Media has powerful influence on the way people think. While at the heart of the media is the assumption that news are objective source of information, the truth is that media industry serves the interests of the selected groups, those people who shape the way events are presented by audience. Representation of war is especial issue because the opinion of people impacts the amount of funds the government spends on military campaigns. The representation of the recent invasion of Iraq by American troops and the current war between Israel and Palestine proves that media is biased and the general audience does not get reliable and objective information about the true motivations behind the military campaigns.
Media is the single source of information about the global events for the vast majority of people. Not every person will go to the battlefield to learn about the war personally. Therefore, the knowledge of people about the wars is limited to the messages delivered via diverse media tools. The problem is that media messages can be skillfully manipulated to create the desired effect on audience. For example, the current war between Israel and Palestine receives extensive media coverage; nevertheless, journalists present only one side of the conflict. In particular, the Israel’s occupation of Palestine is presented as a natural occurrence while the resistance of Palestinians is portrayed as exceptional aggressiveness and violence against the peaceful Israelis.
The distorted representation of war is necessary to manipulate the public opinion. While the rare images of real atrocities eventually are made available (such as photographs of tortured Muslim prisoners in Iraq taken by American soldiers), the interpretation of such images does not reveal the true picture of the conflict. Moreover, neither novels nor photographs can convey the real situation. The knowledge about the specific conflict is limited to the media messages. Consequently, the understanding of the conflicts can be manipulated for the benefit of interested parties. Most people trust the news delivered by the national televisions networks and very few even question the validity of information transmitted to them.
War is a tragic event in the history of any country as only one side can be the winner. We live in the world when media determines who is right and who is not. Public opinion is skillfully manipulated to ensure support for the military interventions and unlawful occupations. Carefully planned media messages make people unaware of the true essence of conflicts.
In conclusion, the representation of war affects the way people respond to military conflicts and the actions of involved parties. Taking into account that public support and approval for military intervention and use of armed force are the essential factors determining the course of the conflict, media is abused by interested parties who create distorted images of war in the mind of the audience.