Propaganda:

The spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or injuring an institution, a cause, or a person.
     Any time that you talk about something trying to change someone's mind or let them know about something for a cause, that is propaganda, which is admittedly far removed from it's current context. It's current context can be summarized as 'Shilling" some political idea or figure usually implying indoctrination or manipulation.     Propaganda used to be synonymous with news, they just called news "propaganda" until people realized that journalists were all shills and started associating the term with manipulation and deceit.

Advertising

This has to do with the economics of journalism, (this problem is mirrored in modern science) the world runs on money and honest important journalism doesn't pay.There are three main ways that journalists make money.

• Advertising

• Sponsorships

• Subscription models

Advertising relies on advertisers. And they don’t just advertise anything—they choose based on what protects their image and profit. Stories that criticize them, touch on uncomfortable truths, or provoke controversy usually get filtered out. This makes journalists avoid criticizing companies, avoid politically touchy subjects (outside of their branding, touching on that later) and things that people don't want to hear.     

     For example coca-cola advertises everywhere, so if there was an incident of negligence in coca-cola's supply chain where they knowingly took sugar from plantations enslaving children, journalists will refuse to cover it in fear of causing their outlet money, and scaring away other advertisers, as well as making their customers feel bad.

Sponsorships for media outlets are very prevalent it can include product placement      or chosen stories that show the product in a public light. which makes it look to consumers like these things are commonplace or generally good, as most people see these things without this lens.

Subscription models seem like a good thing, until you realize that it means that non advertiser friendly stories are always behind a paywall, and as proven time and time again most people will default to the free option, consume corporate ideas and never think twice. so public interest coca-cola child slavery pipeline story is seen by essentially no one.

Sourcing and Bias

Media outlets rely on sources for stories, no stories, no media, no money. the bulk of these sources are not ordinary people. They are

• Corporate press releases

• Government spokespeople

• Think tanks funded by billionaires

• Industry “experts” selected for being media-safe

In other words: journalists often write what the powerful hand them, whether they realize it or not. When access determines output, journalism becomes repetition—a filtered echo of power’s talking points. If your job relies on access you won't bite the hand that feeds you quotes.

This isn’t just about “liberal” vs. “conservative” media. That framing distracts from how both sides operate under the same structural incentives—clicks, sponsors, sources, and corporate ownership. 

A network owned by a weapons manufacturer and one sponsored by a sugar conglomerate might sound like they’re fighting—but both will avoid stories that threaten their own revenue streams.   

     The most dangerous part of modern media isn’t fake news—it’s the endless stream of real stories chosen for how well they keep you busy, scared, and distracted from what actually matters.     

     now this doesn’t mean that you can’t trust any journalists most of them are well meaning, and are pressured to act this way by invisible forces, but you need to think about not just how the story is being told, but why, what story is being ignored, why is this specific story being told? questions like that.

”the media is a magnifying glass that moves across the landscape until it finds a story that fits it’s narrative, and then BOOM” -Jordan Shanks

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