Propaganda

      What is truth?  What are lies?  What is objectivity?  Can objectivity be achieved in reporting?  Who gets to decide what is truth, what are lies, what is objective or subjective?  Who should decide these matters?  These are all questions most of us ponder and that politicians and reporters have to grapple with daily.

 

        Thefreedictionary.com defines propaganda this way:

1. The systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause or of information reflecting the views and interests of those advocating such a doctrine or cause.

2. Material disseminated by the advocates or opponents of a doctrine or cause: wartime propaganda.

 

      By this definition and similar ones, the news media should not be advocating for or against causes or doctrines when reporting news.  They should save that for their op-ed pages or their talking head shows.  It is interesting and fitting that at a time like this, this definition includes “wartime propaganda” as an example of advocacy. 

 

      Tucker Carlson, Fox News host of Tucker Carlson Tonight, could speak very directly to wartime propaganda.  He has been under fire for a while by the so-called mainstream media for supposedly spewing what they call propaganda.  Most recently, he’s been attacked for mouthing Putin talking points and spreading “disinformation” (the new woke word for anything the left disagrees with) regarding bio labs in Ukraine and supporting Russia and Putin.  He’s reading his own talking points, instead of the State Department’s approved ones.  You can read some of these easily discredited attacks here, here and here, and many other places.  It seems overall, the major news media in the U.S. is advocating for one side in its reporting. That’s fine but that’s not objective (and it’s not new).  Besides, Tucker’s reporting, particularly in this instance, as opposed to theirs, has proven to be true. 

 

      The conventional wisdom now is that all things Russian are evil.  All things Putin are evil.  U.S. record inflation is all Putin’s fault.  “Putinflation” has replaced “Bidenflation”, per our betters in the press.  Never mind that inflation began to skyrocket in February 2021 (what happened just the previous month?).  The approved narrative is that Russia’s attack on Ukraine was completely unprovoked, therefore, you’re not allowed to look past eight weeks ago when NATO has been encroaching on Russia’s borders for years and exchanging happy talk with Ukraine about joining NATO.  Ask yourself, if we had a normal president that cared about the security of our borders (I’m daydreaming again), how would he react to China signing a mutual defense pact with Canada, Mexico, Cuba or Jamaica?  What did Kennedy do when the Soviets tried to arm Cuba?

 

      Because I like to enjoy my free time, I try to minimize my exposure to the formerly mainstream media as much as possible, although I’m forced to review it for this weekly column.  The sacrifices I make.  The so-called mainstream media is so mundane and unthinking.  It’s toxic yet bland in its uniformity and dullness.  From what I’ve been reading and hearing, I get the distinct impression that Ukraine’s President Zelensky is both a hero and an angel, and Russia’s President Putin is the devil incarnate.  They may both well be, but it seems those perspectives parallel those put out by the White House nearly verbatim.  Contrast that to the way the previous administration’s positions, on virtually any topic, were covered by the press, much less topics of war and peace.  You cannot help but notice that something is drastically different from the Trump years.

 

      From Pew Research (no rightwing rag):

“Most national and local journalists, as well as a plurality of Americans (41%), describe themselves as political moderates. But news people ­ especially national journalists ­ are more liberal, and far less conservative, than the general public.”

 

      Only 7% of national journalists describe themselves as conservative compared to about 33% of the American population which does so.  Of course, this couldn’t have anything to do with the spin we’re getting from the press, could it? 

 

      Before you decide to simply believe, uncritically, what the White House states (and the WH press corps parrots) regarding the war in Ukraine just remember these are the same Pentagon experts and Foggy Bottom pinstriped suits who told us just a few short months ago that the government and armed forces of Kabul were strong, and that Afghanistan would not fall to the Taliban when US troops withdrew.  Maybe Zelensky can ask the “Tollybon” for spare U.S. military equipment to defend their country?  These are the same folks who continue to falsely tell us, for nearly 6 years now, that Donald J. Trump colluded with Russia and Vladimir Putin to steal the 2016 presidential election.  One might consider these tall tales to fall into the category of propaganda perhaps.

 

      The incessant repetition of the collusion lie reminds me of Hitler, who is credited with saying, “Tell a lie loud enough and long enough and people will believe it.”  American media seem to have taken that to heart.  Without proof and without question, the media has uttered this collusion lie for years.  Which does that sound like – objectivity, or “the systematic propagation of a doctrine or cause”?  They have repeatedly attacked Trump for collusion despite ample evidence debunking this conspiracy/political hoax paid for by the DNC and Shrillary Clinton.  Hitler also said, “It is not Truth that Matters, but Victory.”  Our anti-fascist media have made this “greatest” of fascists proud.  Their lies played a big part in defeating Donald J. Trump.  Apparently, victory indeed mattered over the truth.

 

      Think back critically to the many major stories of the past decade.  How were they covered?  What sources did you use to verify, confirm, or deny the coverage you received?  The “hands up, don’t shoot” Michael Brown narrative was false.  Why was Trayvon Martin, who looked like Obama’s son would have, treated and pictured as a young innocent boy, while George Zimmerman was portrayed as a white Hispanic racist?  How was Jussie Smollett treated by the press vs. Kyle Rittenhouse?   Why was the lifelong criminal, Saint George Floyd, treated as a hero?  Why were dozens of riots, causing more than 30 deaths and over $2 billion in destruction, called “mostly peaceful”, while one protest (where only one person was killed – a protester) lasting only a few hours was condemned as a violent insurrection which nearly destroyed our “democracy”?  Why has there been virtually no reporting by the “mainstream” media on the ongoing, unprecedented invasion of our southern border?  Why is it that the Ukraine border is more important than our own?  Why has the media moved on from the continuingly increasing crimewave and the Democrat policies which inspire and strengthen it?  Why did the NYT only now just discover that the Hunter Biden laptop story was for real?  Wow, you can’t get anything past those gumshoe detectives at the Gray Lady. 

 

      Don’t fall for the conventional wisdom.  Think for yourself.  If everyone is parroting the same line, ask why?  Don’t react, think.  Propaganda plays on emotion.  Propagandists don’t want you to dig deeper.  Truth is the enemy of propaganda.  Propaganda isn’t always overt.  Omission can and often is used in place of commission to deceive you.  Be wary of everything you see and read (yeah, even my columns).  Be an educated consumer of news.  An informed public is anathema to those trying to steer us in dangerous directions.  Don’t play into their hands.      

 

EagleHasLanded

 

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