Narrative control is the shaping of how people interpret events by controlling the surrounding frame: what is emphasized, omitted, repeated, contextualized, or treated as important. The underlying events do not necessarily have to be fabric
Yes. Social psychologists call this pluralistic ignorance: members of a group systematically misjudge the private attitudes or beliefs of the other members. A group can publicly behave as though a norm is widely supported while many individ
A Pew Research Center survey conducted August 18–24, 2025 found that 38% of U.S. adults said they regularly got news on Facebook.
BROADSIDE DEFINITION: Semantic control is influencing perception by controlling meanings instead of changing the underlying information. It works by narrowing, broadening, relabeling, or shifting definitions so that the same event can be un
Yes. Agenda-setting research found that the amount and prominence of news coverage can influence which issues audiences regard as important. McCombs and Shaw’s classic 1972 study described news selection and display as helping shape the pub
A Pew Research Center survey conducted August 18–24, 2025 found that 35% of U.S. adults said they regularly got news on YouTube.
Yes. Experimental research shows that semantically related labels can change judgments of the same underlying action. In a 2021 series of studies involving 1,906 U.S. participants, euphemistic wording made actions seem more favorable even w
Communication scholars Garth Jowett and Victoria O’Donnell define propaganda as a deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions, manipulate cognitions, and direct behavior toward a response desired by the propagandist.
In a 2022 staff report, the Federal Trade Commission described “dark patterns” as digital design practices that can trick or manipulate consumers into choices they might not otherwise make. The FTC documented examples including advertisemen
Narrative invalidation is repeated minimizing or dismissive framing that reduces the legitimacy or significance of a person’s or group’s documented experience. It can operate without denying that the event happened; instead, it changes what
