Here's an abstract representation of Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent explained in pseudocode, breaking down the key processes involved in shaping public opinion through media control:
// Step 1: Setup the power structures
DEFINE eliteGroup AS ["Corporations", "Government", "Wealthy Individuals"]
DEFINE mediaOutlets AS ["Mainstream News", "Social Media", "Public Relations"]
DEFINE interestsOfElites AS ["Economic Control", "Political Control", "Social Influence"]
// Step 2: Establish the filters for media content
DEFINE filters AS [
"Ownership of Media by EliteGroup",
"Advertising as Main Revenue Source",
"Reliance on Experts Funded by EliteGroup",
"Flak from Interest Groups",
"Anti-Communism / National Security Pretext"
]
// Step 3: Control the narrative
FUNCTION controlNarrative(event, eliteInterests):
IF event threatens eliteInterests:
mediaCoverage <- frameEventFavorablyFor(eliteInterests)
ELSE:
mediaCoverage <- minimizeEvent OR createDistractingNews()
ENDIF
RETURN mediaCoverage
// Step 4: Manufacture consent through media
FUNCTION manufactureConsent(publicOpinion):
FOR EACH event IN currentEvents:
// Step 4a: Filter the news through the established filters
filteredNews <- APPLY filters TO event
// Step 4b: Control the narrative based on elite interests
narrative <- controlNarrative(filteredNews, interestsOfElites)
// Step 4c: Broadcast the narrative
BROADCAST narrative TO public
// Step 4d: Measure and adjust public opinion
adjustedPublicOpinion <- UPDATE publicOpinion BASED ON broadcasted narrative
RETURN adjustedPublicOpinion
ENDFOR
END FUNCTION
// Step 5: Repeat the process to sustain control
WHILE eliteGroup maintains power:
currentPublicOpinion <- manufactureConsent(currentPublicOpinion)
END WHILE
Explanation of the Pseudocode:
1. Power Structures: This step identifies the key groups—corporations, government entities, and wealthy individuals—who have control over the media and the interests they aim to protect.
2. Media Filters: These filters represent the mechanisms that influence how news is selected, framed, and presented. Ownership, advertising dependence, reliance on elite experts, pressure from interest groups, and national security justifications shape what the media covers.
3. Control the Narrative: The function controlNarrative determines how the news should be presented based on whether it threatens or aligns with elite interests. If a story is harmful to their agenda, the media will either minimize its coverage or spin it favorably. If it's neutral or beneficial, it may be highlighted.
4. Manufacture Consent: This function processes the events through the media filters, adjusts the narrative accordingly, and broadcasts it to shape public opinion. It represents the core of how the media manufactures consent for elite interests.
5. Sustain Control: This loop continues indefinitely, keeping public opinion aligned with elite interests as long as those in power maintain control over media institutions.
Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent suggests that public opinion is not freely formed but is heavily shaped through this process of filtering, framing, and narrative control by elites via the media. This pseudocode captures that dynamic in an abstracted, algorithmic form.
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