Link
Don’t know who the author is. Do know he makes some very valid points. Propaganda is constant. It’s done to us daily. For all sorts of reasons. Covid and war, Ukraine being the latest perception management hammer, are just two extreme versions of propaganda use applied liberally and harshly.
Since the start of the COVID event, authorities around the world have sought to implement quite extraordinary policies including the so-called “locking down” of entire populations, compulsory masking and coercion through, for example, the mandating of multiple ‘vaccine’ injections. Many of these policies fly in the face of long-established and well-evidenced public health approaches to dealing with respiratory viruses whilst the scientific cogency of these measures – including lockdowns, community masking and “vaccine” injections – is coming under increased scrutiny.
At the same time, the catastrophic consequences, the so-called “collateral damage” (a military euphemism for wartime civilian casualties), of these extreme policies for populations around the world is becoming well-established. Randomised controlled trials of the injections to date have not shown net overall benefit, while accumulating evidence from passive reporting suggests they may be a cause of significant levels of harm. A central part of selling these extreme, and ultimately highly destructive, policies has involved the use of propaganda.
One of the problems with researching and writing about propaganda is that many people believe it to be alien to democratic states. (Doubtful anyone who reads here is that willfully blind or gullible!) However, as Edward Bernays, considered by many to be a key figure in the development of 20th century propaganda techniques, explained and promoted, “the conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society”. At least to an extent, this belief in propaganda rests upon an assumption or belief that people are ultimately selfish, egotistical, power-hungry and hedonistic beings who require guidance and incentive; it therefore follows that propaganda is required by powerful actors in order to provide a degree of structure, order and purpose to a given society. In contrast, if one assumes that humans are ultimately good and well-inclined towards each other and to the natural world, and that they are capable of great things if conditions permit, propaganda emerging from self-interested and powerful actors equates to a parasite within the human mind that seeks to lead humans away from their better instincts [1]. To this one might add the propensity of those with power to define themselves as the arbiters of truth and morality
_______
Whatever one’s position on the justifiability of propaganda, and although we usually call these techniques by different names today, employing euphemisms such as “public relations” or “strategic communication”, it is a fact that techniques of manipulation are part and parcel of contemporary liberal democracies.
Promoting the Narrative
In the case of the COVID-19 event, propaganda has been deployed across democracies on an unprecedented scale. In order to gain compliance with the unorthodox and intrusive measures adopted during the COVID-19 event many forms of “non-consensual persuasion” have been employed, ranging from manipulated messaging designed to increase “fear levels” through to coercion
Creating deafening silences
One aspect of the COVID-19 event propaganda has been the aggressive promotion of official narratives; but just as important has been the suppression and censorship of those questioning authorities. Indeed, there is a case to be made that the most important part of any propaganda campaign is the drive to ensure that certain voices, claims and arguments either never see the light of day or otherwise remain contained within “fringe” or “alternative” circles.
An Institutionalised Culture of Censorship and Suppression of “wrong think”
These developments, along with others to be documented in due course via work at PANDA, would appear to have had major consequences in terms of suppression of debate. A preliminary examination of events over the last 2.5 years indicates this suppression has operated in at least three different ways: direct censorship through removal of content and deplatforming, sponsoring of hostile coverage designed to smear and intimidate anyone raising critical questions regarding the COVID-19 narrative, and coercive approaches involving threats to livelihood and employment.
Having been subjected to the culture of censorship and suppression…
–Google censored my blog- I was de-platformed
-My husband’s work situation was threatened.
–We were excluded from society including, but not limited to, being able to participate in the care of elderly parents
Of course you are encouraged to read the linked piece and share some thoughts.