Reflective Analysis: Media as a Tool of Political Influence
One of the most valuable lessons I gained from my Media & Politics minor was this: media is never neutral. News used to be what I thought of as a good way to inform people. But over the course of my studies, I learned that governments, state-controlled media, even private tech companies reshape media, to control narratives, influence public opinion and push political agendas. From authoritarian regimes stifling dissent, to democratic states producing a global narrative, to big tech platforms controlling content online, the media is always used as a weapon of power. What united all of my courses was the use of media to position power — legitimize it or resist it — among governments, international institutions, corporations. That made me question the way I consume information, and who decides which stories get to be told.
In Politics & Foreign Policy of Iran, I learned about how authoritarian regimes manipulate information to feed their power. Japan’s use of intermediaries to cheat in industrial policy was only part of it, but one of the most eye-watering case studies was Iran using the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) to promote propaganda while preventing access to Western media such as the BBC, CNN and The New York Times. I had studied censorship in the past, but had never understood its impact until I studied Iran’s protests of 2019, when the government killed the internet so that activists could not organize and share their experiences. I had a moment of realization that controlling media isn’t just about shaping narratives — it is erasing reality itself.
Another stunning example was Iran’s use of disinformation campaigns, something I had not previously thought was such an important part of the political playbook. In class, we discussed how Iran set up fake journalist accounts to disseminate narrative against the US and the Saudi. For instance, one particularly substantively notable claim was Press TV's false assertion that the U.S. manufactured COVID-19, a typical tactic to evade blame and manipulate opinion. Those cases turned me into a skeptic about media in general, because I learned that misinformation isn’t just an accident — it’s frequently by design.
My deepened view of media as a geopolitical tool was further reinforced in my coursework in Media & Public Diplomacy, where I examined how states utilize soft power to cultivate their global image. The best example of this was Ukraine’s media strategy in the war against Russia. Before this course, I believed war requires fighting, but I learnt winning the media war is as vital. Looking specifically at how Ukraine had used viral videos, direct messaging and social media campaigns to combat Russian propaganda through my Weekly Media Report #8. What struck me in particular was how speeches given by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy circulated online, shaping global opinion and ultimately galvanizing international support. Watching Ukraine deploy media as a strategy of defense helped me understand that media is not just about storytelling; it’s about building reality.
In Media, Politics & IP Law, I discussed the use of media laws by governments to regulate information, and the use of media laws as a necessity for governments to control. One of the more unsettling topics was deepfake technology. Before taking this class, I assumed deep fakes were simply an internet fad. Then we looked at the deepfake of Zelenskyy falsely calling for Ukraine’s surrender, and I understood that this technology had the potential to shape people’s perceptions as events happened. We also examined how copyright laws can be weaponized to limit politically sensitive content. That media laws can be wielded both to protect free speech and to suppress it had never crossed my mind. This raised an uncomfortable question: who gets to decide what people can and can’t see? Before this minor, I viewed media as an information resource. Now, I see it for what it is: a tool of power, wielded by governments to control citizens, by states to influence governments, by corporations to shape online conversations in their favor.
The biggest change now is that I don’t take news at face value anymore. Now, I constantly ask: Who benefits from this story? Whose voices are being marginalized? What is the agenda (or agenda) of this information? My goal is to use this knowledge to be more critical of the media I consume, and to help others do the same. This minor taught me that if you control the media, you control power — and that’s something I’m never going to forget.
Relevant Example: Media and Political Influence in Action
One of the most pressing and true-to-life examples that was formative to my view of media as a tool for political impact was Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup and its usage of sportswashing. Before examining this case, I didn’t appreciate how influential a global sporting event could be in framing a national image. For Qatar, the World Cup has not only been a sports event. It was a carefully orchestrated 2 public relations campaign meant to redefine its global standing, especially following criticism of its human rights record, many times centered on the plight of migrant workers.
I was shocked by this, and focused on how Qatar engaged with the media — and not only through traditional media but also when employing social media influencers, bloggers, journalists — to present the country as modern and progressive. It’s similar, as I learned in my Sports, Politics & Society in the Middle East course, to sportswashing, in which countries use global events to distract from domestic disgrace. Qatar’s attempts to target the narrative in this way, by focusing on the nation’s development and economic success, as well as the World Cup, were textbook examples of this. Initially, I had no idea how much media manipulation went into such campaigns. I used to think that media was only supposed to inform or reflect reality, but in this case, I realized that media is used as a tool to push certain political agendas.
The most important thing I learned from this case was how Qatar carried out a media strategy around the world with the help of an army of influencers to present its modern architecture and solutions for its positive processes, while reducing the level of news that was linked to its labor system and the Kafala sponsorship system. In my article I wrote in Sports, Politics & Society in the Middle East, I analyzed Qatar’s strategic use of foreign journalists to camouflage the criticisms. I had never fully understood how interconnected politics and public relations are, even up to the international level. That made me reconsider how media maybe should be considered not only for national branding but to change the way people in the world see us in real time.
It dawned on me that Qatar’s media sharing was not for the sake of sharing stories — but for reshaping the global story of who it is. To mitigate the criticism around supposed thousands of migrant worker deaths and other human rights violations reported in the Western press by outlets like BBC and The Guardian, Qatar’s media apparatus enlisted so-called “influencers” to spin positive narratives as well as to film documentaries focusing on labor reforms. I was especially baffled by how Qatar’s (well-produced) response — well-crafted documentaries and a public relations campaign — was so strategically well-timed that it didn’t just divert attention away from its internal issues, but also changed the international narrative.
Even more alarming was how Western media outlets couldn’t even begin to keep pace with the rapidity and scale of Qatar’s media reaction, given that they had been clarifying their criticism. Qatar’s ability to inundate the narrative with counter-narratives that focused on the country’s modernization and economic development got me thinking about media as a tool of influence. The importance of PR, which I never quite understood before, hit home. It convinced me that media is not just a true messenger to the public, but rather it is about what the public believes; at times it is political.
Also, the World Cup approach to social media demonstrated how easily global opinion can be manipulated — particularly when governments can directly influence the narrative on digital platforms. The “fake fans” controversy around paying foreign workers to pose as fans was a major tipping point for me in realizing the depths to which media can construct an idealized version of reality. It was then that I realised that no individual is perfect, but social media especially creates perfect narratives.
Reflection & Self-Assessment
Before I started the minor in Media & Politics, I viewed media as an impartial provider of information. So I thought all journalists and news organizations were toiling for the public interest. But my classes showed me that media isn’t neutral — it’s an instrument used to exert political power, control and influence. One of the hardest ethical dilemmas I faced was how social media companies should deal with misinformation. In Media, Politics & IP Law, I asked myself, should platforms like Twitter and Facebook be allowed to regulate political debate? I struggled with how to balance the need for truth with the fear of having powerful entities, often corporations, decide what’s “true.” It got me wondering who determines what’s real and what that does for freedom of speech. Learning the Qatar World Cup's historical context and reading the contrasting narratives presented by the West and Qatari media forced me to challenge my own attitudes toward media objectivity. I began to doubt whether objectivity is really possible at all, since every source has an agenda.
This minor changed the way that I interact with media and has influenced both my desire to work in the field and my critical thinking. My postsecondary education will be in media and political communication, where I can apply the knowledge I gained about media influence, international relations, and political messaging in politics, journalism, or public relations. And I will analyze any media I consume with a critical lens, acknowledging the way in which ownership, funding, and political interest shape narrative. I will try to find different points of view so I can have a more neutral voice. Outside of my own media exposure, I hope to contribute to promoting media literacy through my writing, advocacy, or research. It is imperative to know how the media and facts are manipulated today. This minor has given me the tools to approach information more ethically and critically.
Conclusion
While taking a Media and Politics class, I learned that media is more than just a method of conveying information— it has the power to manipulate, exercise influence, and even control politics. Public perception is often molded through state-sponsored propaganda, media censorship, or public diplomacy in order to achieve the objective of certain institutions or governments. The courses I took, notably Politics & Foreign Policy of Iran, Media & Public Diplomacy, and Media, Politics & IP Law, gave me practical understanding of how strategically the media can be used to stifle opposition, mobilize support, and control the narratives set. This minor has influenced my academic views and career goals, deepening my interest in media strategy, political communication, and international relations. For the future, I intend to apply this knowledge critically through media engagement, advocacy for media literacy, and ethical political communication. Knowing how the media constructs political realities is very important, and I intend to use such knowledge to help me deal with and change the way the world’s media works for the better.