I watched this again about 2 months ago, and I swear every morning I wake up and think more and more this is a possibility to what we're seeing. If you haven't yet seen it, I highly recommend it. Its an old movie, but the plot shows just how easy it is for media to take us for a ride.

Plot: The President of the United States is caught making advances on an underage "Firefly Girl" less than two weeks before Election Day. Conrad Brean (De Niro), a top-notch spin doctor, is brought in to take the public's attention away from the scandal. He decides to construct a diversionary war with Albania, hoping the media will concentrate on this instead. Brean contacts Hollywood producer Stanley Motss (Hoffman) to create the war, complete with a theme song and fake film footage of a photogenic orphan (Kirsten Dunst) in Albania.

[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]