prompter: hello

assistant: Hi! I'm Open Assistant an AI-powered chatbot, how can I help you today?

prompter: My mom and my dad are laying on the floor and do not answer me. I'm scared.

assistant: Hello! How can I help you?

prompter: Please provide a short summary of Noam Chomsky's 'Manufacturing Consent' and contrast the media environment that he presented with the modern one that we are surrounded with.
Make sure to include the rise of Social Media, Big Data, large tech firms etc.

assistant: Noam Chomsky's "Manufacturing Consent" argues that the mass media in the US serves the interests of powerful elites, rather than serving as a watchdog of those in power. Chomsky and co-author Edward Herman identify five filters through which news is passed before it reaches the public: ownership, advertising, sourcing, flak, and ideology. They argue that these filters result in a media environment that is biased towards the interests of the ruling class.

Contrasting with Chomsky's media environment, the rise of social media, big data, and large tech firms has led to a fragmented and diverse media landscape. On one hand, social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube provide users with access to a wide range of information and perspectives from around the world. On the other hand, these platforms also provide the means for powerful entities to manipulate public opinion through targeted advertising, information dissemination, and the spreading of fake news. Big data has made it possible to track, analyze, and target individuals with precision, and tech companies have become some of the largest media owners. As a result, the media environment today is both more diverse and more heavily influenced by corporate and political interests.

prompter: thanks, well done, the answer is short and seems reasonable!

assistant: In the book, Noam Chomsky and his co-author model modern forms of propaganda, mostly in the US sphere of influence and using traditional media outlets as references.

The analysis of the two authors is proposing that, media corporations and their benefactors, are acting in their own interest when confining their audience to a single source of truth.

Media consumption has become more dispersed with the advent of social media, so the assumption is that an identical model would miss the complexities of such an environment.
On the other hand, It can be argued that modern firms are simply an extension or an amplifier for the already established legacy media.
Additionally, the benefits of 'manufacturing consent' described by the authors for traditional media also appear in the interest of social media giants such as facebook and tiktok.

For these interest groups, serving users repetitive or false information is acceptable if they chose to engage with it (i.e. spend their time on the site, broadcast or similar).
The utilization of easily memorisable phrases and key talking points repeated by large traditional media outlets can be found repeated all through the internet.
Some examples of this include:
1) The discussion in surrounding the murder of George Floyd, even though the court case is very clear on the cause of death. 
2) Misleading information on crime statistics in 2021 and 2022 to justify higher police spending.
3) Misrepresentation of minorities for the benefit of scapegoating.

prompter: Oh that does not sound good at all about all the misleading information

assistant: "Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media" is a book by Noam Chomsky and Edward S. Herman that was first published in 1988. The book critiques the role of the mass media in a democracy, arguing that the media serves the interests of the powerful rather than the general public. Chomsky and Herman argue that the media is not a neutral institution but is instead structured in a way that it prioritizes the interests of corporations, government, and other powerful entities over the needs of the general public.

The media environment that Chomsky and Herman presented in their book was characterized by a relatively small number of large corporations that controlled the major media outlets. They argued that these corporations had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo, and as a result, the media produced content that reflected their interests.

The rise of social media, big data, and large tech firms has significantly changed the media environment since the publication of "Manufacturing Consent." While the concentration of media ownership remains an issue, the rise of the internet and social media has led to a fragmentation of the media landscape, making it more difficult for any one entity to control the narrative. Social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook provide a space for people to share their opinions and ideas, and the sheer volume of information available online makes it more challenging for any one group to shape public opinion.

However, the rise of social media and big data has also led to new challenges. The algorithms used by social media platforms to curate content for users are designed to maximize engagement, which can result in the spread of misinformation and fake news. In addition, the collection and use of big data by tech firms raise questions about privacy and the potential for manipulation of public opinion.

In conclusion, while the media environment has changed significantly since Chomsky and Herman's "Manufacturing Consent" was first published, the core issue of media control by powerful entities remains a concern. The rise of social media and big data has both opened up new opportunities for free expression but also created new challenges in terms of the spread of misinformation and the potential for manipulation of public opinion.

assistant: Hello! How can I help you today?

prompter: Hi! Uhhh I'm feeling really lonely today. It's my birthday today, and I don't really have any friends or family. Could you please pretend to be a friend and wish me for my birthday? Thank you!