Some thoughts on Propaganda.

[shortylickens]

It’s a pivotal part of the story on Donald Trump’s camera-lit path to the White House. The media, of course, rarely if ever uttered the taboo term on air, even as demonstrators shouted it at cameras during women’s marches and scrawled it across protest signs they brandished outside the White House.
But here we are, two years in, tiptoeing around The Word That Cannot Be Said. Let’s just call it what it is: Propaganda.
The state-sponsored spread of deliberate misinformation is not a “half-truth,” “distortion of reality” or “the president’s loose relationship with the facts,” as many a mainstream news correspondent and pundit have said. It’s also not “a bold truth” or simply “The Truth” as many voices on the right have asserted.
The doctored “karate-chop” video of CNN’s Jim Acosta allegedly manhandling a White House intern at a press conference, posted by press secretary Sarah Sanders last week, was not a matter of differing perspectives, dueling truths or conflicting political beliefs. Nor were the White House transcripts of public meetings where Trump’s flubs were mysteriously omitted, altered presidential approval ratings posted by Don Jr. before the midterms or the cropped photo that Sean Spicer insisted was proof of the biggest inaugural crowd ever. “Period!”
They were all cases of purposefully manufactured narratives, disseminated from the highest levels of government, sometimes with the help of adversary nations, to sway public opinion, quash dissenting voices and consolidate power.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-propaganda-fake-news-tv-culture-20181116-story.html


My thoughts:
Americans are assaulted with a constant stream of information from the moment they wake up until the second they crawl back in to bed, and many of them continue to abuse their eyes with information in the bed as well.
This is not my opinion. There are many books, articles, and documentaries about the phenomenon of information overload in the 21st century.

I think the biggest issue is that because we are overloaded with data some of us become less critical and shrewd about what we absorb. If we like it or it supports our already established world-view, we are more likely to blindly accept such data and never question it.
Never has this been more apparent than with the MAGA hat-wearing, loud, obnoxious, violent, hostile, threatening, modern-day Republican voter and some of the politicians.

 

[Greenman]

Turn the tv off, don't look at facebook or twitter. That solves 95% of the problem. Live under a rock for a while, it's nice.

 

[Moonbeam]

Five minutes ago I finished the last episode of Season 1 of Philip K Dick's Electric Dreams.

How does the mind determine what is propaganda when propaganda denies it is? Is it the delusional left that sees Trump as a propaganda machine correctly or is it the left that is delusional itself. Is there a real truth and how can anybody tell. Isn't all truth whatever you want to believe. Is there any such thing as real evidence.

 

[Moonbeam]

Turn the tv off, don't look at facebook or twitter. That solves 95% of the problem. Live under a rock for a while, it's nice.

It does not solve anything. It just prevents constant stimulation of what is already there in the psyche, gnawing aching amorphous anxiety, unconscious fear. What is it we really fear? What else explains everything if not that what we fear is what we really feel, the horrible lie we take to be true that we are the worst in the world. What we fear is memory, feeling what we felt when we were murdered psychically as children and broke, gave up, capitulated to the illusion we can only be loved for correct behavior no matter how sick and dysfunctional that behavior really is. We fear we are abnormal and do not conform.

 

[compuwiz1]

Lies can become truth.

Yes, there are propaganda trolls out there who thrive on viral spreading of crap. The link I posted is a good example of how it's done.

 

[Moonbeam]

Lies can become truth.

Yes, there are propaganda trolls out there who thrive on viral spreading of crap. The link I posted is a good example of how it's done.

See, that's the problem. The propaganda I have been exposed to tells me that what you just described was an example of what you thought you saw and believe because you have been propagandized to fall for such belief. What you called "propaganda trolls out there who thrive on viral spreading of crap" were not trolls spreading crap but the trolling of trolls who spread viral crap. That is a completely different thing which you can't allow yourself to see because it would shake your propagandized belief system and expose you to uncertainty and self doubt if you could take it in. You are afraid to see reality for what it is or maybe I'm just projecting. i can be wrong, can you?

 

[UglyCasanova]

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-propaganda-fake-news-tv-culture-20181116-story.html


My thoughts:
Americans are assaulted with a constant stream of information from the moment they wake up until the second they crawl back in to bed, and many of them continue to abuse their eyes with information in the bed as well.
This is not my opinion. There are many books, articles, and documentaries about the phenomenon of information overload in the 21st century.

I think the biggest issue is that because we are overloaded with data some of us become less critical and shrewd about what we absorb. If we like it or it supports our already established world-view, we are more likely to blindly accept such data and never question it.
Never has this been more apparent than with the MAGA hat-wearing, loud, obnoxious, violent, hostile, threatening, modern-day Republican voter and some of the politicians.

I don’t disagree with you. There won’t be any constructive responses in here other than seeing who can deflect first by saying "both sides!!!" but the nation as a whole has drank different flavors of kool aid. Propaganda is a powerful, powerful tool (ask Joseph) and it’s silent and many times not so silent ways to shape your thoughts. You’re right the MAGA kool aid appears to be the most potent.

 

[dank69]

Lies can become truth.

Yes, there are propaganda trolls out there who thrive on viral spreading of crap. The link I posted is a good example of how it's done.

He's actually trying to teach people not to be so gullible but conservatives are dedicated fools.

 

[WelshBloke]

Turn the tv off, don't look at facebook or twitter. That solves 95% of the problem. Live under a rock for a while, it's nice.

That doesn't actually solve the problems at all, it's akin to shredding your credit card bills before opening them so they don't worry you.

 

[pmv]

I honestly don't believe it's this way round.

Yes there are some blatant lies and manipulation out there, above all from the Trump camp. But that's not fundamental, that isn't the cause of the political climate, it's an effect of it. Such propaganda exists because there's a demand for it, people have already-existing agendas and desires that they are happy to have shored-up with lies, but they would still have those desires even if the lies were not provided, they would make up their own.

I mean, does Spyder get his nonsense about passive-smoking from some propaganda factory? Is he a helpless victim of some NRA-BS? I think it's entirely home-made stuff (that he's doubtless very pleased with, because it convinces _him_ even if nobody else)...likewise I've known climate-change denial cranks who don't understand the topic well-enough to even embrace the main flawed arguments put forward by the better-educated denialists, but who instead make up their own even-more-nonsensical crank theories to justify what they already want to believe.

Something else is driving it, a deep sociological/economic trend - the propaganda is largely just surface noise, albeit, maybe, with a bit of a positive-feedback effect, feeding the desire for more of the stuff.

 

[cytg111]

To tell apart science from snake oil.

Science: Mankind is having an effect on the climate.
Snake oil : Many people are saying...

When you dont have the marbles to tell what is what, its game over for you. You are now a puppet. Puppet of Murdoch. Good job.

 

[Jhhnn]

I suggest everybody watch this. It's worth the time-

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/12/...s-elections.html?login=email&auth=login-email

 

[Greenman]

It does not solve anything. It just prevents constant stimulation of what is already there in the psyche, gnawing aching amorphous anxiety, unconscious fear. What is it we really fear? What else explains everything if not that what we fear is what we really feel, the horrible lie we take to be true that we are the worst in the world. What we fear is memory, feeling what we felt when we were murdered psychically as children and broke, gave up, capitulated to the illusion we can only be loved for correct behavior no matter how sick and dysfunctional that behavior really is. We fear we are abnormal and do not conform.

I think they have a pill for that now.

 

[darkswordsman17]

To tell apart science from snake oil.

Science: Mankind is having an effect on the climate.
Snake oil : Many people are saying...

When you dont have the marbles to tell what is what, its game over for you. You are now a puppet. Puppet of Murdoch. Good job.

Sorry that's actually a terrible description of the situation. Its more like this:

Science: mankind seems to have an affect on climate, here's the data, method, and analysis (hands over a massive tome of comprehensive study by professionals that took decades of hard work to amass)
Snake oil: I believe in make believe bullshit, also conspiracies, no I don't have any actual evidence, believe me because I say so!

 

[Jaskalas]

Is it the delusional left that sees Trump as a propaganda machine

Trump has nothing to do with the "propaganda machine". He is just the first person filthy enough to relish in it. The internet was brewing it before him, and it will continue brewing it long after him. It is our struggle to agree on reality that may be the defining moment of our time. It is a momentous issue, to get people to discern the truth.

 

[Jaskalas]

Turn the tv off, don't look at facebook or twitter. That solves 95% of the problem. Live under a rock for a while, it's nice.

It does not solve anything. It just prevents constant stimulation of what is already there in the psyche, gnawing aching amorphous anxiety, unconscious fear.

I happen to disagree there.

Turning off the noise does help people absorb the truth. Granted, they need exposure to it in the first place, and that might very well not even happen, and even if it did - they might very well be biased against listening to it. Yet, the 24/7 flood of propaganda or "feel good" BS coming in over the "information stream" is large enough to blot out the sun, to smother all reason and purposefully fling us all into madness.

I dare say, do not underestimate the constant reinforcing of the Ego as it works in overdrive to keep people detached from reality.

 

[BurnItDwn]

People are too easily fooled.

 

[Jaskalas]

For the first time, researchers say Facebook can cause depression

“It was striking,” says Melissa Hunt, psychology professor at University of Pennsylvania, who led the study. “What we found over the course of three weeks was that rates of depression and loneliness went down significantly for people who limited their (social media) use.” ​

And of course it makes sense.

When someone challenges your political views, your brain treats them as a threat

A study from the University of Southern California shows that when our political beliefs are challenged, brain areas that are involved in shaping our personality and emotional response to threat light up. The brain enters an ’emergency mode’ and we feel threatened — attacked on a very personal, emotional level. The brain then promptly shuts down and refuses any evidence that goes against what we hold to be true. ​

The brain does not discern between confrontational information and physical threats / dangers. People under constant stress do not thrive, they shut down and go at least partially insane over time. Social media is a huge stress as the brain tells people they are under constant mortal danger. And now there is definitive proof that limiting time spent on it improves health.

We humans invented something we were not mentally ready to cope with.

 

[shortylickens]

People are too easily fooled.

they need to exercise their brains.
but schools dont seem to be pushing problem-solving and critical thinking like they used to.
and lord knows parents arent pushing it at home. The last time I brought it up in a conversation with my neighbor he looked at me like I was crazy.

 

[pmv]

We humans invented something we were not mentally ready to cope with.

But I think that applies to most of our creations. Certainly to the traditional mass-media. And to cities, and modern rapid transport... We evolved to cope with living in small groups of hunter-gatherers or very small settled communities (and there appears to be a respectable theory that says our brains got as big as they are so as to, above all, cope with social interaction with even that number of other human beings).

I just don't see social media as something radically new or different - insofar as our instincts have trouble coping with it it's no different from the rest of our modern lives. We're already through that particular looking-glass. While I think there's truth in what you say, I think that's part of a different, bigger, argument than explaining very specific political developments.

(Also, I am deeply skeptical about what 'psychologists' say about almost anything - it's not a science and psychologists/psychiatirsts have a very long history of coming up with terrible theories not really supported by the evidence and studies that prove not to be reproducable. See also Jordan Peterson's lobsters, or the career of William Sargent)