Media and

Information
Literacy
Quarter 4 – Module 14:
Manipulative Information and
Media
Media and Information Literacy – Grade 12
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 4 – Module 14: Manipulative Information and Media
First Edition, 2019

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Published by the Department of Education

Secretary: Leonor Magtolis Briones
Undersecretary: Diosdado M. San Antonio
Assistant Secretary: Alma Ruby C. Torio

Development Team of the Module

Authors: Rosabelle N. Mahinay

Editor: Krislene C. Dela Cruz
Reviewers: Mary Ann A. Javier, Amalia C. Solis and Julius J.Jardiolin

Management Team: Malcolm S. Garma, Regional Director

Genia V. Santos, CLMD Chief

Dennis M. Mendoza, Regional EPS In-Charge of LRMS

Micah S. Pacheco, Regional ADM Coordinator

Aida H. Rondilla, CID Chief
Lucky S. Carpio, Division EPS In-Charge of LRMS and
ADM Coordinator

Printed in the Philippines

Department of Education – Bureau of Learning Resources (DepEd-BLR)

Office Address: DepEd Complex, Meralco Ave., Pasig City, Metro Manila

Telefax: (+632)8636-1663 | 8633-1942 | 8635-9817 | 8638-7530 | 8638-7531

8638-7529 |
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E-mail Address: action@deped.gov.ph
12

Media and
Information
Literacy
Quarter 4 – Module 14:
Manipulative Information and
Media

This instructional material was collaboratively developed and reviewed by

educators from public and private schools, colleges, and or/universities. We
encourage teachers and other education stakeholders to email their feedback,
comments, and recommendations to the Department of Education at
action@deped.gov.ph.

We value your feedback and recommendations.

2
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
This module was collaboratively designed, developed, and reviewed by
educators to guide you, the teacher or facilitator, in helping the learners meet the
standards set by the Department of Education. This module primarily aims to help
the learners understand the lessons in Media and Information Literacy based on the
Most Essential Learning Competencies and see their relevance to real-life through a
fun-filled learning experience. This module hopes to engage the learners in guided
and independent self-learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore,
this also aims to help learners acquire the necessary 21st-century skills while
considering their needs and circumstances.
As a facilitator, you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this
module. You also need to keep track of the learners’ progress while allowing them to
manage their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to encourage and assist
the learners as they do the tasks included in the module.

For the learner:

Welcome to the Media and Information Literacy Grade 12 Alternative Delivery
Mode (ADM) Module. This module was designed to provide you with fun and
meaningful opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and
time. You will be enabled to process the contents of the module while being an active
learner.
Specifically, this module aims to help you describe the different dimensions of
manipulative information and media; comprehend how it is formally and informally
produced, organized, and disseminated; evaluate its reliability and validity and
its/their sources using selection criteria; and produce and evaluate a creative
manipulative-based presentation using design principle and elements.
This module contains the following parts: a. What I Need to Know
(Introduction and Learning Objectives), b. What I Know (Pretest), c. What’s In
(Review), d. What’s New (Introductory activity), e. What Is It (Content Discussion), f.
What’s More (Enrichment Activities), g. What I Have Learned (Generalization), h.
What I Can Do (Application), i. Assessment (Posttest), Additional Activities, Answer
Key, and References.
To enjoy learning about the lesson, you must set aside all other tasks that will
disturb you while answering the module. Use the module with care. Do not put
unnecessary mark/s on any part of the module. Follow carefully all the contents and
instructions indicated on every page of this module. Take note of the significant
concepts you find in the lesson, which you may use for future references. Keep in
mind to USE SEPARATE SHEETS OF PAPER in doing all the provided activities to
meet all the lesson’s objectives. If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks
in this module, do not hesitate to consult your facilitator. After accomplishing all the
activities, let your facilitator/guardian assess your answers. The success in
accomplishing this module depends on your will and grit.
Keep going and enjoy learning!

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 What I Need to Know
This module aims to help learners like you get well-acquainted with key
concepts of media and information and use this knowledge to communicate using
the technology in your hands. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many
different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary
level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the
course. But the order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with
the textbook you are using now.

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. describe the different dimensions of manipulative information and media

(MIL11/12MPIM-IVgh-19),
2. comprehend how manipulative information and media are formally and
informally produced, organized, and disseminated (MIL11/12MPIM-IVgh-20), 3.
evaluate the reliability and validity of manipulative information and media and
their sources using selection criteria (MIL11/12MPIM-IVgh-21), and 4. produce
and evaluate a creative manipulative-based presentation using design principle
and elements (MIL11/12MPIM-IVgh-22).

What I Know

Choose the letter of the best answer. Write the chosen letter on a separate sheet of
paper.
1. Which of the following is the type of manipulation used by certain firms to
control information in favor of a client who wants to create a good image or to
promote their products/services?
a. audio manipulation
b. media manipulation
c. motion manipulation
d. multimedia manipulation

2. Which of the following firms generate the sales of goods and services of a
company and directly contributes to the company’s profitability? a.
production firm
b. advertising firm
c. administration firm
d. public relations firm

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3. Which of the following firms aim to change the public’s action by influencing
their opinions in favor of their client?
a. production firm
b. advertising firm
c. administration firm
d. public relations firm
4. Information publicized through _________ is being withheld for the safety and
protection of the public.
a. hoaxing
b. gatekeeping
c. propaganda
d. fearmongering
5. Exaggerating news about a viral infection is an example of _________________
which creates fear to the public.
a. hoax
b. gatekeeping
c. propaganda
d. fearmongering
6. Which of the following is the type of manipulation where releasing
information intends to deceive the public?
a. hoax
b. gatekeeping
c. propaganda
d. fearmongering
7. Which of the following is the type of manipulation that targets the consumers’
belief, emotion, and/or reasoning towards a certain product or services?
a. crowd manipulation
b. consumer confusion
c. celebrity endorsements
d. psychological manipulation
8. Exposing hidden wealth is the usual type of _______________ used during a
campaign season to inflict damage to the image of a politician running for
office.
a. hoax
b. gatekeeping
c. propaganda
d. fearmongering
9. To which of the following types of manipulation does the “Buy One, Take
One” promotion belong?
a. crowd manipulation
b. consumer confusion
c. celebrity endorsements
d. psychological manipulation

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 10.Creating false survey results or testimonies to convince the consumers the
benefits of a certain product is a kind of ________________.
a. hoax
b. gatekeeping
c. crowd manipulation
d. psychological manipulation

Lesson
Manipulative Information and Media
1
Have you ever read fake news? Or have you ever bought a product because
your idol celebrity endorses it? Maybe, you have also experienced going to a shop and
buying an item in a ‘Buy One, Take One’ promo? Companies use different strategies
to attract consumers like us, leading us to eventually buy the products they produce.
In this lesson, you will learn about the different types of manipulative information
and media which can help you identify its reliability and validity based on its sources.

What’s In
In the previous lesson, you have learned about motion media and information.
To recall what you have learned, here is a simple matching activity. Match Column
A with Column B to associate what, “Column A”, creators and/or users of motion
media and information decided to use according to “Column B”

Column A Column B
______1. animation A. format
______2. video codes B. source
______3. education, entertainment, advertising C. purpose
______4. private or public, directed, or generated D. audience
______5. personal, social media, media companies E. consumption

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 What’s New

Cryptogram
It is a type of puzzle that consists of a short piece of encrypted text. Each letter is
replaced by a number as represented in the box below. Solve the following encrypted
texts to reveal the concepts relevant to this lesson.

Processing:

• What are the terms that you have decoded above?

___________________________________________________________________________
• What do you know about the decoded terms?
___________________________________________________________________________

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 What is It
Manipulative Information and Media

In the previous activity, you decoded the important terms that you will encounter
in this lesson. Here, you will be able to have a depth of understanding of
manipulative information and media. This refers to the materials, programs,
applications, and the like that we can use to formulate new information.

Dimensions of Manipulative Information and Media

A. Definition, Characteristics and Sources

Manipulate means to handle, manage, or influence something or someone
skillfully. Although to manipulate may be used to create order, it can also be done
unfairly which will only favor one side. Meanwhile, information is quite a broad term.
Information can cover data, knowledge derived from different studies, experiences,
or instructions and even signals or symbols.

Information sources can come from virtually anywhere. These are in the form
of books, journals, magazines, and even through personal experiences expressed in
blogs, videos, webpages, and many more. So, imagine just how information can be
easily accessed by someone anytime and anywhere. We all know that one of the most
influential users and moderators of information is the media.

The media world often uses information to

describe knowledge of specific events or
situations that has been collected or perceived
through communication, intelligence, or news.
Therefore, manipulative information is the type of
information that can be handled, managed, or
influenced by something or someone skillfully for
the advantage or disadvantage of something or
someone.

Nowadays, the term ‘media’ comes in

many forms. Media is defined as the
https://pixabay.com/illustrations/icon-social-networking-presentation 908163/ used for communication or mass
combination of physical objects communication
through physical objects (such as radio, television, computers, or film). It can also be
the means of communication or a group of people working together in the field of
radio and television broadcasting, newspapers, magazines, and/or the Internet, that
reaches or influences people widely. Media, as it is supposed to be, are sources of
credible information wherein contents are provided through an editorial process
determined by journalistic values attributed to an organization or a legal person.

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 We know that the people’s perception of reality can be shaped based on what they
read, hear, or watch through the various media platforms and technologies. That is
why some firms use media manipulation to satisfy their clients.

Media manipulation is the strategy used by advertising or marketing firms to

manipulate information in favor of a client who wants to promote their product or
service. Through media manipulation, a firm can create an image or argument which
will favor their client using propaganda techniques and suppression of information
which can widely influence the people.

Various research agreed that TV advertisements have a positive influence on the

consumer’s buying behavior. So, some firms use manipulative information to
convince the consumers to buy the product of their client. Some of these firms are:
1. Marketing firm or Ad Agency. They generate sales of goods and services and
directly contribute to the company's profitability. They usually offer services
like creating, planning, and handling different forms of advertisements to
promote their clients and their clients’ products and services.
2. Public Relations (PR) firm. They coordinate relationships through the media
with various publicities in order to gain public acceptance and approval of
the client's activities, including its sales activities. They intend to change the
public’s action by influencing their opinions.

B. FORMAT AND TYPES

Manipulative information and media can be formally and informally produced,
organized, and disseminated through different types and formats. To better
understand how advertising and public relations firms manipulate information, we
must understand the perspective of a viewer and/or a consumer.

Recall the times you have watched a TV commercial and became persuaded to
buy a certain product, and/or the times you believed in fake news found on the
internet. Those are examples of media manipulation. The following are the different
kinds of media manipulation:

1. Consumer confusion
Description: Consumer confusion is the state of mind of the consumers during
purchasing products that leads them to having lack of confidence towards
their purchasing decision. This can even lead to incorrect purchasing
decisions. This is a result of having too many of the same products in the
market. Some sellers become creative with their packaging so it stands out.
Meanwhile, some try to attract the consumers with different kinds of
promotions which confuses the customers.

Example: In a grocery store, there are various

promotions for each kind of product between
the two different brands. Usually, consumers
are confused as to which one they should
❖ Two brands of detergent:
‘Buy One, Take One’ or ‘Buy One, Get
One Free’
❖ Two brands of shampoo:
‘Buy 10 plus 1’ or ‘Buy 10 plus free
mug’ promo
https://www.flickr.com/photos/loopzilla/8176
075111

9
2. Crowd manipulation
Description: Crowd manipulation is the intentional use of principles and
techniques of crowd psychology. This is used by advertising firms to engage, control,
and/or influence the desires of the consumers to make them believe that there is a
great demand for the product being advertised.

Example strategies used by advertising firms for crowd manipulation:

❖ Hired random people would attest to the efficacy of the product.
❖ False survey results or testimonies to convince the consumers the benefits
of the product.

3. Propaganda
Description: It is the information or idea that an advertising firm can release
using different forms of media which can help the image of their client and adversely
affect the image of its opponent.

Example:
❖ Showing the charity work done by the client while exposing the opponent’s
slush funds.

4. Gatekeeping
Description: Gatekeeping is the type of manipulation where information is
being filtered for dissemination (whether for publication, broadcasting, the Internet,
or some other mode of communication). The public is informed with only a portion of
the truth for different kinds of purposes.

Example:
❖ During a gas leak accident in a condominium, only few casualties are
mentioned to protect the owner of the condominium.
❖ During a terrorist attack, the strategy of the soldiers to rescue the hostages
are not disclosed to the public for security and protection purposes.

5. Celebrity endorsements
Description: This is the use of celebrities as endorsers of a certain product or
services who will attest to its effectiveness and good quality.

Example:
❖ Kris Aquino, “The Queen of all Media”, was named top celebrity endorser by
YES! Magazine because of her credibility and gift of gab. She endorses a lot of
products and services which includes brands of bakeshop, textiles, juices, canned
goods, shampoo, telecom, feminine wash and many more.

6. Hoax
Description: This is use of manipulative information which intends to deceive
or defraud the public.

Example:
❖ In 2015, Peter Onneken and Diana Löbl, a pair of documentary filmmakers
from Germany, and John Bohannon, a biologist and science journalist based at
Harvard, tricked millions of people into believing chocolate could help them lose
weight.
(source: https://www.cjr.org/analysis/the_history_behind_the_chocolate_hoax.php)

3
7. Psychological manipulation
Description: This is used by advertising agencies which aim to influence and
affect the public’s belief, emotions, motives and/or reasoning towards a certain
product, service, or situation.

Example:
❖ An advertising agency highlights the slimming components of a juice
product thus creating a higher demand for that product with slimming components
and the premise that being slim is better.

8. Fear mongering or scaremongering

Description: It is the dissemination of frightening and exaggerated rumors of
an imminent danger or the tactic of purposely and needlessly aiming to instill fear to
the public.

Example:
❖ If the news exaggerated that the power of Abu Sayyaf penetrated Luzon and
risks planting bombs in malls, there would be a decline of people going to malls and
even other public places.

C. Advantages and Limitations

Advantages of Manipulative Information
❖ It can boost the image of a person, product, or services.
❖ It can filter the information that would be disseminated to the public.
❖ It can provide a sense of control and order when it comes to the kind and
amount of information to be publicized.

Limitations of Manipulative Information

❖ It can be biased and/or subjective to protect the image of a person, product,
or services.
❖ It can mislead the facts and conceal sensitive issues.
❖ It can hide the truth that the public has the rights to know.

D. Value of Manipulative Information and Media

To manipulate is an action that immediately connotes something negative, but
what have you acquired during the lessons? Should we classify all manipulative
information as negative and/or harmful? Can people still benefit from manipulative
information?
At this moment, you should be able to use some selection criteria to evaluate
the reliability and validity of manipulative information and media and its sources.
You can identify whether a manipulative data is good or bad based on:

1. Motive or purpose.
Description: It is important to identify the cause or the purpose why a
particular group employed it.
Example:
o A general infomercial was released to inform the public regarding disaster-
preparedness in case a disaster like flood or earthquake happens. (Good
motive or purpose)
o A TV commercial was released to create a good image to a political candidate
and to convince the public to vote for them even if they do not have the
integrity and good intentions to run for position. (Bad motive or purpose)

4
 2. Degree of influence or impact.
Description: It is the extent on how the manipulation of information can
produce effects on the actions, behavior and/or opinions of the public. Some
advertising and public relations firms engage in manipulation to increase the
degree of influence or impact to the public.
Example:
o If the general infomercial released for disaster preparedness is
misinterpreted, the public might panic which will produce a negative
impact despite the good motive or purpose.
o Some commercials, like those involving cigarettes and liquor, can
influence people to consume things that could be potentially dangerous
to their health. It can also influence young people to try it too.

What’s More
Activity 1.1
Evaluate the following scenarios that involve media manipulation. Identify the
media manipulation being used and briefly explain why.

1. An insurance company manipulates their data to boost their sales and to

prevent the company from closing down.

2. A controversial personality is trying to run for a position in a government

office. Therefore, he hired the services of an advertising company to improve
his image to the public.

3. The product to patronize should be based on the popularity of the celebrity

who endorses it.

4. The man refused to buy the product that the salesman is trying to offer
which the salesman claimed to be the best offer.

5. The lady in the grocery store immediately buys the item with the promo, “Buy
One, Take One”.

Your answers will be graded using the following rubric.

Score Description

2 points Includes little essential information and one or two facts

3 points Includes some essential information with a few citations and facts

4 points Includes essential information and facts to give viewers an

understanding of the topic

5 points Covers the message completely and in depth with a variety of resources

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Activity 1.2
Create a manipulative-based presentation using design principle and element.
Vote for Me!
Goal Produce and evaluate a creative manipulative-based
presentation using design principle and elements.

Role You are running for a position in any school organization

like the Student Government or the Science Club. (Note: It
can be president, vice president or any other position)

Audience Students from your school

Situation Your family and friends persuaded you to run for that
position because they believe you are passionate,
competent, and qualified.

Performance Create a 2-minute introductory speech and presentation

that would convince the other students to vote for you,
without doing any form of media manipulation against your
possible opponents.

Standards Your introductory speech and presentation will be assessed

based on criteria and rubrics.

Criteria 4 3 2 1

Organization Presents Presents Presents No sequence of

information informati information information.
in a very on in a in
logical and logical disorderly
interesting and manner.
sequence. interesting
sequence.

Manner No Not more Has three Has 4 or more

misspellings than two misspelling spelling errors
and / or misspellin s and / or and / or
grammatical gs and / grammatica grammatical
errors. or l errors. errors.
grammatic
al errors.

Use of Utilizes the Utilizes the Utilizes Doesn’t use any

design design design some design principles
elements principles principles design and elements.
and and elements and principles
principles all elements. and elements.
throughout.

Content Does not use Indirectly Used one Used a lot of

any form of used a form of media
media form of media manipulation.
manipulation. media manipulation
manipulation .
.

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 What I Have Learned
Answer the questions briefly based on your objective insight and critical
thinking. 1. How would you evaluate the reliability and validity of manipulative
information and media? Give one example and explain.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
2. As a student like you, how can manipulative information and media affect
you?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Your written output will be graded based on the following rubrics:
Criteria Highest Possible Points

Content (presence of ideas) 10 pts.

Organization (order) 4 pts.

Style (choice of words) 4 pts.

Conventions (grammar, spelling) 2 pts.

Total 20

What I Can Do
You will now take the role of an advertiser. Using any type of media
(text, visual, audio and/or motion), advertise a candidate using the
introductory speech from the previous activity. Be sure to combine all the design
elements and principles in doing your advertisement.
Criteria 4 3 2 1

Completion Submitted on Submitted but Submitted but Submitted but 4

time. one to two days three days or more days
delayed. delayed. delayed.

Creativity Original and Original and a Original but Not original nor
imaginative. little imaginative. not imaginative.
Imaginative but imaginative.
a little original.
Imaginative
but not
original.

Meaning The presentation The presentation The presentation The presentation

is cohesive and has deep lacks meaning lacks meaning,
comprehensive meaning but with no no supporting
with supporting little supporting supporting details and with
details. details. details. unfinished parts

Use of Utilizes the Utilizes the Utilizes some Doesn’t use any
design design principles design principles design principles design principles
elements and elements all and elements. and elements. and elements.
and throughout.
principles

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 Assessment
Modified TRUE or FALSE: Read each statement carefully and write TRUE if the
statement is correct. But if it is false, change the underlined word or group of words
to make the whole statement true.

________________1. An advertising firm generates sales of goods and services and

directly contributes to the company's profitability.

________________2. “Buy One, Take Two” promo is just one of the promotions in the
market, classified as psychological manipulation, which leads
the consumers to lack of confidence in their purchasing
decisions towards choosing the cheaper or better products.

________________3. The information being publicized through hoaxing is being

withheld for the safety and protection of the public.

________________4. Consumer confusion is the type of manipulative information

which intends to defraud the public.

________________5. Exaggerating news about a viral infection is an example of crowd

manipulation which creates fear to the public.
________________6. Some companies hire people to attest the efficacy of their
products. This is an example of gatekeeping.
________________7. Exposing the hidden wealth is the usual type of propaganda
during campaign season in order to inflict the image of a
running politician.
________________8. A flash message from the NDRRMC about the coming super
typhoon has a good motive or purpose to its recipients.
________________9. One of the limitations of manipulative information is that it can
provide a sense of control and order to the amount of
information that will be publicized.

________________10. Several students in a school received a text messaging about a

bomb planted in the school premises. This bomb threat is an
example of scaremongering.

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 Additional Activities
Choose one commercial or advertisement that you think uses media manipulation.
Attach a picture or a screen capture of your selected commercial or advertisement on
the box below. Identify the type of media manipulation and briefly explain why.
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________
________________________________________

Your written output will be graded based on the following rubrics:

Criteria Needs Meets Exceed
Improvement Expectations
10 Expectations 15 20

Depth of Analysis Demonstrate a Demonstrate a Learners

minimal level of sufficient level of provided new
reflection and reflection and and creative
internalization internalization of insights resulting
of the given the given material. from a profound
material. reflection and
internalization of
the given material

Organization The thoughts The thoughts The thoughts

of Thought were expressed were expressed were expressed
in an in a in a
incoherent coherent manner. coherent manner.
manner. Writing is very
clear and
organized.

Grammar and No more than No more than two No spelling and

Spelling five spelling spelling and grammar errors.
and grammar errors.
grammar errors.

9
References
Bernays, Edward L., and Mark Crispin Miller. 2004. Propaganda. Brooklyn, NY: Ig
Publishing.

2002. The Century of the Self. Directed by Adam Curtis.

2019. Dictionary.com. November. https://www.dictionary.com/.

Turney, Michael L. November. Public relations and marketing were initially distinct.
2019. https://www.nku.edu/~turney/prclass/readings/mkting.html.

Wilson, Carolyn, Alton Grizzle, Ramon Tuazon, Kwame Akyempong, and Chi-Kim
Cheung. 2011. "UNESDOC Digital Library." UNESCO. Accessed November
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000192971, 2019.

10
For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Department of Education – (Bureau of Learning Resources)

DepEd Complex, Meralco Ave., Pasig City, Metro Manila
Telefax: (+63 2) 8636 1663 | 8633 1942 | 8635-9817 | 8638-7530 | 8638-
7531 | 8638-7529 | (+63 919) 456 0027 | (+63 995) 921 8461
Email Address: action@deped.gov.ph