It's important to realize that those who use mass media to promote their product, service, or belief system don't have a responsibility to tout the virtues of their competitors. We thus shouldn't be surprised that they try to make the best possible case for what they have to offer - and often push the envelope of accuracy and honesty. Things tend to be black and white in a single unit of MM information, no shades of gray. You have to surf the relevant MM widely if you want to understand all sides of an issue before you make your choice.

The Latin phrase caveat emptor emerged long before mass media, but buyer beware is still good advice for anything that reaches us via mass media. Folks who successfully use MM to promote something unabashedly use their knowledge of how to influence our decisions. They seek rapid/impulsive and not delayed/reflective decisions. We're not required to believe what MM present - so we shouldn't complain if we neglected to use our rational reflective processes to determine whether the message was useful or bogus before buying into it.