Media as a Tool for Political Power

Thesis: Media is not neutral. It is among the most effective instruments employed by governments, institutions and even corporations to influence what people think, feel, and do. I learned how media could be used to shape narratives, disseminate propaganda, project national images, and sway global opinion through my courses in the Media and Politics minor. This capstone will analyze the use of media as a political weapon through four primary themes: state propaganda in the context of Iran, public diplomacy relative to Ukraine, media law and deepfake technology, and sportswashing in Qatar.

1. State Propaganda and Media Control in Iran

I had learned about this in my Politics and Foreign Policy of Iran course — the way authoritarian governments, Iran among them, employ state-run media as a tool to silence their citizens. Iran censors international media such as the BBC and CNN. It employs its own national broadcaster, IRIB, to propagate messages in favor of the government and drown out alternate points of view.

The Internet in Iran was shut off during the protests of 2019. So the people could not organize or share what was happening. This was more than censorship; it was an attempt to expunge reality and prevent the world from seeing the truth. I also learned that Iran operated fake social media accounts posing as journalists. These accounts amplify false information to make other nations — say the U.S. or Saudi Arabia — appear worse. One was the hoax that the U.S. invented COVID-19.

Figure 1. Symbolic illustration of Iran’s 2019 internet shutdown. Protesters are shown holding phones over a map, which shows the government’s effort to cut digital communication and block global attention during protests.

Source: Access Now (n.d.). Iran shut down the internet [Digital illustration]. Access Now.

It taught me that media is more than just facts. It can also be used to shield power, cover up violence, and deliberately obscure reality to the public.

2. Public Diplomacy and the Ukraine Media War

In Media and Public Diplomacy, there were lessons on how countries use media to shape their image and influence foreign opinion. One vivid example was Ukraine’s reaction to the Russian invasion. I had always thought that war was fought in battlefields, but this course has shown me that media is battleground as well. 

Figure 2. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recorded this video in Kyiv with his key officials, saying “We are all here,” to counter Russian disinformation and reassure global audiences of Ukraine’s unity and strength. His direct, selfie-style videos became powerful tools of public diplomacy during the early stages of the invasion.

Source: Gill, R. (2022, March 3). Why Zelenskyy’s selfie videos are helping Ukraine win the PR war against Russia [Photograph]. The Conversation.

Ukraine fought Russian propaganda and gained international support through videos, speeches and social media posts. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s virally posted video speeches were seen around the world. His plain speaking and passionate messages helped weave Ukraine’s narrative and inspire support by others. I witnessed how powerful storytelling can influence a global perspective. Ukraine’s mastery of the narrative helped it build allies and funding. It dawned on me that media is possibly a defense maneuver in global disputes.

3. Media Law, Deepfakes, and Information Control

In Media, Politics & IP Law, I studied the ways in which media laws and technology can be used to exercise control over content. The deepfake video that shocked me the most so far was of President Zelenskyy: it seemed like he was asking Ukrainians to surrender. It was not real, but it seemed so convincingly authentic. It made me realize how easy it is for fake videos to spread and influence people's thinking.

Figure 3. A deepfake video falsely showed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling Ukrainian soldiers to surrender. The footage, which was created using artificial intelligence, was quickly debunked but raised serious concerns about how digital misinformation can influence conflict.

Source: Lapin, T. (2022, March 17). Deepfake video shows Volodymyr Zelensky telling Ukrainians to surrender [Screenshot]. New York Post.

We also explored how copyright laws can be weaponized to take down political content. Copyright laws in theory are intended to protect creators, but they can also be used to silent dissident voices. A government, for instance, could take down a video that criticizes it by alleging a copyright violation.

That left me with some big questions: Who decides what stays online? How are the rights to remove content balanced? This course taught me that the legal side of media has the potential to do good or bad — to protect truth or to conceal it.

4. Sportswashing and Qatar’s Media Strategy

In Sports, Politics & Society in the Middle East, I looked at how countries use global sports events to reshape their image. The 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar was a great example. Qatar had been internationally criticized for its treatment of migrant workers and for human rights issues. Hosting the World Cup became an opportunity to polish its image, a technique known as sportswashing.

Through media influencers, journalists, and social media campaigns, Qatar portrayed the country positively. It emphasized the modern buildings, stadiums and culture, while skirting subjects like the Kafala labor system. Some even invited journalists to write positive stories and produced documentaries on labor reforms.

Figure 4. Protesters hold a banner calling out FIFA and Qatar over workers’ rights ahead of the 2022 World Cup. International human rights groups criticized Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers and its use of global sports events to distract from domestic issues.

Source: Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain. (2019, April 16). The 2022 World Cup in Qatar: Human rights violations, workers’ exploitation, and corruption [Photograph]. ADHRB.

I was struck by how intentional and powerful this strategy was. Even when Western media attempted to tell the truth, Qatar’s well-resourced propaganda blitz tended to get more people, faster. This demonstrated to me that world view could be heavily managed by media, regardless of what was actually happening on the ground.

Conclusion

It was through these examples, from Iran’s media control to Ukraine’s digital diplomacy to legal manipulation of content to Qatar’s sportswashing, that I realized that media is not just a means of sharing news with people. It is a weapon used to amass power, obscure problems, and control the perception of reality in the world. This minor altered how I view the news, videos, social media and even sports. No longer do I ask “What does this imply?” but rather, “Who made this, and why?” Media can construct truth, but it can also conceal it. Media literacy is a form of empowerment in our modern society. And with that knowledge, I am hoping to shed some light on others as well.

Capstone Video