Media Manipulation

Modern-day Yellow Journalism

A journalist’s credibility and reputation are built on their commitment to truth and accuracy. Ethical journalism requires writers to follow specific standards and principles, ensuring their work is accurate, fair, and transparent. This dedication builds public trust, helps avoid sensationalism, and minimizes harm to anyone in the news. When the public is not presented with a complete and accurate picture of events—such as when crucial details are omitted—they struggle to make informed decisions. 

America’s news media have undergone dramatic changes in recent years. Small-town newspapers are rapidly disappearing, television news broadcasts lean too heavily toward “entertainment news,” and social media provide unhealthy echo chambers for extremist views (both left and right). How our news sourcing deviates in the future—as artificial intelligence continues to evolve and improve—is anybody’s guess. 

All this news evolution, unfortunately, has facilitated “media manipulation.” It’s not a new phenomenon. “Yellow Journalism” was an earlier, directly related style of unprofessional reporting. It emerged in 1898 when newspapers, seeking to sell more copies and significantly influence public opinion, printed highly inaccurate and sensationalized stories based on unsubstantiated claims. That year, the political agendas of print media tycoons Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst filled the front pages of their popular newspapers. Exaggerated pieces about Spanish atrocities in Cuba, and headlines like “Remember the Maine! To Hell with Spain!” helped propel the United States into the Spanish-American War. And in that conflict, though short-lived, 4,000 American soldiers, sailors, and Marines were either wounded, killed, or carried off by disease. Spain lost about 15,800.

In the early 20th century—thanks, in part, to the excesses of Yellow Journalism—a movement emerged designed to improve and professionalize journalism. In 1923, the first national code of journalistic ethics was adopted by the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Sadly, the newspaper coverage of my son Kyle’s suspicious 2007 death, subsequent police investigation, and my attempts at obtaining justice harken back to journalism’s dark ages.

Case in point is a February 18, 2009, St. Petersburg Times article by Jonathan Abel headlined “Police Report Found No Scientology Role in Suicide.” It was based on the Clearwater (Florida) Police Department investigation conducted by Detective Steven Bohling. Journalist Abel, unfortunately, wrongly assumed that a police officer who had taken an oath to uphold the law would never break it. But Bohling had filled his report with half-truths and outright lies.

Earlier in 2009, attorney Ken Dandar filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Scientology’s Flag Service Organization (the Church’s spiritual headquarters), and three Scientologists: Thomas Brennan (Kyle’s father), Denise Miscavige Gentile (twin sister of the Church’s worldwide leader), and her husband, Gerald. The lawsuit stated, in part, that Kyle’s vital psychiatric medication, Lexapro—which Scientology abhors and wars against—had been taken from him by his Scientologist father and locked in the trunk of his car.

Abel reported for the St. Petersburg Times that Bohling had interviewed Kyle’s psychiatrist, who stated, “He was not aware of any ‘major side effects’ from suddenly withdrawing from the medication.” One of the ethical codes of journalism—under the title “Seek Truth and Report It”—states the importance of verifying information from all sources. To his credit, journalist Abel wrote that Lexapro’s “website states that quickly coming off the drug can increase the risk of suicidal thoughts.” This entire aspect of the story, however, was hidden behind one of Detective Bohling’s massive lies: He had never spoken with Kyle’s psychiatrist, which the doctor unequivocally confirmed under oath.

Did journalist Abel, or his editors at the St. Petersburg Times, consider verifying this important information? Had they thought about contacting Kyle’s family or his lawyer for comment? No, they did not!

Additionally, the St. Petersburg Times made another huge mistake: it neglected to note that Detective Bohling had worked off-duty for the Church of Scientology. That conflict of interest should have kept him from investigating my son’s Scientology-related death.

The appearance of a disparaging newspaper piece can alter perceptions and, unless rebutted, can obscure the truth, ultimately leading to a skewed understanding of events. This type of partisan reporting—downplaying one side while highlighting another—can be tremendously influential. The impact can be catastrophic. There are no words to describe the gut-wrenching pain that results from the publication of a distorted and unrecognizable portrayal of your deceased child. For me, it added insult to injury: it came during the darkest time of my life.

Reacting to this so-called “news” piece, Luke Lirot, an attorney familiar with the case, did not mince words: “Let’s begin with the media,” he wrote, “and how misinformation from a St. Petersburg Times article was instrumental in reducing the civil case of twenty-year-old Kyle Brennan into a complex web of deception, lies, and contradictions.” When Kyle’s attorney, Ken Dandar, pointed out the errors in the story, the newspaper failed to print a correction. It remained as is. When I expressed my concern and dissatisfaction, Dandar reassured me by saying, “Don’t worry; the truth will come out when we go to trial.” Unjustly, the case never went to trial—Kyle never had his day in court!

This newspaper story significantly altered the public’s perception and marginalized my son to the benefit of the Church of Scientology. It cast a far-reaching shadow over my son’s legacy. And that dark shadow rendered my handsome, talented son disposable, undeserving of dignity or justice.

What of the detective? Bohling has never been held accountable for his misconduct, perjury, or criminality. (It’s no surprise that Florida has one of the highest rates of public corruption convictions in the United States. It is a place where unaccountability flourishes, and justice for victims languishes in a bleak landscape of hopelessness.) 

How was this possible? Follow the money. (Isn’t it always about the money?) The Church of Scientology, as we all know, has deep pockets. It can afford top-notch legal teams. This allows them to navigate the legal system more effectively and mitigate consequences, thereby evading accountability. In my son Kyle’s case, the Church spent over a million dollars in legal fees to suppress the wrongful death lawsuit. Kyle’s legal team had a grossly disproportionate sum to work with—$5,000 gifted by an anonymous donor.

If modern-day newspapers can lapse into media manipulation, how much more prevalent is it with online publications? In 2010, the website “Courthouse News”—which claims to “cover news both national and international that moves society and its many elements in one direction or another”—posted an article titled “Mom Blames Scientologist Chaplain for Boy’s Death.” Unhappy with the poorly written piece, I wrote the journalist responsible, pointing out the bias and inaccuracies (which included, I should add, several misspelled names). He wrote back, saying that attorneys representing the Church of Scientology had hired him to write it. (So much for fair and balanced reporting.) Shortly after this exchange, I found myself blocked by the writer. His name was subsequently removed from the article. It’s now attributed to the “Courthouse News Staff,” which, of course, grants the original writer anonymity.

All these years later, this horrible excuse for journalism still ranks at the top of search results on Google for “Kyle Brennan and Scientology.” Google claims to “prioritize high-quality, informative, and relevant content, which includes in-depth articles and accurate information” (emphasis added). However, as in the case of this Courthouse News piece, Google has overlooked the influence of bias and partisanship. It’s neglected to acknowledge that some of its high-ranking search results are media manipulation masquerading as journalism—articles purchased by a corrupt institution masquerading as a religion.

What remains for my son Kyle is a lack of accountability, a legacy of misinformation, and marginalization. Kyle’s story conveys a sobering message about our flawed judicial system and how money and corrupt influence dictate which stories are prioritized or dismissed. We live in a time when victims are abandoned, deprived of their dignity and humanity, their suffering families left without answers, without justice.

These injustices are often compounded by media manipulation, the modern-day version of Yellow Journalism. The results can be disastrous: truth obliterated, reputations ruined, and court cases thrown out. As Mark Twain noted in 1873: “There are laws to protect the freedom of the press’s speech, but none that are worth anything to protect the people from the press.”

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Copyright©2026 Victoria L. Britton.

“Let’s begin with the media,” and how misinformation from a St. Petersburg Times article was instrumental in reducing the civil case of twenty-year-old Kyle Brennan into a complex web of deception, lies, and contradictions.”- Attorney Luke Lirot.

Stanford University-Journalistic Ethics

https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/2010-11/Journalism/index16e4.html?page_id=24

Tampa Bay Times correspondence from 2024 with my request to unpublish an article, which includes a statement by attorney Luke Lirot, who was not contacted by the paper.

Absolute Power and Media Manipulation

https://thetruthforkylebrennan.com/absolute-power-corruption-in-the-clearwater-