Why, in the midst of the information age, are so many people so easily manipulated by the media?

2016-06-02T19:01:35-04:00

It seems that with almost unlimited information at our fingertips, the world's population seems to be content being given information they know to be partially truthful at best.

Response by Maj John Bell made Jun 2 at 2016 7:02 PM

2016-06-02T19:02:57-04:00

People like news that verifies what they want to believe.

Response by SGT Joshua Strup made Jun 2 at 2016 7:10 PM

2016-06-02T19:10:56-04:00

Wizard's First Rule: "People are stupid. They can be made to believe any lie because either they want to believe it's true or because they are afraid it's true."

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2016 7:11 PM

2016-06-02T19:11:54-04:00

To add to what Maj John Bell said, the majority prefer the bandwagon. That usually means choosing from a side that's being force-fed by mass media. Many watch TV to easily access new info, even if it's not credible or true. The few who do their research, therefore, many times shy away from all bandwagon points of view within a specific topic. Excluding politics, myths or conspiracies that get huge backlash with little to no support besides "accept as true" include how to properly lose weight, what type of music people should listen to, and what companies one should trust.

Response by MSgt James Mullis made Jun 2 at 2016 7:12 PM

2016-06-02T19:12:17-04:00

One word "Laziness".

Response by LTC Kevin B. made Jun 2 at 2016 7:28 PM

2016-06-02T19:28:24-04:00

Maybe we should start calling it the "Misinformation Age".

Response by MSG Pat Colby made Jun 2 at 2016 7:38 PM

2016-06-02T19:38:19-04:00

ALL media is biased.

btw ~ These are the "Experts" that run Snopes. A Left-leaning husband an wife with no training whatsoever in investigations. They have been proven incorrect in many instances yet people still use them as their defining proof.

Response by MSgt John McGowan made Jun 2 at 2016 7:56 PM

2016-06-02T19:56:57-04:00

SPC. How do you fact check. Who can you get the truth without a slant on a item?

Response by Maj Rob Drury made Jun 2 at 2016 8:20 PM

2016-06-02T20:20:21-04:00

I don't know, but liberals can be thankful.

“Look, the average Democrat voter is just plain stupid. They’re easy to manipulate. That’s the easy part.” Hillary Clinton, as told to Dick Morris in “Rewriting History”; 2005

Response by SPC Dawud Makonnen made Jun 2 at 2016 8:36 PM

2016-06-02T20:36:50-04:00

So so true

Response by SFC Everett Oliver made Jun 2 at 2016 8:38 PM

2016-06-02T20:38:00-04:00

I can't remember seeing so many no-information voters on both sides of the fence. I figure its laziness or just plain ignorance. Then again I wonder if people just don't care....

Response by MSgt Jonathan Stump made Jun 2 at 2016 8:43 PM

2016-06-02T20:43:43-04:00

Signal to noise ratio. That and in todays 24/7 news cycle, it is not about getting the right information out, it is about getting information out first. Does not matter that the information is wrong or speculation, we were here giving it to you first!

Response by SN Greg Wright made Jun 2 at 2016 9:01 PM

2016-06-02T21:01:50-04:00

Rory, you and I (more me than you, you just caught, I think, the tail end of the 'phenomenon' I'm going to reference) were born before news could flash around the world in minutes. When 'social media' was going down to the bar. When you couldn't mouth off to someone (as trolls do online) because you'd get popped in the mouth. Simply put, this generation has grown up with instant information at their fingertips, and instant gratification 3 clicks away. This has taken the old concept of 'peer pressure' ('oh come ON, one puff won't hurt you!!') to whole new levels, because 'peers' are no longer simply people you can interact with physically -- they can number in the thousands, online.

Response by MSG Pat Colby made Jun 2 at 2016 9:11 PM

2016-06-02T21:11:01-04:00

http://www.americasfreedomfighters.com/2016/06/02/media-editing-ucla-killers-religion-publication/

Media Caught Editing UCLA KILLER'S Religion Before Publication… Trump Was Right

Let's just say he wasn't a Christian...

Response by PO1 Brian Austin made Jun 2 at 2016 9:25 PM

2016-06-02T21:25:09-04:00

People hear what they want to hear, they don't/don't want to fact check or verify. Every cable "news" station has their own agenda, Fox, MSNBC, etc. There are many "fake news" sites out there (ex: National Report) or "clickbait" sites (ex: Intellihub, Veterans Today) that people take as dogma. Then you have all the Conspiracy sites, people like Alex Jones, Michael Savage with their fanatic legions. You end up with a cesspool of misinformation, half truths and exaggerations.

Response by SSG Roger Ayscue made Jun 2 at 2016 9:55 PM

2016-06-02T21:55:31-04:00

Because, Specialist By and Large, the American People are really really STUPID. NO, wait, YES! the American people are by and large MORONS.

Response by SrA Brandon Jordan made Jun 2 at 2016 10:18 PM

2016-06-02T22:18:09-04:00

It's the product of our under educated, over entitled youth. They don't want to put in the time so they believe the first three my they read.

Response by SGT Eliyahu Rooff made Jun 2 at 2016 11:01 PM

2016-06-02T23:01:01-04:00

It's called confirmation bias. Or, as Simon and Garfunkle wrote in "The Boxer," "A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2016 11:37 PM

2016-06-02T23:37:45-04:00

One strong belief that I have affecting this issue is the amount of time people spend in front of the television watching REALITY SHOWS. Those puppies will cause anyone to go brain dead.

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2016 11:42 PM

2016-06-02T23:42:02-04:00

Because people are too lazy to do the research themselves..... I don't own a TV, but I do like different "biased" news outlets on facebook and determine what is the truth and what is not

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Jun 2 at 2016 11:50 PM

2016-06-02T23:50:44-04:00

With so many sources of information it is easy to select the information one prefers and avoid information that disagrees with one's prejudices. Ignorance becomes easier to maintain.

Response by MSgt Michelle Mondia made Jun 3 at 2016 1:08 AM

2016-06-03T01:08:23-04:00

Because reading requires the ability to reason and make your own assumptions. The media just tells you what to believe and they give you the talking points to back it up. So why read when it's so damn entertaining to watch the show. And then everyone can all parrot the same rhetoric. They don't believe in propaganda and mind control. Land of the free...

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2016 1:34 AM

2016-06-03T01:34:19-04:00

Most people will take what they are told at face value and not dig deeper for the truth.

How often has this situation panned out in the military? One person tells another, "X regulation says a, b, and c," and that is taken as truth. Does it really say that? It could, but that doesn't mean it is true. You never know until you dig a little and find the truth for yourself.

Normally what happens with the news:

Jane Doe reads a story, and posts it to her Facebook news feed with the caption of "ZOMG, this is horrible!" Her friends Jon Smith, Jen Brown and Will Green share it to their Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, adding their own caption of, "We need to stand up against this kind of thing or whatever! #MakeADifference" And then it snowballs.

Response by 1SG Antonio Blount made Jun 3 at 2016 9:13 AM

2016-06-03T09:13:41-04:00

We have people who live in the greatest country on the face of the earth who are being left behind in the information age. We all have been hit hard in some shape or form and our first instinct is to fight for what we think or know is right. Within these groups of people a lot of factors come into play. I think education is the biggest factor, family, friends, up bringing, and location are a few other factors the mold our minds. So when a privilege group or individual is inserted into the situation and they are saying something that is appealing and makes you feel good inside and feel they are actual going to help, you will tend to find yourself believing anything. Look at our political parties today and the individuals running and the people following. Or look at the middle east, how do you let 2500 thugs come into a city of a half a million people and cause so much havoc? Feed on the weakness and feed them false hopes and you can control any group or individual.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jun 3 at 2016 1:19 PM

2016-06-03T13:19:46-04:00

What really gets me is people who use memes to argue a point!

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jun 3 at 2016 4:02 PM

2016-06-03T16:02:01-04:00

Since we are in the current version of the information age SPC Rory J. Mattheisen when there is a tremendous amount of data pushed around repetitively much of which is conjecture it is easy for the naïve to be manipulated.
Discernment is a very useful skill for forensic investigation of "information" and life in general. Logic is also a great skill. I applaud those schools which teach logic to young people. Understanding inductive and deductive reasoning processes and learning the tools to spot faulty arguments is a great skill set.
A previous information age occurred when the printing press with moveable type was invented because it enabled the masses to have material to read for the first time.
It is always best to go to original sources for information which is one reason I won thousands of books most of which are non-fiction.
Thanks for tagging me CPT L S

Response by SFC Jerry Humphries made Jun 3 at 2016 4:21 PM

2016-06-03T16:21:07-04:00

People Just like believing lies. But you can take time to find out what the truth is.' I always try to follow the money to decern the truth. Most of what motivates politics Money. Also remember between two opposing points of view the truth normally is someplace in the middle.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2016 7:29 PM

2016-06-03T19:29:57-04:00

Interesting article about our brains and facts:

http://archive.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2010/07/11/how_facts_backfire/

How facts backfire

Researchers discover a surprising threat to democracy: our brains

Response by CPO Amb. Terry Earthwind Nichols made Jun 4 at 2016 1:12 AM

2016-06-04T01:12:56-04:00

I agree. Pretty amazing sometimes to read what people think to be true solely on where they read it.

Response by PO1 Todd B. made Jun 9 at 2016 5:43 PM

2016-06-09T17:43:42-04:00

There are a couple reasons:

1) most people are sheep

2) most people do not want to upset their little bubble of comfort.. they are stuck in normalcy bias

3) most people have not seen what many of us have outside our borders.. they have no concept of true reality and the threat that exists.. even for the USA.

Response by SPC Richard Everett made Jun 14 at 2016 1:10 AM

2016-06-14T01:10:32-04:00

People only look for what they want to see

Response by PO1 Todd B. made Jun 14 at 2016 8:55 PM

2016-06-14T20:55:53-04:00

This is an easy one. It is called "Normalcy Bias" and FEAR.

People live in this little bubble of family, home, and the things they have. They try to keep from being noticed, are fearful any time they see a police car behind them and try to avoid anyone that looks 'mean' or rough or of a stereotype.

The have gotten used to burgers from a window made by someone else, the ability to hop in the car to pick up that clamp or screw they need to fix something without having to wait, going to the doctor and having the owie fixed right now, heading to the corner grocery at 3AM for a gallon of milk or a pack of condoms.

They have gotten used to this easy pampered no need to know anything life style. We live in a "just in time" economy now and most people cannot even fathom a day where they cannot run to that store and see food on the shelves.. never realizing that what is on the shelves is IT and if the over night semi's don't arrive before the next day, those shelves will be empty.

The media lives, breaths and relies on FEAR. They create it, churn it out, amp it up and feed it to the masses 24/7. And the people that just refuse to see things for what they are, take it in and use it as the very air they breath... and to do that, must then believe all of what the media says EXACTLY as the media says it.

A person is a bad man the media says... the public says it must be so. The person is a saint, the public says it must be so.

Proof? Edward Snowden. The Ranchers of the west that tried to fight back in the only way they knew how. and so many others...

Some of you might think my one example, Edward Snowden is a traitor. You would be wrong.

My OATH states my first duty is to the U.S. Constitution. The SAME oath he took. And what he told the American people was the truth. Our government is BREAKING THE LAW. It is disregarding the very Constitution we all swore to defend. He PROVED it and yet what happened to him and what is still happening to him?

People do not want their little bubble lives upended and are terrified of anything that may do that.

Our own government is using the media against its own people in a mass push of psychological warfare. And everyone that has or is serving KNOWS it. And if you don't or disagree than you are in denial.

The want the public scared. They want the public fearful. And they want to make sure the public gives them the control and power they crave over all of it.

They wanted smoking to suddenly be taboo... and look what happened in a very few short years. It worked.

Now it is the guns. And mark my words, they are coming for them.. one way or the other. And if you do not see it, you are a fool.

They will continue to try and turn the majority public against guns using the media and their bullshit to do so. And when they think the time is right, the day WILL come where the first attempt to remove the 2nd Amendment literally from the Constitution is tried. Oh first, they will try to 'amend' it. But that is just a stop gap to ramp up to the real intent. The full removal of the 2nd Amendment.

Why do you think they want the guns so bad EVEN though FACTS of the very same government prove that guns in citizens hands actually reduce crime and save lives every day? Why do you think this huge massive tide is being rolled against guns? What OTHER reason is there? And why now? Why after over 240 years, only in the last couple decades have guns suddenly become this rally cries for liberals and democrats to push?

Think about it... and think about those that speak about the "New World Order".. and if you have any brains and common sense, the answer will smack you right in the face.