“News is not always a mirror of reality, but a canvas brushed by the editor’s hand – where facts are shaped, colours are chosen, and the story bends to fit the frame of the paper’s agenda.” – MJ Martin
The manipulation of mass media, fueled effortlessly by the meteoric assent of artificial intelligence into everyday life, used to create convincing deep fake content, false content, and heavily biased stories, has the potential to deeply and negatively affect society. We are already seeing the extreme polarization of society in many countries. Never in the history of mankind has the need to be a critical thinker been more vital.
Today, all media is curated. All media is bias. All media is shaped and fine tuned for a specific audience. In mass media, it is shaped by the editors. Yes, you are absolutely being manipulated. With online media, you might be surprised to learn who is manipulating you? Shockingly, YOU ARE! Your own curated persona, shaped by your own browsing, likes, shares, connections, views, dwell time, and many other parameters, all contribute to define your unique persona. And it is you, and the policies of the content providers, that are all guiding your own personal manipulation and driving the content flavouring that you read every day.
Algorithms create your “online persona” by analyzing vast amounts of user data from your online activities to build a profile of your preferences, interests, and behaviors.
Parameters used include demographics, lifestyle, interests, past behaviors, content interactions, connections, and engagement patterns. This algorithmic persona influences the content, advertisements, and recommendations you see, shaping your personalized online experiences
Powered by artificial intelligence agents, even a simple, basic news story is manipulated for literally every single reader. Your information and news is all shaped precisely for you.
If John reads a story, it may emphasize police involvement, since he is suspicious of the law. If Sally reads the exact same story, it may tilt the content to favour caring and giving, just as she likes it. And, if Beatrice reads it, the focus can shift towards blaming the victim for the outcomes; a belief that she expects. The single story is curated – it is sweetened or soured – for every single reader based upon their captured persona.
Even in the printed mass media, we can see the spin. Printed mass media is not individualized like online content, but it serves as a good and visible example of bias in media.
Examples of Media Spin
Here is a comparison of how the same story – “Ontario municipalities urge Ford to reconsider plan to ditch speed cameras” (Global News) – might be framed in the four major Toronto newspapers. These are actual headlines and the short analyses is offered as a demonstration of the inherent bias or spin applied by the editors of mass media:
Globe and Mail
Possible headline:
“Municipalities: Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatens to get rid of automated speed cameras”
Tone & Emphasis:
Globe and Mail would likely emphasize the implications for safety, evidence, and public policy. The headline would suggest a measured concern, focusing on risk to pedestrians and perhaps including “municipalities” to show it is a collective call rather than partisan politics.
Toronto Star
Possible headline:
“Ontario Cities Warn Ford: Removing Speed Cameras Will Put Pedestrians in Danger”
Tone & Emphasis:
Toronto Star tends to foreground public interest and often highlights vulnerable communities. The Star version might stress the warning and the human cost (“danger”, “pedestrians”), possibly with a sense of urgency or moral weight.
Toronto Sun
Possible headline:
“Speed cameras cut down, Premier Doug Ford wants to scrap them all – Safety at Stake”
Tone & Emphasis:
The Sun often uses punchier, more dramatic phrasing. The headline might use stronger verbs (“Scrap”) and a more populist style of a sub headline (“Safety at Stake”) to draw reader attention.
National Post
Possible headline:
“Doug Ford tells Ontario municipalities he will get rid of automated speed cameras if they don’t”
Tone & Emphasis:
The National Post tends to focus on political debate, implications for governance, and sometimes a more neutral or analytical framing. Its headline might emphasize the political controversy or the discussion among municipalities, perhaps seeing this as part of broader themes of enforcement and regulation.
Comparison & Contrast
While all headlines cover the same core issue (that municipalities are urging Premier Doug Ford to reconsider eliminating automated speed cameras), differences emerge in what each priorities:
- Globe and Mail would likely lean into safety and evidence, treating the topic with seriousness and presenting the risk as a policy question.
- Toronto Star would highlight the impact on vulnerable groups (pedestrians), possibly invoking more emotive language.
- Toronto Sun would seek maximum reader engagement, using a more sensational or dramatic style.
- National Post might frame it with more attention to political dynamics, regulatory implications, or government accountability.
These differences in framing influence how the reader perceives the stakes: is this about politics, public safety, accountability, or risk? The choice of words (“warn”, “risk”, “scrap”, “concerns mount”) shifts the angle and ultimately the readers perspectives.
So, what do we do to combat this media bias?
We learn to become critical thinkers!
About the Author:
Michael Martin is the Vice President of Technology with Metercor Inc., a Smart Meter, IoT, and Smart City systems integrator based in Canada. He has more than 40 years of experience in systems design for applications that use broadband networks, optical fibre, wireless, and digital communications technologies. He is a business and technology consultant. He was a senior executive consultant for 15 years with IBM, where he worked in the GBS Global Center of Competency for Energy and Utilities and the GTS Global Center of Excellence for Energy and Utilities. He is a founding partner and President of MICAN Communications and before that was President of Comlink Systems Limited and Ensat Broadcast Services, Inc., both divisions of Cygnal Technologies Corporation (CYN: TSX).
Martin served on the Board of Directors for TeraGo Inc (TGO: TSX) and on the Board of Directors for Avante Logixx Inc. (XX: TSX.V). He has served as a Member, SCC ISO-IEC JTC 1/SC-41 – Internet of Things and related technologies, ISO – International Organization for Standardization, and as a member of the NIST SP 500-325 Fog Computing Conceptual Model, National Institute of Standards and Technology. He served on the Board of Governors of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) [now Ontario Tech University] and on the Board of Advisers of five different Colleges in Ontario – Centennial College, Humber College, George Brown College, Durham College, Ryerson Polytechnic University [now Toronto Metropolitan University]. For 16 years he served on the Board of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), Toronto Section.
He holds three master’s degrees, in business (MBA), communication (MA), and education (MEd). As well, he has three undergraduate diplomas and seven certifications in business, computer programming, internetworking, project management, media, photography, and communication technology. He has completed over 60 next generation MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) continuous education in a wide variety of topics, including: Economics, Python Programming, Internet of Things, Cloud, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive systems, Blockchain, Agile, Big Data, Design Thinking, Security, Indigenous Canada awareness, and more.