Survey: Half of Americans believe they are being gaslighted by the mainstream media

By natalieparker // 2023-02-24

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According to a recent survey, half of Americans feel that national news companies – the so-called mainstream media – deliberately mislead, misinform or try to persuade the public to embrace a certain viewpoint through their reporting. Conducted by Gallup and the Knight Foundation, the survey found that many people have a low level of trust in the media and they think there is a deliberate attempt to mislead. When asked if they agreed that national news media do not intend to deceive, 50 percent responded that they did not. Only 25 percent of the respondents agreed, as per CNBC. Gaslighting by the mainstream media was prevalent during the term of former President Donald Trump, especially before the 2020 presidential elections. Members of the media deliberately lied to America by falsely claiming that the violent riots across the country at the time were "peaceful." But in reality, violent left-wing rioters set fires, attacked innocent people, destroyed property and even attempted to trap federal agents in buildings while burning them down. The crimes carried out by left-wing rioters included felony assault, arson, vandalism and homicide. They created a narrative that federal agents or Trump supporters started "shooting peaceful protesters." They tried to provoke a self-defense shooting response and then blamed Trump. (Related: Treasonous corporate media GASLIGHTING America with false claims that violent left-wing riots are "peaceful.") During the summer of left-wing violence in 2020, Antifa and Black Lives Matter (BLM) groups also attacked police using commercial grade fireworks, rocks and lasers. They also vandalized federal buildings and shot down those who get in their way, including a member of the group, Patriot Prayer. Former Democratic Governor Kate Brown of Oregon used the situation to gaslight the nation by blaming the murder on the victim. And as expected, Brown used the media as a tool. In her press release she blamed members of Patriot Prayer for coming "into downtown Portland armed and looking for a fight."

Gaslighting also making its mark on social media

Gaslighting has also become culturally pervasive through social media. Fake news and trolls thrive in social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The number of streaming services continues to grow, and many include gaslighting programs intended to influence social and political issues. The social media has become important to facilitate a wide public understanding of gaslighting. Media manipulators influenced large numbers of viewers in social media. Interest in the term gaslighting went up by 1,740 percent last year compared to 2021, and Merriam-Webster Dictionary named it as its Most Used Word of the Year for 2022. Gaslighting involves the psychological manipulation of a person or group over an extended period of time, causing victims to question the reliability of their own experience. Victims normally become confused and insecure, which make them more dependent on the perpetrator or perpetrators to validate the reality of their thoughts. Media psychology helps explain gaslighting and assists people's understanding of its nooks and crannies. For example, the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic years have dramatically increased the number of streaming channels and companion technologies. Consequently, these have also increased the wide-scale use of gaslighting for influencing, persuading, group manipulating and opinion-laundering in personal, social and political contexts. Visit Disinfo.news for more news related to gaslighting by the mainstream media. Watch this video about gaslighting and its origins. This video is from The Willow channel on Brighteon.com.

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Gaslighting also making its mark on social media

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