Do you believe the government manipulates the social media?

[Misunderstoodbead396]

If so, what techniques do you think are used in order to achieve this?

[dave g]

when do you need to hand your assignment in?

God I wish I had the internet in 'my day'.

[pure301]

If you want to know who's doing the manipulating (cough cough Wall Street) watch Capitalism A Love Story

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism_A_Love_Story

[jekin]

No! The liberal media manipulates the government. they bias the reporting. they make editorials, the give favorable press to candidates and politicians that agree with their agenda, and they crucify and destroy those who don't.

[Jigga man]

The government has some control over the media in the form of regulations and the like but the media have to right to free speech too, and the government can't control each individual article or TV show.
The media is too huge an institution for the government to have any real control, especially if you include the internet as media, because that's almost totally user generated information. In reality it's the media that is manipulative, and the big media corporations express THEIR opinions, be they moral or political, and they have a much louder voice than any government.

[Mac]

Everyone who has a public relations spokesperson manipulates the media. It's their job to put an appropriate spin on a story.

[Callie]

No. In my opinion the government isn't doing any manipulating...they are BEING manipulated, or maybe just influenced, by corporations, and that's bad for everyone...except corporations of course.

Social media is also being influenced by corporations..indeed mostmedia outlets are part of a corporation!

The bottom line is, most of our recent laws and mainstream news favor corporate interests. Saner minds (aka Obama) are trying to shift the focus in this country to its citizens, but with no luck so far.

[Duirmuid]

PR spokesman, libel lawyers, security services.