Framing

Before you evaluate the information, someone chose the frame you'd see it through.

A tax cut can be described as "relief for hardworking families" or "a giveaway to the wealthy." Same policy. Completely different reactions — and your reaction was shaped before you read a single number. That's framing. It's not about what's said. It's about the language, metaphor, and context chosen to present it.

George Lakoff showed that frames activate entire mental structures. Say "tax relief" and you've already implied taxes are a burden, a disease, something you need relief from. The debate is over before it begins because the frame did the arguing for you. Whoever sets the frame wins, regardless of the facts.

This is not some rare trick used by master manipulators. It's constant. Every headline is framed. Every interview question is framed. Every time someone says "the real issue is..." they are reframing. You can't communicate without a frame — the question is whether you notice the one being used on you.

Next time you read a headline, try rewriting it from a different angle. Same facts, different frame. If the story suddenly feels different, you've found the invisible architecture. The facts didn't change. The frame did.

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References

• George Lakoff — Don't Think of an Elephant! (2004)
• Edward S. Herman & Noam Chomsky — Manufacturing Consent (1988)