US mainstream media (similarly to a lot of other countries TBF) over the past few decades has gone from multiple ownership to six companies that control circa ninety percent of the output- Business Insider- Six Companies , and the proposed merger between telecommunications provider AT&T and Time Warner will only see communications and media consolidation go even further down the line.

The obvious problem with this is that choice and opposing points of view to the status quo become harder to get across to the average citizen who has little deep interest in politics, as these multinational corporations are tied in with established business, political and social circles and schools of thought. It is also a more underhanded way IMO than the old Soviet era where the state broadcast or printed it's propaganda, whilst here in the West it is seen as free because it is privately owned when in fact most of the media is very much tied to the establishment.

This means it is very easy to spread distrust, fear, panic and prejudice which is useful as a tool of control by keeping people afraid of the man/woman on their level instead of seeing what is happening above them. It goes back to people like Niccolo Machiavelli (the founder of modern political science) and his text "The Prince" from the 1500's on how to control the masses for the benefit of the establishment. Ultimately unless people become aware and start to delve into matters themselves the media will spoon feed such lies mixed with confusion by running parallel stories for example "The Danger of Islam" followed by "Plight of Muslim Refugees" which IMO is also designed to confuse, cause division and stir up prejudices or tensions.

My own way of handling such stories has for a long time been to look closely at who is producing the story, what their angle is and what they may gain from broadcasting or publishing such a story. It is hard sometimes to be objective but I find that once you get into such ways of thinking it becomes easier to pick apart facts from attempts at deception and pot stirring, and I hope that if as it seems more people follow similar lines of thinking then the mainstream stranglehold on public thought will continue to diminish