strategic communication and the influence of the media on public opinion
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Strategic Communication and the Influence of the Media on Public Opinion
NATO Defense CollegeMarch 2016
Prof Charlie BeckettDirector, Polis, LSE
E: c.h.beckett@lse.ac.ukTwitter: @charliebeckett
Blog: www.blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis
What are the three things you needed to know this morning and
where would go to find out?
What’s the latest on #Brexit?
Is my flight home delayed?
What’s the team for Old Trafford?
My news
• On demand, instantly, all the time • Interactive, sharable, participatory• Multiple, personalised sources: blend of
native digital & mainstream media• Mobile & social
Digital dependency
Structural change:Mixed media – but all networked
• Traditional ‘legacy’media
• Social news media
• Social networks
News isn’t ‘the news’ anymore
• News faster & shorter & bigger• Information & entertainment blended• Battle for attention, not just traffic • People share for information,
entertainment/gift, identity • Emotion as significant as facts or analysis
Homophily
Algorithmic social engineering
“The better we get at modelling user preferences, the more accurately we construct recommendation engines that fully capture user attention. In a way, we are building personalized propaganda engines that feed users content which makes them feel good and throws away the uncomfortable bits.”
Gilad Lotan, Data Scientist, 2015
How did we get from this…
…to this?
#EuroMaidan: Power to the people?
Social Media Tells The Story
Social Media Tells The Story
Social Media Tells The Story
Social Media Tells The Story
Global networked news war
RT propaganda
“The Programme made numerous highly serious allegations about the Ukrainian Government and military forces including allegations of atrocities and attempts to commit genocide. The allegations were accompanied by emotive footage of warfare and its after effects and numerous comparisons of the Ukrainian Government and its military forces to Hitler and Nazi Germany. All of this was broadcast with little or no counterbalance or objectivity” Ofcom ruling Sept 2015
Propaganda machines
“to provide people with more answers to more questions, to examine world events from different point or points of view and to encourage people to keep questioning more…a broadcasting format in which the broadcaster challenges the views of the mainstream media and provides alternative perspectives”. RT response to Ofcom 2015
Oops
“it had intended to broadcast immediately after the Programme a slate setting out the position of the Ukrainian Government as follows: “The Ukrainian government denies all accusations regarding crimes against civilians. Kiev says affected residents in the country’s east are just a side effect of the anti- terrorist operation”.
human error unfortunately led to this statement being omitted. TV Novosti expressed regret for this omission.”
• Wolfgang Schauble: ‘alarmed and shamed’ that 60% of Germans say that they would not support action if Russia attacked another NATO member
Social media for terror
Does counter propaganda work with violent identity extremists?
• trust and credibility again is crucial – won’t be trusted if seen to be partisan
• Vulnerable people often trust informal media more than mainstream media
• Witnessing “someone like me” share a platform with “others unlike me” can have encourage positive attitudes around tolerance and understanding of other.
• Most successful projects do not seek to reshape the status quo, but rather aim to facilitate conversation, encourage awareness, or dispel misinformation.
• [Kate Ferguson UEA, March 2016]
The Good News
What should public organisations (and journalists) do?
• Transparency is the online currency of trust• Interactivity is key to engagement• Be on all the platforms, all the time• Be where people are talking and talk in their
language• Be strategic about who you want to influence
(niche, mass, switchers, nodes)• Be strategic about why you want to influence (behaviour change, opinion forming, media space)
Good media now a strategic goal
• Promote free Internet• Promote civic media• Support credible news organisations
Be humble: people are right to be sceptical
• Experts are usually wrong• Authorities keep getting it wrong• All part of a wider crisis of trust, authenticity
and attention
Strategic Communication and the Influence of the Media on Public Opinion
NATO Defense CollegeMarch 2016
Prof Charlie BeckettDirector, Polis, LSE
E: c.h.beckett@lse.ac.ukTwitter: @charliebeckett
Blog: www.blogs.lse.ac.uk/polis
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