Donald trump and change of US election campaign
Brexit and UK media
Do these two cases work for a new direction of media use in 21st century propaganda albeit 20th century propaganda???
Manoj -
The sad state of the media in the United States is very much a part of the fact that when lies are repeated often and loudly - often as a form of projection - many people will tend to believe them. When Donald Trump singles out reporters or the media in general, and accuses them of dishonesty, and yet PolitiFact, http://www.politifact.com/, indicates that dishonesty is actually his problem, many people have become inexplicably angry with the media instead of Donald Trump! The spreading of fake "news" stories has also become epidemic. This too undermines the legitimate press/media. When the honest media is surpressed, this is one of the most harmful conditions with regard to truth and human rights, and presents the danger of the rise of authoritarianism.
The following RG question resulted in some parts of some responses which are somewhat related to this question:
What is authoritarianism? What are its varieties and sources? - ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_is_authoritarianism_What_are_its_varieties_and_sources
Recently, I added the following to that thread:
- quote -
The "authoritarian control of information" is not just a concern regarding the filtering of news in general as it happens, but also in rooting out those with knowledge objectionable to the regime.
I used to work at the US Energy Information (EIA), an independent part of the Department of Energy. Well, it has been rather independent, by law I believe, though I was disturbed that the Reagan era administrator bragged about supporting his policies. He (hopefully) could have been in trouble if that were reported. - Now, the EIA appears to be a target of the Trump transition team, though climate change scientists are the more endangered species. A friend, who also used to work for the EIA (he is much younger than retired old me, but left the Government for a boatload more money) sent me this from the Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/12/09/trump-transition-team-for-energy-department-seeks-names-of-employees-involved-in-climate-meetings/?utm_term=.8e0d6265a291
- end quote -
Yes, the media, in that case, the Washington Post, can still present the outrageous facts, and sourced stories, but they seem immediately shouted down by outrageous "tweets" with little or no regard for the truth, or even a negative relationship to it!
These are depressing days for progressives the world over. The above linked question on authoritarianism has a response warning against overstating the problems of today ... perhaps true ... but I prefer to be certain not to wait until they become worse, to become appropriately concerned. That is why I have written to our Congressman, Senators, and 'signed' electronic petitions.
Perhaps the most depressing development is the loss of civility. In a backlash to efforts to be more "politically correct," which should be considered as simply treating other people the way you would like to be treated (The Golden Rule), and often specifically related to immigration, there has been a rise in both nationalism, and the acceptance of hateful behavior, that should send any four-year-old into a "time out." Outrageously offensive behavior that should not be tolerated and was not tolerated until recently has now been applauded by an astonishingly large number of people.
(Note that in Adam Hochschild's, To End All Wars, he noted the rise of nationalism which ended chances to avert World War I.)
You mentioned "21st century propaganda," and that would appear to be the use of "fact-free" social media stories, and 'tweeted' lies, repeated often unchallenged or inadequately challenged, which are a huge threat to the world's population. A legitimate and respected media is the backbone of democracy. "The pen is mightier than the sword." But when "The Fourth Estate" is under attack, this is a grave concern.
Best wishes - Jim
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