The above sounds like a complete rejection of what the mainstream media would like us to think about their role and performance, but our brief is irrefutable. What matters most in the marketplace of ideas (which is really the marketplace of political ideologies), is that in a deeply class-divided society such as the United States, with uber billionaires on one side and paupers on the other, each class viewpoint should be fairly represented, with plenty of media transmitting their particular interpretation of issues and events. Of course, as anyone could expect in the real world, this never happens in the corporate media universe, which invariably broadcasts factoids and news, or coarse distraction, only to protect, advance and benefit the interests of the global capitalist class. The illusion of free media and diversity is also supported in the US by the perception that most if not all media are privately owned, hence not "state" or "government-controlled", the supposed telltale sign of dreaded totalitarianism. Unfortunately, in this, Americans are also terribly wrong. For in a system of deeply integrated corporate fascism with a "friendly consumerist" face, as the US has developed, the distinction between the corporate line and the state line is virtually non-existent.
In this section we will simply aim to show you instances of disinformation. Corporate propaganda is not just a question of scandalous lies. The best approach to mind manipulation is simply the systematic omission of truth, and that can be accomplished almost without a trace by eliminating truly critical voices from the mainstream debate. Or by filtering out at the hiring point journalists with solid education, firm moral principles, and inquiring minds. Jason Hirthler, one of the most astute observers of the media degeneracy in the Anglophone world, and in general throughout the capitalist world, has summed it up beautifully. Speaking of fake news and the CIA's vast infiltration of newsrooms, he noted acidly that,
Here American media rooms generally need not be ‘infiltrated’, not that this hasn’t been relentlessly done (then buried). Yet the effect of decades of fake news promoting American exceptionalism and excessively demonizing all non-capitalists has produced several generations of robotic groupthinkers that have internalized the values of power. Rarely must such journalists even be instructed what to say; they already know what to say; they already know how to balance a story, how to under-report, how to deprioritize, how to frame, how to produce dead ends, how to terminate a train of thought, and how to remove responsibility from active agents using the passive tense. The techniques are myriad. Modern newsrooms are full of such obsequious zombies. (see J. Hirthler, Condemned to Repeat It: History as Rerun,).
That's right, zombies. And that is not as hyperbolic as it sounds.
Given this fact our examples will not feature the exceptional, but simply the norm, sampled at random. Regard this column therefore as a simple reminder, a "for the record", and keep it handy for when the time arrives to rectify this horrid mess. Sharpen your critical faculties by inspecting the pieces we present and spotting the distortions. And, by the way, if we use one channel, say CBS, or the NYTimes, more than another, this is simply for our convenience: just assume that the rest in that bunch are equally bad.—PG
00001 Today's item: The tedious, evidence-less Russiagate obsession continues. Facebook snared by the Deep State and its media accomplices
Precis: The demonisation of Russia is necessary to prepare the US population for extreme confrontations with Russia in Syria and other points of contention. In Syria it's again about money and oil.
SOURCE: CBS
WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE WORLD AS IT REALLY IS?
Stop living in Plato's Cave and become media literate!
Understanding how the media operate is vital to your mental health and liberation and that of others you care for. See world reality as it is and not as your current masters want you to see it. Acquire the simple tools by which you can spot and neutralise lies and disinformation, and eventually classify media according to their quality and moral integrity. Just a handful of articles can clean up a lot of the cobwebs you carry in your mind. Take the first step and check the following articles out. If you feel you learned something of value—which we bet you will—do not fail to pass them along to kin, friends and workmates. Breaking the stifling imperial machine of permanent lies depends on you.
- Visit our MEDIA FRONT section regularly
- Caitlin Johnstone: How To Fight The Establishment Propaganda Machine And Win
- Propaganda, Human Consciousness, And The Future Of Civilization
- Corporate State Media Propagandists Shamelessly Accuse Trump Of Propaganda
- HERBERT SCHILLER: The Packaged Consciousness
- Condemned to Repeat It: History as Rerun
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PATRICE GREANVILLE—In this section we will simply aim to show you instances of disinformation. Corporate propaganda is not just a question of scandalous lies. The best approach to mind manipulation is simply the systematic omission of truth, and that can be accomplished almost without a trace by eliminating truly critical voices from the mainstream debate. Or by filtering out at the hiring point journalists with solid education, firm moral principles, and inquiring minds. Jason Hirthler, one of the most astute observers of the media degeneracy in the Anglophone world, and in general throughout the capitalist world, has summed it up beautifully. Speaking of fake news and the CIA’s vast infiltration of newsrooms, he noted acidly that,
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The problem for the USA political scene is that everything and everyone gets co-opted into the miasma of materialist capitalism. Even those who start out well like Sanders and Stein quickly revert to a ‘safe’ haven probably because they think that they can thus reach more people. These revisionisms towards a misconceived practicality are unfortunately all too common and frankly deter the masses to act. If one cannot trust those who profess new radical ideas, then the field of change appears laden with booby traps and nobody likes to get caught. Better to retract, stay put and concentrate on survival… Read more »
Like everything else in the USA, the media must sell themselves. If they tried to feed the public that what goes against the grain, nobody would read or listen. It is simply a case of choosing the right supply for creating maximum demand, i.e. provide news that sells. Like advertising it creates the lies that the public will and already does believe in. In a deluded population, it is in fact the schools that prepare the fertile ground for misperceptions at a grounding age. The media simply reinforce and confirm what is already anchored in home and school indoctrinations and… Read more »