Analyzing Mainstream News Headlines 101  

  One of the best things I did for myself when I woke up was remove the News app from my phone. I used to get headlines as notifications, and typically relied on what they said to get a general idea of what the article was about before I decided to actually open it up and read it. It started to get to the point where just a headline could change my emotions and get my heart racing. 

  If this sounds familiar and the news stresses you out too, then you've probably (hopefully) realized that this is by design. The employees behind these headlines are paid to create snappy headlines that get your attention and cause that reaction. Many of us know this, this isn't new information. Media bias is real, and it's gotten blatantly disgusting in the past decade, with a foot on the gas as of four years ago. 

  As a reminder, the definition of bias is: prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair. The definition of propaganda is: information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.But beyond that, there was once a time in reporting when headlines weren't loaded with emotions. Nowadays I see so many descriptive words that are clearly planted there to manipulate the readers opinions and emotions. The line between facts and feelings has blurred, and now facts are delivered in a twisted way meant to manipulate how you feel about them. 

  Let's look at a few examples: 

  From San Francisco Chronicle: "Bay Area Has Its Own Scary New Variant; Why Experts Are So Concerned : The bay areas battle against the Covid 19 pandemic suffered a potentially large setback this weekend as public health officials sounded the alarm over another new variant..."

  That's a lot of negative language. The thing about the human mind is these choice of words matter on a subconscious level. Your brain doesn't always notice the little words in between. It tends to see words like the ones I've bolded, absorbing them like a sponge and thinking "Ah, sounds scary! I must be concerned! There's so much suffering! Alarm!" If I were to tone down this article a little, I'd rewrite it more straightforwardly with less emotional descriptors like so: 

  "Public Health Officials Discover New Variant; Experts Recommend Caution : The bay areas handling of Covid 19 has been potentially slowed upon recent discovery of a new variant. However, they are optimistic about treatments such as..."

  This headline uses less alarming langage and reassures the reader at first glance that while caution is recommended, things are being handled and experts are optimistic. If the media were being honest about the pandemic, instead of silencing any doctors who go against their fear mongering tactics like Dr. Simone Gold they wouldn't need to rely on such emotional language. Facts could be straight forward, even positive, especially about the "pandemic." 

  Let's do another one: 

  From The Washington Free Beacon: "Incoming White House Climate Team Blames 'Systemic Racism' on Climate Change : A pair of top incoming White House environmental aides has blamed "systemic racism" as a driver of climate change in an attempt to justify a government-led economic overhaul. " 

  While I saw a little less bias in this article, the very fact that it was reported at all indicates that this is part of a narrative to stoke the readers blame on something they can't control, like climate change, on racism, something that would have a lot less power these days if the media didn't insist on dragging it up and using it politically every four years. The phrase "top aides" is meant to assure the reader to trust the source, and take this opinion seriously, even take it as their own. 

  As far as physical environmental damage goes, I personally don't see how racism is high on the list of factors at all. Humans are generally wasteful at the hands of large corporations who pump out the garbage we buy using harmful materials that end up in a landfill. It's not entirely our fault, and if said corporations didn't value money over everything, they might have improved our environment by now in a way everyone could get behind. I can't even rewrite this headline because it's so trash, honestly. 

  A third example: 

  From Kaiser Health News: "Black Americans Are Getting Vaccinated at Lower Rates Than White Americans : Black Americans are receiving covid vaccinations at dramatically lower rates than white Americans in the first weeks of the chaotic rollout, according to a new KHN analysis." 

  With yet another emphasis on racial tension and the black and white descriptors, this article is meant to spark a feeling of injustice and betrayal after the huge surge of the racial justice movement last year. It is meant to make readers feel angry that, yet again, people of color are being treated as lower than white people. Remember, your brain isn't receiving a lot of those filler words. The word choice, order, and repetition of them absolutely matter. These factors help drill the words into your head on a subconscious level. This is another headline I can't rewrite without fully removing the bias to simply present statistical facts of the groups that have received the the vaccine without expressing such emphasis. 

  What happens when the public realizes how experimental the vaccine is and that people of color are being used as guinea pigs, meant to go first? As desperately as some of the population wants to "make it up" to people of color, putting them on the front lines of a rushed trial vaccine isn't my idea of special treatment. There have been recorded side effects such as Bells Palsey and uncontrollable spasms that have changed the lives of some of the first few volunteers overnight. And yet, when one first searches for these side effects some of the first few articles that pop up contain the phrase "why you shouldn't worry." In other words, "Shhh...don't question it."

  Some headlines are easy to pick apart. Buzzwords tied to emotions are an immediate giveaway that the reader is meant to feel a certain way and trust the source if important people are mentioned. Celebrities are used to enforce political opinions and encourage the fans to follow their behavior, such as promoting a political candidate or vaccine. Perhaps some of us have forgotten or simply don't understand that these kinds of people tend to be paid for their opinion or ability to manipulate public opinion with their words/actions. Others have received so much subconscious programming that they accept being told what to think without being fully aware of it. 

  I wrote this piece for the benefit of anyone who doesn't understand media bias or propaganda anymore. I still remember learning about methods of advertising in school, and not realizing they applied to larger scale media. Ultimately, you don't have to take it all as fact, but that's because I'm a person with a certain perspective. I want to encourage more critical thought and problem solving, especially among my peers and younger generations. 

  We have to start recognizing that we've been lied to and brainwashed from people who want us to trust them. If you think you're unaffected, you may unfortunately be experiencing cognitive dissonance, or: mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes.  At this point, it's not. a question of whether or not someone is brainwashed, rather the extent of its influence.