Manufacturing consent is an important milestone in understanding the power of corporate media. In 1988, Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman published their book, showing how ownership, advertising, and state interests combine to shape news in ways that build public opinion. In the context of that time, this analysis was correct and necessary.
Today, however, the problem is not Chomsky's fault; his model no longer fully explains current reality. At the heart of manufacturing consent is a simple but powerful idea—the media's influence shaping public opinion and the public accepting that narrative.
Truth, democratic values, or accuracy are not important here. Rather, anger, fear, and identity-based emotions spread faster and have a greater impact. As a result, consent is not created here; rather, a habit is created in which people repeatedly see, feel, and react to the same things
Although this model does not directly support the theory of simple effects, it portrays humans as structurally limited and relatively passive. But research shows that people don't think like that. People understand things through their social identities, personal experiences, mutual discussions, memories, and beliefs. So, consent is never uniform, fixed, or certain; rather, it is often questioned and changed.
This structure is built on a centralised media system. Newspapers and television were the main sources of information. But that reality has changed. Now influence is created through networks—platforms, influencers, messaging apps, and personal online reach. Power no longer flows from top to bottom in a straight line; rather, it spreads, breaks down, and takes new forms. Now we live not in a single community but in many smaller communities, each with its own set of rules and trust structures.
The biggest limitation of Chomsky's model becomes apparent in the context of algorithms. This model assumes that the powerful consciously control the media. But the algorithm does not work with any ideology or political purpose. Their only goal is to keep people on the platform for as long as possible.
So, truth, democratic values, or accuracy are not important here. Rather, anger, fear, and identity-based emotions spread faster and have a greater impact. As a result, consent is not created here; rather, a habit is created in which people repeatedly see, feel, and react to the same things.
This change helps us to understand the difference between propaganda and platform capitalism. The campaign wants people to agree. The platform wants people to stay connected - to scroll, share, respond, and come back again and again. Whether the user agrees or not is not the point here.
What is more important is whether he is emotionally involved and whether his behaviour is predictable. As a result, in this environment, visibility becomes power, and consent loses importance. In this process, a shared reality is not created, but a broken reality is created. Different people see different information, believe in different sources, and understand the world in different ways.
So, politics seems to be heated and chaotic at the same time. This is not just a sudden result, but a structural one. While manufacturing consent speaks of stability, the current platform-based system creates instability.
Another important change is that influence is no longer limited to the elite.
Grassroots networks, influencers, and online communities are also now making large-scale statements. Power now emanates from the top, the sides, and within. This reality cannot be understood only through a top-down campaign model. So, there is no need to leave it. He needs to learn a new reality.
Today, the power of the media does more than tell people what to think - it determines what people see, feel, and see over and over again. Consensus still exists, but it is no longer built into a centralised system. It is built in a decentralised, algorithmic environment.
The biggest risk today is not that everyone believes the same lie. Rather, the risk is that reality is breaking apart faster than we can comprehend.
* Dr. Rezwan-Ul-Alam, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Media, Communication, and Journalism, North South University. rezwan.alam01@northsouth.edu