The Impacts of Media on Public Opinion, Case Study: The Islamic Republic of Iran

The present article, on the one hand, looks into the nature of the impacts of media on public opinion and, on the other, it aims to examine how some nations utilize this impact in order to exercise power, with its persuasive sense, andfulfill their objectives within the framework of soft war. The variety of contents offered by media and influenced by the culture of the respective nation function as the soft power of that nation and shapes and directs the public opinion ofthe target nation taking advantage of media tools. Soft war is related to public opinion since it influences public opinion by making use of modern tools and technologies in creating desirable images from undesirable phenomena. The current global conditions have involved world nations in a rivalry which requires them not only to have soft power and some representations of hard power, but also to be accepted by the global public opinion and persuade others to respect their causes.