You can't force empathy, either you have it, or you don't.You can teach it and model it, raising a child to be kind, for instance, by asking them how they would feel if someone did that to them, etc. I think the word sympathy is better, wanting to gain sympathy for a cause, a condition, etc. Of course I have sympathy for all the people suffering hunger and homelessness, I have sympathy for an addict who cannot get well, I honestly do feel sorry for them. Empathy is being able to relate, sympathy means you may not relate, but you feel bad, like, "oh that's a shame." Empathy requires something intuitive, like realizing someone is tired without them telling you they are, and then having the emotional intelligence to not add to their burden, or simply lending a hand and offering help. Watching a woman in labor and knowing how that feels. Doing to others as you would have them do to you is the beginning of empathy. Have you ever met someone who has none? It's chilling. As far as manipulating a narrative to get a certain response of sympathy from someone, that is done a lot, to get people to donate, say, for hurricane relief, shelter animals, etc.. the downside of that is pity, because pity changes the power dynamic, which makes people in bad situations wallow in it, instead of giving them strength to endure and have victory over their condition. If I lost my home in a storm, I don't need your pity, I need encouragement to live to fight another day. Some people have a natural generosity of spirit, some do not. I don't think you can force that.