Once something hits the media, it spreads like wildfire. All it takes is one source to report on a topic, or just report something in general before that little piece of information goes worldwide. One little click makes the news spread faster and farther. There are many techniques that can be used in the media to create buzz and attention, but one of the most common techniques is fear mongering. Fear mongering is defined by Merriam Webster as “The action of deliberately arousing public fear or alarm about a particular issue.” Fear mongering may sound like an unfamiliar term, but if thought about enough, it is realized that it is used multiple times a day in the media. Fear mongering in the media creates hysteria.
New agencies, reporters, …show more content…
If the population of the world were to stop for a second to think about what they’re reading and get to the real facts of the article they would discover that everything is blown out of proportion. The sad thing is that even though fear mongering is overused in the media, the people still believe it and it still leads to hysteria. Another thing that fear mongering can do is scaring people into agreeing with the policies of higher ranked officials thinking that they will be “safe”. People should be able to think and decide for themselves what they perceive as a threat without the help of media telling them what to do. When looking through the news on an average day, very little of the daily news is about happy, uplifting things. Instead the news is comprised of the bad things in the world; the things that make people stock up for an apocalypse, become shut ins, and force people to become paranoid about every little thing. It’s not that there aren’t happy things happening around the world, but the media knows that people react more to things that evoke fear. Business Week says, “But make no mistake that whatever you choose to eat, do, or believe in, people will keep trying to scare you.” This quote shows that there is no way to get away from the hysteria and fear mongering. Looking at the news today, there are several articles and posts about the Zika Virus and ISIS. Both of which should be concerning, but only to a certain …show more content…
Another example is pre-9/11 there was the Daisy television commercial that featured a little girl counting flower petals, but when she reached “9”, a male voice is heard counting down a missile launch. When the countdown reached zero, a flash and a mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion are seen. As the fire rages, there is a voiceover from President Johnson says, “These are the stakes! To make a world in which all of God’s children can live, or go into the dark. We must either love each other, or we must die.” Another voiceover then says, “Vote for President Johnson on November 3. The stakes are too high for you to stay home.” This is another example of fear mongering because it is scaring people into believing or choosing something to protect themselves from the fear of being bombed. Even if the people don’t believe with the views of President Johnson, there’s a chance that they would still vote for him thinking that he’ll keep them safe since it’s what he promised.
Media is a fantastic resource, but it can also be a weapon when used a certain way. Media itself isn’t a weapon, but when combined with fear mongering to create hysteria, it is. Although fear mongering creates hysteria, the fear is almost like a drug to some people because they keep coming back for more. The people are fearful of the unknown, so they keep watching, listening, or reading the stories
New agencies, reporters, …show more content…
If the population of the world were to stop for a second to think about what they’re reading and get to the real facts of the article they would discover that everything is blown out of proportion. The sad thing is that even though fear mongering is overused in the media, the people still believe it and it still leads to hysteria. Another thing that fear mongering can do is scaring people into agreeing with the policies of higher ranked officials thinking that they will be “safe”. People should be able to think and decide for themselves what they perceive as a threat without the help of media telling them what to do. When looking through the news on an average day, very little of the daily news is about happy, uplifting things. Instead the news is comprised of the bad things in the world; the things that make people stock up for an apocalypse, become shut ins, and force people to become paranoid about every little thing. It’s not that there aren’t happy things happening around the world, but the media knows that people react more to things that evoke fear. Business Week says, “But make no mistake that whatever you choose to eat, do, or believe in, people will keep trying to scare you.” This quote shows that there is no way to get away from the hysteria and fear mongering. Looking at the news today, there are several articles and posts about the Zika Virus and ISIS. Both of which should be concerning, but only to a certain …show more content…
Another example is pre-9/11 there was the Daisy television commercial that featured a little girl counting flower petals, but when she reached “9”, a male voice is heard counting down a missile launch. When the countdown reached zero, a flash and a mushroom cloud of a nuclear explosion are seen. As the fire rages, there is a voiceover from President Johnson says, “These are the stakes! To make a world in which all of God’s children can live, or go into the dark. We must either love each other, or we must die.” Another voiceover then says, “Vote for President Johnson on November 3. The stakes are too high for you to stay home.” This is another example of fear mongering because it is scaring people into believing or choosing something to protect themselves from the fear of being bombed. Even if the people don’t believe with the views of President Johnson, there’s a chance that they would still vote for him thinking that he’ll keep them safe since it’s what he promised.
Media is a fantastic resource, but it can also be a weapon when used a certain way. Media itself isn’t a weapon, but when combined with fear mongering to create hysteria, it is. Although fear mongering creates hysteria, the fear is almost like a drug to some people because they keep coming back for more. The people are fearful of the unknown, so they keep watching, listening, or reading the stories