Journalists are always looking for new sources to interview and quote in their articles.Media manipulators can offer up sources who are willing to give sensational quotes or spin stories in certain ways.

Media Manipulators Take Advantage of Journalists' Need for Sources

Online media operates on a 24-hour news cycle and is constantly looking for new content to publish.Blogs often lack the resources to fact-check stories thoroughly, making it easier to get false information into the news cycle.

Blogs and Online Media Are Especially Susceptible to Manipulation

The media tends to focus on the latest story or scandal and quickly moves on to the next one.Media manipulators can take advantage of this by creating distractions or diverting attention away from negative stories.

The Media Is Easily Distracted

When intelligent people read, they ask themselves a simple question: What do I plan to do with this information?

The media tends to follow the lead of other media outlets, and the first story on a particular topic often sets the agenda for how subsequent stories will be covered.Media manipulators can take advantage of this by planting a story in one outlet and then watching it spread to others.

 The First Story Sets the Agenda

Traditional journalistic values like accuracy and impartiality have taken a backseat to generating traffic and revenue.Sensationalism and controversy are more likely to generate clicks than substantive news.

The Media Is Driven by Clicks and Pageviews

You cannot have your news instantly and have it done well. You cannot have your news reduced to 140 characters or less without losing large parts of it. You cannot manipulate the news but not expect it to be manipulated against you. We must remember: There is no easy way.

Journalists often use anonymous sources to protect their identities or to get information that they wouldn't be able to get otherwise.Media manipulators can use this to their advantage by posing as anonymous sources and feeding false or misleading information to the media.

Anonymous Sources Are Often Used to Manipulate the News

You cannot have your news for free; you can only obscure the costs. If as a culture we can learn this lesson, and if we can learn to love the hard work, we will save ourselves much trouble and collateral damage.

The media ecosystem is set up in a way that rewards clicks and pageviews over accuracy and impartiality.Media manipulators are likely to continue exploiting the system as long as it remains profitable.

The Media Is Not Going to Change Anytime Soon

Stories that generate fear or outrage are more likely to be shared and spread on social media.Media manipulators can create false or exaggerated stories that play on people's fears and biases.

Fear and Outrage Sell

This book was first published in 2018 and is a memoir and exposé of sorts about Holiday's experiences as a media strategist, working to manipulate the news cycle and create publicity stunts for his clients. The book discusses how the media ecosystem works and how easy it can be for people with the right skills and tactics to manipulate it. It also raises some important ethical questions about the state of modern journalism and the role of media in society.

The cult classic that predicted the rise of fake news—revised and updated for the post-Trump, post-Gawker age.   Hailed as "astonishing and disturbing" by the Financial Times and "essential reading" by TechCrunch at its original publication, former American Apparel marketing director Ryan Holiday’s first book sounded a prescient alarm about the dangers of fake news. It's all the more relevant today.  Trust Me, I’m Lying was the first book to blow the lid off the speed and force at which rumors travel online—and get "traded up" the media ecosystem until they become real headlines and generate real responses in the real world. The culprit? Marketers and professional media manipulators, encouraged by the toxic economics of the news business.   Whenever you see a malicious online rumor costs a company millions, politically motivated fake news driving elections, a product or celebrity zooming from total obscurity to viral sensation, or anonymously sourced articles becoming national conversation, someone is behind it. Often someone like Ryan Holiday.   As he explains, “I wrote this book to explain how media manipulators work, how to spot their fingerprints, how to fight them, and how (if you must) to emulate their tactics. Why am I giving away these secrets? Because I’m tired of a world where trolls hijack debates, marketers help write the news, opinion masquerades as fact, algorithms drive everything to extremes, and no one is accountable for any of it. I’m pulling back the curtain because it’s time the public understands how things really work. What you choose to do with this information is up to you.”

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Marketing & Sales

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Technology & The Future

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Books

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Politics

Ryan Holiday is media strategist for notorious clients like Tucker Max and Dov Charney. After dropping out of college at 19 to apprentice under the strategist Robert Greene, he went on to advise many bestselling authors and multi-platinum musicians. He is the Director of Marketing at American Apparel, where his work in advertising was internationally known. His strategies are used as case studies by Twitter, YouTube, and Google, and have been written about in AdAge, the New York Times, Gawker, and Fast Company. He is the author is *Trust Me, I'm Lying: Confessions of a Media Manipulator*, which is due out in July. He currently lives in New Orleans, with his rebellious puppy, Hanno.

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