information from a wide array of sources, but these sources of information, by and large, serve the powerful interests and individuals that own them for their purposes.

Today you often see the mainstream duping the public opinion and endorsing the repeal of civil liberties in the name of national security as well as the conduct of humanitarian wars with a view to promoting democracy and achieving a lasting “World peace”, which constantly gets echoed into our minds. Once that’s achieved we start believing. But its not too late to wake up on what is truth and what is not.

Despite relentless efforts by the independent alternative media to convey unbiased analysis and honest news reporting, the outright lies and fabrications of the mainstream media continue to thrive, the result you may know has been a decline in their viewing. People are simply turning away, its not rocket science to know the mainstream media are serial liars. They not only distort the facts, they turn realities upside down.

I believe that access to information is the key to the truth therefore we should always go to the alternative media and promote voices that would otherwise go unheard.

The media is manipulated in all manners, for example through professional public relations (PR) to government propagandas which disseminates propaganda as news. What are often deemed as credible news sources can often knowingly or unknowingly be pushing political agendas and propaganda.

Some techniques used by governments and parties/people with hidden agendas include:

• Paying journalists to promote certain issue without the journalist acknowledging this, or without the media mentioning the sources
• Governments and individuals contacting PR firms to sell a war or other important issues
• Disinformation or partial information reported as news or fact without attributing sources that might be questionable
• PR firms feeding stories to the press without revealing the nature of the information with the intention of creating a public opinion.

There’s also smear tactics which are often used to discredit, stain or destroy the reputation of someone. It is unfortunately an age-old technique. It can either involve outright lies, or a distortion of the truth. You also have the use of fakery-

This is the age of the fake. We live in an era where the gap between how the world is and how powerful interests try to portray it has grown dramatically wider. Virtually nothing in public debate these days is free of the virus of fakery….

David Miller, The age of the fake, Spin Watch, March 14, 2005

The UK is awash with fake news, of which the examples here are only a taste, it is just that we don’t pay much attention to it. The American scandals over fake news are played out against the background of some pretty clear laws forbidding propaganda with a disguised source within the borders of the US. There are no laws forbidding fake news in the UK. Perhaps we needs some.

David Miller, BBC broadcast “fake” news reports , Media Lens,

The truth sometimes is often buried in the back of a newspaper, or mentioned in 30-second sound bite format on television and radio. This is arranged to serve two purposes. The first is to assure that the people do not focus on these stories to such an extent that they begin questioning the government. Why worry about your rights and freedoms? Wouldn’t you rather read the latest celebrity gossip? So by placing such unimportant garbage at the forefront of peoples minds and thoughts, the establishment media distracts us from the stories and issues that truly do effect every person in the country

They say the Pen is mightier than the sword but unfortunately some use it for the wrong purpose they support thereby they are corrupt using it as a forum for their corruption. One must use the media but also use your own sense of right and wrong to decipher what your reading. It is time for many to wake up and realise what we read and see does not always portray the truth.

By Maria’m AS (ed. Truthrevoloution)