/sci/ - Science & Math

>>12390209
>We live in a capitalist system where money is the primary motive.

News about death sells. There's an industry saying about this --- "If it bleeds, it leads." War and crime are the two most predictable causes of death, and they're easy for the public to get emotionally invested in. So, as a profit-seeking capitalist running a news organization, I'm incentivised to publish as much about war and crime as I can.

In order to find these stories, I need sources. Typically, these are police officers solving the crimes, or soldiers fighting the war. To maintain a relationship with my sources, I need to stay on their good side. This means portraying them in a flattering light. In doing so, I also produce a simple good-vs-evil narrative that's easy to sell to the undiscerning public. Most people already believe agents of the state are good.

So, without any grand conspiracy, a natural alliance forms between journalists and the state. The news agency gets sources that turn into stories, and the state gets portrayed positively. Everyone (except the public) wins. And all of this can happen without outright lying --- it's easy to couch stories in phrases like "sources claim" or "allegedly."

If you actually bothered to read Chomsky, you'd understand this. It's not a "conspiracy;" it's market forces at work.