Manipulation of information
Manipulation of information
Introduction
To
manipulate the hearts and minds of people constructs the cleanest control on
the soul of a country and implicitly of its development process. Francis
Fukayama underlined the importance of creating protective measures against
external manipulation factors that have the necessary tools of limiting or
enhancing the development process, in an unnatural rhythm. Understanding how the
act of controlling information and guiding it in diverse third-party objectives
represents the first step in combating the negative implications which usually
accompanies manipulation. There are certain interest groups and individuals who
can profit from taking the development process to sooth their direction thus
gaining leverage on contracts, social programs or cultural discrepancies.
Information can be used to nurture or dismantle the development process, it all
depends on how the whole structure is handled and controlled.
I.
Manipulation
of information – the impact on the development process
Manipulation
represents a constant presence in human history with clear ramifications on the
development process, observed at the local, regional or national level. The
areas may differ in both time and region, from the Roman Empire to the
technological revolution established by the giants located in Silicon Valley,
but manipulation remains the same, solid in conviction and strong in the
predisposed objectives. The manipulator creates a trustworthy relation or of
suspicion, taking into consideration the behavior and attitude held in common
with the targeted group. Information is the exchange piece used by different
persons to influence the development in the social, economic and spiritual. The
three components: Manipulation – information – development processes reunite in
a symbiotic relation but with particular levels of balance. The development
process both in theory and practice, can take certain patterns which
accommodate interests of individuals or groups. The impact of manipulation on
the development basic and extended ramifications is measured by the goals
achieved by the influencer. Today, modernity is covered with extensive evidence
of the utilization of manipulation on the citizen and its possibility accesses
their right of free manifestation both socially and economically.
Every
century has had its share of political entities and societies who aspired to
control all the components that maintain a healthy development in any field.
Using the knowledge held by the past from the actions of political leaders like
Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Goebbels, the Catholic Church or the Number 3 NKVD
Directive from 2 June 1947 with important effects on the normal functionality
of the development process in any region. Through a long strain of excesses and
genius acts certain individuals managed to curb the reality of the development
regular flow, by adding or removing some pieces of information, essential or
superficial. Analyzing the link
between the informational arena and the representatives of the social and
economic system can be difficult but set within the boundaries of expansive
clarity if the proper studies are understood. The psychological subtleties of
manipulating a piece of information can enhance the possibility of an
individual to curb the regular flow of development and thus limit the
technological, cultural and economic progress of a country or organization.
The
image-information relation and the distinct patterns of manipulation can, once
reunited in a stable and well-determined program, influence the mentalities of
communities and thus impose third-party objectives in distinct areas. The
state, the leader or the religious pastor can maintain the levels of
manipulation to low levels by imposing their own set of rules which in fact
represent the white-core approach. The characteristics of this attitude
manifested and maintained by the permanent factors within a society, “guides”
the citizens towards stability and a stress-free environment even thou
manipulation is present in every aspect.
Humanity
during its extended history has always sought to create shields which constructed
as viable and durable can offer to the minds of the people a sudden surge of
inner stability. In most of the present form of the development process thought
and explained by Joseph Stieglitz or Francis Fukuyama, a major part of human
need for transparency in all aspects concerning information is linked to one
dilemma: Whether the details are tainted by manipulation. Targeting to
determine the viability and possibility of manipulation through information
through the internet, the present study will emphasize on the basic
characteristics and implications the act on the development process, pointing
out differences in strategies and policies transformed by planting or eluding
certain details. The liberty of information proposed by the internet imposes a
different kind of manipulation, one that can’t be observed by conventional
means. This is the reason why the Central Intelligence Agency has created
special units that monitor the flow of information (sources, recurrence rate,
and period) in order to determine the manipulator, its locations and reasons.
Democracy mixed with the wide expression of the internet represents the
new “battlefield” in which manipulation tries on a daily basis to impose its
mark on the development process. The 21st century is electronic and
informational. Manipulating different sets of information can set new
standards, new objectives and new mentalities, changes that can stimulate the
appearance of uneven and unhealthy development processes in different parts of the
world. The best example to emphasize the natural and clear essence of the
theory is China, where informatics manipulation has made this country to have
the title of world’s first economy, surpassing the U.S. Obviously there are
particularities of the impact that manipulating simple information can have on
a region, town or community but the general pattern can be recognized. Even thou the proposed study is general through the proper reflection
on the informational and mass-media manipulation strategies and policies, some
facts may emphasize more and particular trends that influence our day to day
life. The manipulation of words has started, around the world, in different
languages but with a common voice, a new history through the internet and its
vast information memory.
