I've seen enough anti-Moore information to know that yes, the guy uses manipulative techniques and stretches the truth to fit his points or tell a good story. Unlike other reviewers here who seem to excuse this, I find this absolutely ridiculous, unnecessary and morally repugnant. Also, I totally see that he's a megalomaniac and a blow-hard who cares more about himself than the populist change he preaches. After all, if you're truly fighting "The Man" (and not just making entertainment for Lefties), you'd better point a gun that is loaded with facts, not blanks.<br /><br />Given all of this, I still like his stories and find the guy amazingly charismatic. Those who critique him seem to ignore that he is a master at making interesting films, deftly mixing humor and emotion in a way that makes it seem easy. If that skill is being used for good or evil, fact or fiction, is another matter.<br /><br />Whether on the side of justice or malice, I think that the makers of "Manufacturing Dissent" don't have an ounce of the ability of Michael Moore. The film plods along, marking off point after point like a laundry list. The editors should be viciously beaten. There's no clear narrative line, just a series of scenes, one after the other. At just over one hour and a half, the film seems long, making the same tired points over and over again.<br /><br />Ultimately, my biggest problem with the film is that it indulges in the same bag of tricks against which it accuses Moore. The documentary is obviously a hack job against the guy, meant to counter his legacy. The footprints of a personal vendetta are all over this film, from the very first minutes. This is fine. In fact, I welcome it. Yet the filmmakers manipulatively use a "neutral" and "unbiased" style, as if they were simply presenting "facts." Also, they steal Moore's framing device of a failed chance for an interview. This goes nowhere (It's pretty obvious that they wanted to call the film "Michael and Me" but settled on the lame "Manufacturing Dissent." At first I thought this was a documentary about Noam Chomsky). Toward the end of the film, they gleefully admit to "stepping over the line," using a Moore tactic to enter one of his press conferences. They then attempt to build sympathy with the audience, appearing shocked and indignant first when they ambush him (What? We're not the center of Moore's universe?) and again when they get caught and kicked out.<br /><br />All of this falls flat, partly because it is done with strident self-righteousness, not the humor and humanity of Moore's own attempts. But it mostly fails because using Moore's manipulative tactics to show how wrong those tactics are is a rather silly thing to do.