Immaculately written! I haven’t read Noam Chomsky and now I can’t wait to dive into his writings and learn more. Your essay was very eye-opening and illustrative.
Thank you! This is essential for people to understand how expertly our emotions are being played as we are so relentlessly lied to, and our intelligence so continually insulted.
Do the propagandists ever remember Aesop's story about the boy who cried wolf?
The strange thing is that we have centuries of wisdom that should serve to armour us from such tactics - if we payed heed to it.
Two observations from the 19th century come to mind.
"You can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." - Abraham Lincoln
"It's a lot easier to fool a man than to get him to admit that he has been fooled." - Mark Twain
This is an information age- information is weaponized, and we are all in the crosshairs. Once we get taken in, it's painful to admit it to ourselves and to others. Our dilemma is akin to what is taught in 12-step programs. Half the battle is admitting that there is a problem - that we have all had our perceptions played with by actors who refer to our minds as part of 'their' "cognative infrastructure." The hubris is staggering. And it's going to get worse.
This was a brilliant post about how the media is used as an agent of social control and subjugation, very well-written Zahra! Dr. Chomsky makes some incredibly valid points, such as the use of propaganda to play into people's primal fears, limiting public opinion on issues to a narrow range of "acceptable" discourse, etc. I find Dr. Chomsky's quote, "Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state.” especially profound, as it is used as a tool of ideological subjugation and assimilation in liberal democracy that supposedly promotes "free speech" and "intellectual debate and discourse" (though in reality, this is not the case and public discourse is extremely limited to a select range of views and opinions that are deemed acceptable), much like physical violence/intimidation and overwhelming force are in fascist, authoritarian regimes.
I especially find your point about the dehumanization of who the media labels as the "other" salient, because we are seeing it in the current genocide and have seen it in many past wars. Those the media determines to be "them", the "other", and the "enemy" are talked about in harsh, impersonal and inhuman terms, as if they are abhorrently evil without a shadow of a doubt, and that their existence is tantamount to the suffering and eradication of those the media labels as "good" or "correct". Not to mention, they are framed in such a way as to deny their humanity, and double down on this rhetoric in terms of the language/words used when talking about them etc. The appeal to fear is also another method of ideological suppression, to make the public believe the words of those in power without question. As Dr. Chomsky says, the media used as a mouthpiece for the interests and beliefs of the elite, rather than as a means for the public at large to make sense of current events and goings-on in an objective fashion. The illusory truth effect is also extremely relevant, because through decades, some have come to accept what the media says without question as being absolutely true, even though there is significant evidence to the contrary. The encouraging thing to me is at least nowadays, it seems some are questioning this narrative, doing their own research, observing and taking note of the evidence around them, and forming their own opinions about various topics the media convinced them was not the case.
Thank you for this essay ...it is essential for all of us to become so much more critical of the information that is fed to us ...and to see the Propaganda in it. It is frightening how media info is accepted without questioning and without giving any thought to who the information slant benefits.
The minute individuals or groups are demonised...I start wondering whose agenda this serves. There are too many examples in recent history that show how propaganda has influenced the masses to accept and participate in horrendous deeds...why are we not learning the lessons ! With all the information available, we can no longer say "we did not know".
Keep talking to people with opposing views, so you can learn why people think differently to you and hopefully find some common ground. At the end of it all ...we all want to live peaceful and prosperous lives with our families. Move out of your echo chamber ...look for alternatives ...be open to other ideas, don't shut them down...live and let live.
It absolutely fits the template and the template never changes because it works so well. I have hope the more I hear from individuals like you and others who have come to recognise the insult Western media offers them when it repeats ancient narratives. The critical thinkers are increasing in number.
Immaculately written! I haven’t read Noam Chomsky and now I can’t wait to dive into his writings and learn more. Your essay was very eye-opening and illustrative.
Thank you so much!
Hello, keep writing, keep being strong.
Thank you, will do!
Excellent 👌
Excellent Article! At the point and understandable for everyone who (still) is able to read. Thank you!
Thank you for this, also I’m not sure if you have yet but I would also highly recommend Michael Parenti’s inventing reality on this subject
I haven’t but I’ll add it to the list! Thank you
Ofcourse anytime
Thank you! This is essential for people to understand how expertly our emotions are being played as we are so relentlessly lied to, and our intelligence so continually insulted.
Do the propagandists ever remember Aesop's story about the boy who cried wolf?
The strange thing is that we have centuries of wisdom that should serve to armour us from such tactics - if we payed heed to it.
Two observations from the 19th century come to mind.
"You can fool all of the people some of the time, and you can fool some of the people all of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." - Abraham Lincoln
"It's a lot easier to fool a man than to get him to admit that he has been fooled." - Mark Twain
This is an information age- information is weaponized, and we are all in the crosshairs. Once we get taken in, it's painful to admit it to ourselves and to others. Our dilemma is akin to what is taught in 12-step programs. Half the battle is admitting that there is a problem - that we have all had our perceptions played with by actors who refer to our minds as part of 'their' "cognative infrastructure." The hubris is staggering. And it's going to get worse.
This was a brilliant post about how the media is used as an agent of social control and subjugation, very well-written Zahra! Dr. Chomsky makes some incredibly valid points, such as the use of propaganda to play into people's primal fears, limiting public opinion on issues to a narrow range of "acceptable" discourse, etc. I find Dr. Chomsky's quote, "Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state.” especially profound, as it is used as a tool of ideological subjugation and assimilation in liberal democracy that supposedly promotes "free speech" and "intellectual debate and discourse" (though in reality, this is not the case and public discourse is extremely limited to a select range of views and opinions that are deemed acceptable), much like physical violence/intimidation and overwhelming force are in fascist, authoritarian regimes.
I especially find your point about the dehumanization of who the media labels as the "other" salient, because we are seeing it in the current genocide and have seen it in many past wars. Those the media determines to be "them", the "other", and the "enemy" are talked about in harsh, impersonal and inhuman terms, as if they are abhorrently evil without a shadow of a doubt, and that their existence is tantamount to the suffering and eradication of those the media labels as "good" or "correct". Not to mention, they are framed in such a way as to deny their humanity, and double down on this rhetoric in terms of the language/words used when talking about them etc. The appeal to fear is also another method of ideological suppression, to make the public believe the words of those in power without question. As Dr. Chomsky says, the media used as a mouthpiece for the interests and beliefs of the elite, rather than as a means for the public at large to make sense of current events and goings-on in an objective fashion. The illusory truth effect is also extremely relevant, because through decades, some have come to accept what the media says without question as being absolutely true, even though there is significant evidence to the contrary. The encouraging thing to me is at least nowadays, it seems some are questioning this narrative, doing their own research, observing and taking note of the evidence around them, and forming their own opinions about various topics the media convinced them was not the case.
Thank you for this essay ...it is essential for all of us to become so much more critical of the information that is fed to us ...and to see the Propaganda in it. It is frightening how media info is accepted without questioning and without giving any thought to who the information slant benefits.
The minute individuals or groups are demonised...I start wondering whose agenda this serves. There are too many examples in recent history that show how propaganda has influenced the masses to accept and participate in horrendous deeds...why are we not learning the lessons ! With all the information available, we can no longer say "we did not know".
Keep talking to people with opposing views, so you can learn why people think differently to you and hopefully find some common ground. At the end of it all ...we all want to live peaceful and prosperous lives with our families. Move out of your echo chamber ...look for alternatives ...be open to other ideas, don't shut them down...live and let live.
It absolutely fits the template and the template never changes because it works so well. I have hope the more I hear from individuals like you and others who have come to recognise the insult Western media offers them when it repeats ancient narratives. The critical thinkers are increasing in number.