The media play a great role in keeping the masses informed and the information they send to the masses depends solely on what they want the masses to perceive. Manipulation of information is one thing the media will never stop because they want this information to suit their own best interest and that of the government.
When it comes to reporting of local news, the media try to instigate negative sentiment to the masses, sending out fear and worries to the public. Example is the Boko Haram terrorism in the Northeast of Nigeria that has been going on non-stop, the media presents the violence in the way they want the public to see it.
For those that have not been there, the way they report this information is enough to stop anyone who has not been there from making an attempt. They are accurate in telling you the negative but hardly share the positive. This exaggeration can send in fear and misconception that we make others see that region as a place known for violence.
Some media organizations just to make publication go as far as publishing inaccurate information leading to unbalanced and misunderstanding of the whole problem. There was a media outlet I saw one day, while I was going through the headlines, I noticed the number of casualties was completely different from what I heard in the news.
I was left confused on which media house is right and wrong. One of the core values of the media is accuracy and truth. Independence is also lacking in the media organizations as they solely want to do what the government wants them to do leading to one-sided flow of information. It is very sad that the media claimed to be free and transparent but that word is only a mere saying as they only publish what they feel the government is okay with leading to bias and inaccuracy.
Also, in crypto news, information about the market can be manipulated by the media for the sole aim of creating fear among investors. When such a thing happens, investors are lure into investing big due to the trust they have for the media and the next thing they get is change of trends leading to huge financial loss. When the media publish or report false information, it falls to affect the same public that they depend on to survive.
When the crypto ban news broke, some of the media organizations presented the information in a very negative way by focusing on the risks that come with crypto investment, sidelining the positive impact that comes with investing in it. With that, one can see that there was no balance in the information. The media are only interested in what they want to feed the masses, forgetting the media ethics of effective journalism and media practices.
Due to censorship, the media choose to spread misinformation just to avoid threats from the government forgetting that they are compromising that with the mass's right to accurate and valid information. When the media depend on the government, their information is surely going to be full of bias because the government would want to be in control and also want the report to be in favor of them.