Herman and Chomsky’s idea of Manufacturing Consent was originally about newspapers and TV, but when I think about how I use TikTok or Instagram every day, it feels even more relevant now. I always feel like I’m freely choosing what I watch — but then I realise most of what I “choose” is actually what the algorithm puts in front of me first. In that sense, consent isn’t forced; it’s quietly shaped.
On TikTok, for example, my “For You Page” decides the mood of my day. When I was following the recent global protests, I noticed how my feed kept showing me only one side of the narrative. Not because I searched for it, but because the algorithm assumed I would engage with similar content. After a few days, it felt like everyone online agreed with that perspective — even though I knew logically that the platform was filtering what I saw. This really made me understand what Chomsky meant when he said media narrows the range of opinions we hear.
Another thing I’ve experienced is how repetitive content can be. Once the algorithm decides a certain political or social viewpoint “works”, I get dozens of very similar videos. It feels organic, but actually it’s a form of amplification. Chomsky described how dominant narratives become “common sense” through repetition — and social media does this at a much faster speed. Meanwhile, more nuanced or opposing viewpoints simply don’t appear on my feed at all.
There’s also the commercial side. Instagram tends to push “positive” lifestyle content, while political or critical posts from activists often get buried. As a user, I notice it but can’t see the mechanism behind it — which fits the idea that platforms shape visibility in ways that keep advertisers comfortable.
The scary part is that none of this feels like propaganda. It feels like my taste and my interests. But really, the platform curates the choices for me. That subtle, invisible shaping is exactly why Manufacturing Consent still matters — maybe even more than in the era of traditional media.
references
Herman, E.S. and Chomsky, N. (1988) Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. New York: Pantheon Books.
Cotter, K. (2019) ‘Playing the visibility game: How digital influencers and algorithms interact’. Social Media + Society, 5(4), pp.1–12.
