Core Text: Chomsky Media Control

Definitions:

Media Control refers to the influence and control of organizations over the production and content of media.

Media (noun) refers to "all the organizations that supply news and information to the public, such as newspapers, radio, television, and the Internet," (Cambridge Dictionary).

Activism (noun) is “the use of direct and noticeable action to achieve a result, usually a political or social one,” (Cambridge Dictionary).

Bias (noun) is “the action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way, because of allowing personal opinions to influence your judgment,” (Cambridge Dictionary).

Propaganda (noun) is “information, ideas, opinions, or images, often only giving one part of an argument, that are broadcast, published, or in some other way spread with the intention of influencing people's opinions,” (Cambridge Dictionary).

The Importance of Media in Modern Society

Activism:

(Rachel Macias)

Activism in modern society is extremely active in media, regardless of intention. Many activists utilize media to spread information, organize in-person protests, garner support, and even stage online protests. The media form most activists use themselves is the internet and social media platforms, as they are the most accessible to the public for publication purposes. Other media forms, such as newspapers or official government websites, are not as accessible to the public and usually report on what activists are doing from an outside perspective. Historically, these outside perspectives reflect negatively on activists.

(AllSides)

Bias:

Bias is present in all media sources in modern society. Some media sources have less bias than others, such as AP News or Euronews, both of which are acceptable for use in English-145 essays. Peer-reviewed studies and journals are also less biased because of the extensive fact-checking done by experts to prevent bias. Media sources that have a lot of bias are social media platforms, blogs, and other news sources such as FOX and CNN, etc.

Propaganda:

(Steven Blood)

Propaganda has been used in modern and historical media for decades. In present times, propaganda is not usually called as such. While discussing propaganda education, Renee Hobbs explains, “Many different forms of expression that your listeners encounter every single day can be understood as propaganda, even though we might use words like clickbait, sponsored content, memes, social media posts, personalized search, and many other practices” (np). Propaganda is media content created to strategically influence public opinion, usually with emotional appeal.

Noam Chomsky and Media Control Section Analysis

Noam Chomsky

Noam Chomsky is a renowned former MIT professor, political theorist, philosopher, activist, and author of influential works, including Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda. Born in 1928, he gained prominence for pioneering a revolutionary approach to linguistics (Edgley 1). Beyond linguistics, Chomsky has been a leading critic of public opinion manipulation and U.S. foreign policy.

Section Analysis

Spectator Democracy

In this section, Noam Chomsky presents a critical analysis of modern democratic systems where he believes power is held by the small elite and the general public is limited to a passive role. He argues that the general public, described as the “bewildered herd” is seen as incompetent and emotionally driven, unable to understand complex problems (Chomsky 17). The elite class dominates political, economic, and ideological issues, and the media is employed to divert and manipulate public opinion. This system shapes public consent rather than encouraging honest participation in democracy.

Public Relations

The public relations industry serves as a tool for social control, shaping public opinion to uphold existing power structures. Manipulative slogans, fear tactics, and media influence can be used to divert attention from meaningful political issues and promote conformity. The interests of the elite minority are prioritized and presented as the common good, undermining opposition and discouraging collective action, leading to the industry's success.

Engineering Opinion

In this section, the engineering opinion demonstrates how propaganda is used to manipulate public perception and manufacture consent for policies that favor elite interests. Using fear and misinformation, public relations transforms public opposition into passive acceptance, especially for actions like foreign interventions or harmful domestic policies. Fear-based persuasion and media influence weaken democratic participation, deceiving the public into backing agendas that often harm their interests.

(history.com)

Historical Context:

Origin

Since the media originated in the 15th century, media has been deeply tied to political influence, power structures, and economic interests. From the first invention of media, the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, people sought to control access to information.

(socialstudieshelp.com)

The Alien and Sedition Acts

Numerous historical events have demonstrated media control. One example of a historical event that occurred due to media control is the Alien and Sedition Acts (1798). The Alien and Sedition Acts were a set of laws passed in 1798 that restricted immigration and speech. These laws indicated media control because the government controlled what could be said about them. For example, "The Sedition Act made it a crime for American citizens to "print, utter, or publish...any false, scandalous, and malicious writing" about the government" (np). The government creating laws regulating what citizens could and could not say is proving media control. Making public criticism of the government a crime for an American citizen demonstrates the government controlling the media and what people are allowed to say. These laws prove media control has been occurring for a long time.

(United States Dept. of Education)

The War on Drugs – "Just Say No" Campaign (1980s)

Another historical event that occurred demonstrating media control is the War on Drugs – "Just Say No" Campaign (1980s). This was a privately funded effort to educate schoolchildren on the dangers of drug use. This campaign established media control by creating propaganda that utilized fear-based messages to show that drug use is dangerous and portrayed drug users as dangerous criminals. For example,

This media reinforced the idea that drugs were harmful, have no use in society, and that it was up to the individual to either say no to drug use or fall victim to a substance. The issues of drugs, drug use, and drug users are much more complex than any anti-drug cartoon depicted, and that was likely done on purpose to reinforce the worldview that declared the War on Drugs. (Ceja 42)

This established media control because of the oversimplified narratives that were being placed on substance abuse. The way that propaganda portrayed drug use as up to the individual, the media was leaving out a crucial part of drug abuse, such as criminal justice policies, medical use of certain substances, and socioeconomic factors. The media wanted people to think that in order not to do drugs, that “just say no” would fix the drug problem.

CASE STUDIES

(Somodevilla)

United States

2024 Election Process and Inauguration of Donald Trump

(Palestine Chronicle)

Israel

Banning Al Jazeera

(Naing)

Myanmar

Internet Blackouts and Military Propaganda

United States: During the 2024 election and subsequent inauguration of Donald Trump, there were several evident concerns about media suppression and information manipulation. The Associated Press, a news outlet that is widely regarded for having unbiased representations of news stories, was barred from covering presidential events and disallowed from the Oval Office and Air Force One. This followed AP’s refusal to use the mandated terminology such as “Gulf of America” instead of Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, the Trump administration picked reporters that followed their narrative, and only these reporters were allowed full access for reporting on the issue. Donald Trump also threatened journalists and media organizations with revoking broadcast licenses, revealing anonymous sources, and labeling the press as “enemies of the people” (Reporters without Borders). There is also suspicion that the Trump administration attempted to diminish voter turnout by creating more restrictive voting rules, such as stricter laws that affected mostly marginalized communities (Izaguirre and Coronado).
HOW IS THIS AN EXAMPLE OF MEDIA CONTROL?

In this instance, the Trump administration is using the media to direct the narrative about their campaign. They are preventing the full, unbiased story of the election and inauguration from becoming available to the general public, which goes against free press and allows them to spin the story in their favor.

Israel: In May 2024, the Israeli government completely shut down the operation of Al Jazeera, a 24-hour news broadcast media group in Israel. All of their equipment was confiscated and they were no longer allowed to continue broadcasting. This decision followed the enactment of a law that allowed temporary closure of foreign broadcasters that were deemed threats to national security. The Israeli government accused Al Jazeera of bias and of being involved with Hamas. The news outlet was one of the only continuously streaming broadcasts throughout the conflict in Gaza that showed extensive coverage of the humanitarian crisis and air attacks, and the ban was widely contested by press freedom organizations. Following the ban, Israeli forces opened fire on an Al Jazeera news crew in Jenin (The Associated Press).

HOW IS THIS AN EXAMPLE OF MEDIA CONTROL?

In this instance, the Israeli government has banned one of the only constant news broadcasts in the area. This allows them to prevent the international public from seeing the state of the population in Gaza and see Israel’s contributions to the conflict, making Israel more able to portray themselves in a positive light.

Myanmar: Following a February 2021 military coup, the government in Myanmar imposed a strict social media ban to try and control the flow of information. Major social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook were blocked, and nightly internet blackouts were enacted from 1 am to 9 pm (Januta and Fukanoshi). The bans were part of a larger plan to stifle opposition to military rule and make international response to human rights abuses in the country more difficult. There have been at least 172 instances of reporters in the country being jailed and abused for attempting to reveal human rights abuses, and many of these reporters have been sentenced to many, many years in prison, where they suffer physical beatings, torture, and harassment. At least 15 news outlets have also had their licenses revoked (Peck).

HOW IS THIS AN EXAMPLE OF MEDIA CONTROL?

In this instance, reporters and news outlets are being physically prevented from sharing the story with the international public, which keeps the general population in the dark about the state of affairs in Myanmar. Additionally, the social media bans stop regular civilians from sharing their stories and contacting outside connections for help or to share vital information. This allows the government to control the narrative due to their total control over the information being released from the country.

Works Cited

“Alien and Sedition Acts: Challenging Civil Liberties.” Socialstudieshelp.com, 26 Nov. 2024, socialstudieshelp.com/american-history-topics/alien-and-sedition-acts-challenging-civil-liberties/.

“American War on Drugs · Omeka Beta Service.” Umich.edu, 2022, policing.umhistorylabs.lsa.umich.edu/s/crackdowndetroit/page/national-and-state-level-war-on-drugs1.

“AllSides Media Bias Chart.” AllSides, 21 Feb. 2019, www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart.

Associated Press. “Israel-Hamas War Latest: Netanyahu Visits Trump, Says Israel Is Eager to Reach a Cease-Fire Deal.” ABC News, 26 July 2024, 2:10 AM. Web Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20240728015956/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israel-hamas-war-latest-us-vice-president-harris-112297471.

Blood, Steven. “Social Media Marketing Will Take Your Brand to the next Level.” Big-Red-Digital.com, 2023, www.big-red-digital.com/news/social-media/247/social-media-marketing-will-take-your-brand-to-the-next-level.

Ceja, Luis. “Empire of Liberty: The Mexican-American War and the Path to Hegemony.” The UCSB Undergraduate Journal of History, vol. 6, Spring 2022, pp. 55–72, undergradjournal.history.ucsb.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Ceja.Spring2022.Final_.pdf.

Cambridge Dictionary. “activism” dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/activism.

Cambridge Dictionary. “bias” dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/bias.

Cambridge Dictionary. “Media.” dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/polish-english/media.

Cambridge Dictionary. “propaganda” dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/propaganda.

Chomsky, Noam. Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda. Seven Stories

Press, 1991.

Edgley, Alison. Noam Chomsky. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2015.

Hobbs, Renee. “Propaganda Education for a Digital Age.” Harvard Graduate School of Education, 4 Mar. 2021, www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/edcast/21/03/propaganda-education-digital-age.

Izaguirre, Anthony, and Acacia Coronado. “GOP Lawmakers Seek Tougher Voting Rules after Record Turnout.” AP News, 31 Jan. 2021, 6:42 AM PDT, https://apnews.com/article/bills-voting-rights-elections-coronavirus-pandemic-voter-registration-0e94844d72d2a2bf8b51b1c950bd64fc.

Januta, Andrea, and Minami Funakoshi. “Myanmar’s Internet Suppression.” Reuters, 7 Apr. 2021, https://www.reuters.com/graphics/MYANMAR-POLITICS/INTERNET-RESTRICTION/rlgpdbreepo.

National Archives. “Alien and Sedition Acts (1798).” National Archives, 19 May 2021, www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/alien-and-sedition-acts.

Nyein Chan Naing. Myanmar Internet Blackouts. 4 Mar. 2021. Al Jazeera, Andrew Nachemson, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/3/4/myanmar-internet-blackouts.

Palestine Chronicle. ‘Al-Jazeera Law’ – Israeli Parliament Passes Law Granting Netanyahu Authority to Ban Foreign Media. Palestine Chronicle, https://www.palestinechronicle.com/al-jazeera-law-israeli-parliament-passes-law-granting-netanyahu-authority-to-ban-foreign-media/.

Peck, Grant. “A Myanmar Online News Site Says Its Jailed Journalist Is Tortured for Revealing Abuses of Prisoners.” AP News, 28 Feb. 2025, 8:42 AM PDT, https://apnews.com/article/myanmar-jailed-journalist-press-freedom-prison-torture-df5ae1a001105b1387f45f95cf5d6746.

Rachel Macias. Graphic Illustration. 2022. The Rocky Mountain Collegian, collegian.com/articles/opinion/2022/03/category-opinions-meltzner-using-social-media-to-promote-activism-does-more-harm-then-good/.

Reporters Without Borders. “Trump Verbally Attacked the Media More than 100 Times in Run-Up to Election.” Reporters Without Borders, 23 Dec. 2024. Web Archive, https://web.archive.org/web/20241223233814/https://rsf.org/en/usa-trump-verbally-attacked-media-more-100-times-run-election.

Roos, Dave. “7 Ways the Printing Press Changed the World.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 27 Mar. 2023, www.history.com/news/printing-press-renaissance.

Somodevilla, Chip. Trump Inauguration Speech Unpopular President. 20 Jan. 2025. USA Today, Rex Huppke, https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/01/20/trump-inauguration-speech-unpopular-president/77837047007/.

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