A Critical Discourse Analysis Study of Information Manipulation in Little Bush's Speech on The Iraq War

Abstract

Broadly speaking, manipulation refers to covert behaviors or strategies, whether using language or other means, employed by manipulators in specific communicative situations to fulfill their objectives, desires, and interests without regard for the perceptions, thoughts, and emotions of their counterparts. In doing so, they employ various tactics, particularly deceitful ones, such as cunning, lying, trickery, and deception. Manipulators must possess a cognitive understanding that allows them to advance their own interests by leveraging certain aspects of human cognition, such as reasoning, assessment of probabilities, and emotions. Consequently, manipulators exploit their targets’ vulnerabilities to sway their drive, convictions, sentiments, and responses. Some experts view manipulation as a psychological matter because it can be seen as a form of human behavior or cognition, while others place it within the realm of cognitive as it primarily hinges on the use of cognition within a given context.