Research+Paper

21st Century Propaganda: Media Hoaxes

=== My 21st century propaganda project focused on hoaxes in the media. I thought this was important to research because if we cannot trust journalists and newscasters to give us accurate information, who can we trust? I would consider journalists gatekeepers of news and information for the public. It is extremely important that they of all people should be able to spot a hoax. In recent years, copyright legislations have left hijackers with jail sentences and huge fines for pirating everything from music to movies. However, pranksters and hoaxers exploit the media and use the media to their advantage through rebellious expression. To fully understand why journalists are victims of hoaxes, I needed to understand the motives of media hoaxers, as well as how they were successful in their executions of their hoaxes. ===

=== Gareth Branwyn’s book, // Jamming the media: A citizen’s guide: Reclaiming the tools of communication // (1997), contained chapters on information about multimedia for the masses to broadcasting. However, chapter six, media pranks and art hacks, proved to be the most resourceful part of the book for my project. I thought this chapter was really worth reading because unlike most of the information I have been reading, this chapter contained in-depth information about different hoaxes, a few which have been mentioned before in the above paragraphs. The hoaxes Branwyn focuses on are not revengeful but a means to fighting back. Branwyn also offers the prankster’s starter kit that includes information on planning which involves logistics, safety, impact, and media mileage. Execution and documentation are the other two very important aspects of the prankster’s starter kit. === === Christine Harold’s article, // Pranking rhetoric: “Culture jamming” as media activism // (2004), discusses the phenomenon of culture jamming. Harold starts by discussing the 2003 Adbusters campaign named Blackspot. The Blackspot campaign is one of the many examples Harold uses to talk about culture jamming. The purpose of the campaign was to challenge the advertising methods of big brand name corporations. Next Christine Harold goes on to talk about “the prankster” and why its tactics may be more effective than Adbusters approach. Harold also discusses three case studies that use mainstream efforts to take over media forms. === === In the section, // Intensifying media forms: A theory of culture jamming, // Harold brings up media hoaxer Joey Skaggs. Harold focuses on one prank Skaggs’ did that involved advertisements for a fake dog brothel for dogs. Although, the thought of a dog brothel sounds ridiculous, it gained a lot of media attention. Skaggs even had charges brought up against him that were dropped once he revealed it was just a hoax. === === In the section, // Pranking as rhetorical appropriation, // Christine Harold, talks about three other media pranks. The first was the gender role changes made to Barbie dolls and G.I. Joe action figures by the Barbie Liberation Organization//. // This organization switched voice-chips within the two toys and returned them to stores to be sold during Christmastime. Their reasoning behind this prank was to bring awareness to gender based stereotyping. The second prank discussed was the Biotic Baking Brigade//. // This group ambushes powerful leaders like Bill Gates and throws pie in their face, during a formal event (public-speech). The Biotic Baking Brigade throws pie in powerful leaders faces because it plays with the image of power and the media’s need to cover anything no matter how absurd. Last is on Harold’s prank case studies is the American Legacy Foundation’s INFKT Truth campaign, an interesting case since it was a public service campaign. Rather than simply telling teens not to smoke, the Truth campaign allowed teens the opportunity to be involved in the campaigns advertising. === === Chris Berdik’s article, //Duped: When journalists fall for fake news// (2002), explains how journalists become victims of false news. Berdik goes on to discuss a story that was published in the Associated Press in October 1999. The story that was published was about an amusement park that would have a cemetery theme, and information as well as contacts was all available on a web site. However, everything dealing with this theme park was fake, created by media hoaxer Joey Skaggs. Through false ads and press releases, Chris Berdik talks about how journalists including him were interested in the story, even without checking the facts. === === Next, Berdik goes on to talk about the five types of hoaxes that he believes exist. The first type dealing with hoaxing for fame; pretending to be connected to a celebrity is an example Berdik gave in the article. The second type he talked about were scams involving money. The third and fourth types involve the doings of journalists and are classified as false news that is either made up stories or jokes. Hoaxes aimed towards shaming society into improvement were the final type; the cemetery amusement park hoax was placed in this category. ===

[[image:joeyskaggs.JPG width="271" height="329" align="left"]]
=== Berdik then goes on to explain reasons why stories such as the cemetery amusement are picked up. He first explains it as laziness on the journalist part, simply using another story without bothering to stop and question the information. Deadline pressure was the next point Berdik considered in playing a role in shortcuts in journalism. Lastly, the Internet was also discussed as another reason some journalists allow questioning stories to be printed. Berdik concludes by stating that need to be a critical thinker is a vital in the world that we live in. He also believes that although we may never be able to escape the mediated fake environment, journalism can still strive. === === Christine Harold’s chapter on pranks, rumors and hoaxes in // OurSpace: Resisting the corporate control of culture (2007), //// focuses once again on media hoaxer/prankster Joey Skaggs. Harold centers her discussion about Joey Skaggs on his doggie brothel from 1976, which was a cathouse for dogs. Harold again refers to the pie throwing Biotic Baking Brigade and the Barbie Liberation Organization. However, Christine Harold brings in the politically provocative group The Yes Men. The Yes Men raise awareness about what they considered to be problems within society. Harold talks about The Yes Men’s hoax where they posed as WTO representatives and oil company executives. // ===

=== The media has been very influential with our perception of the world we live in since the beginning of time. The mass media has obtained control over the public’s opinion and have been very successful at aggressively promoting their views. Propaganda involves presented information to influence an audience. According to Patrick Boyle of the online site The Hoax Project (2005), “America’s first great hoaxer was Benjamin Franklin, who created tales to convey moral messages and advance social causes, such as turning readers against the British.” Hoaxes such as the one by Benjamin Franklin are still prevalent in today’s world. === === A hoax is defined by Webster as tricking someone into believing or accepting as genuine something false and often preposterous. I would define a media hoax as false information presented as truth to the public through a news organization. === === The fast rise of technology today has made it too easy for information to spread and easier to find. The internet is the perfect place for a media hoaxer to do the most damage, through creating websites that look real. I was able to view a fake press release involving The Yes Men and the Chamber of Commerce. The Yes Men pretended to be representatives with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and had a press release that looked official but had questionable mistakes such as the misspelling of the Chamber president’s name. === === Famous media hoaxer Joey Skaggs once stated in an interview that he has deceived the same news stations time and time again, and they are not concerned with not falling for his hoaxes. Their concern is with getting the story out to the public no matter how ridiculous it may be. In the Cathouse brothel created by Skaggs, he “set up an image event that would appeal to the needs of the televisual news media and he employed the strategies of a television producer in an effort to fold the medium over on itself” (Harold, 2007, p. 79). ===


=== Society is always too eager to believe stories and figuring out the difference between what is real and fake is practically impossible but we must try. Not all media hoaxes are bad; some are created to bring awareness about a problem issue. Can you tell the difference between a good and bad media hoax? Some media hoaxers “undermine the authority by hijacking its sanctioned venues,” as did The Yes Men’s Chamber of Commerce phony (Harold, 2007, p. 107). === === My suggestion for spotting a media hoax would be to treat it as a research paper. The key to a well developed research paper is having credible information and in order to find that information, you need to do fact checking. Applying this concept to media hoaxes would prevent being deceived by media hoaxers. If sources are impossible to locate, chances are the information should not be trusted. ===

__** Bibliography ** __

===Berdik, C. (2002). Duped: When journalists fall for fake news. // Quill Magazine 90 //(4), 22-26. === ===Boyle, Patrick. (2005). The Hoax Project, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park. //Philip Merrill College of Journalism Course Syllabi - 2006//. Retrieved March 20, 2011 from. []. === ===Branwyn, G. (1997). // Jamming the media: A citizen’s guide: Reclaiming the tools of communication. // San Francisco: Chronicle Books. === ===Harold, C. (2004). Pranking rhetoric: “Culture jamming” as media activism. // Critical Studies in Media Communication 21 //(3), 189-211. === ===Harold, C. (2007). //OurSpace: Resisting the corporate control of culture.// Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. ===

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