A Matter of Media.
There seems to still be a debate going on among scientists and psychologists as to whether or not our thoughts are constrained by language. It does seem safe to say, though, that our ability to express ourselves and the complexity of our thoughts relies heavily on our command of language.
However, many thoughts manifest themselves in the mind not only in the form of language, but also as images and emotions. Sometimes the act of searching for the words required to express a thought or a feeling is enough to frighten away the thoughts themselves — similar to the oft-misunderstood behavior of subatomic particles and the “Observer Effect”; the physical act of measuring the behavior of subatomic particles is enough to change their behavior altogether.
Regardless, it is clear that our thoughts and our language, emotion, and mental images are inseparable. This unbreakable link leaves us very susceptible to having our thoughts and opinions manipulated by the images and words we encounter in media.
The attempt to persuade or manipulate thoughts or opinions through the use of specialized messages, images, or other media is known as propaganda. Propaganda is designed to elicit a particular response, emotion, thought, or belief and is another one of our obstacles to finding the truth.
For centuries, humanity has dabbled in media manipulation and propaganda in order to shape, form, or otherwise change public opinion. Ancient Egyptians used propaganda (heiroglyphics, stories of battle, statues, etc.) to literally rewrite historical battles in order to present themselves in a more favorable light. The Assyrians wrote epic poems and made pictures, carvings, and war stories of many fictitious events for the same reasons as the Egyptians. Even the Roman Catholic Church had a propaganda “arm” (Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide) that was used to further the agenda of the Catholic church and to expand their circle of influence in the new world. However, the full potential of the power of propaganda wasn’t realized until World War II. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, took control of all German media and was able to aid Hitler’s rise to power, further the Nazi agenda, and convince the German people that Adolf Hitler was destined and pre-determined by God to rule the world. Goebbels did all of this through complete control of radio, press, cinema, and theater.
Today, we are seeing similar things taking place in countries like North Korea. However, it is a pipe dream to think that this kind of media manipulation doesn’t also take place in the “land of the free” and the “home of the brave”.
Another way to manipulate thoughts is to manipulate language. For decades, our own government has utilized Orwellian doublespeak to be the architect of thoughts and public opinion. When it comes to military and government operations, there is no shortage of doublespeak: “active defense”, “incontinent ordinance”, “collateral damage”, and “incomplete success”.
When these terms are used in a press conference, they sound good — they sound strong. However, these terms are intentionally devoid of emotion and the true meaning remains hidden. What exactly do these things mean?
Active Defense: or, “Preemptive Strike”, refers to an invasion.
Incontinent Ordinance: used to describe bombs that missed their targets and hit schools or hospitals.
Collateral Damage: refers to the killing of innocent civilians.
Incomplete Success: refers to the failure of a military operation.
These terms are purposefully ambiguous and confusing by design. In these instances, language itself is twisted and used to manipulate and mislead. These words and phrases are intentionally devoid of emotion and imagery. It would be hard to sustain support for a war if you come out and tell the public, “Today, we blew up a hospital and killed women and children by mistake.” Instead, “Incontinent Ordinance”, and “Collateral Damage” are used to dehumanize human beings and mask the ugly truth.
If you need more recent examples of how American media is tailored to a particular agenda, look no further than the cover of TIME Magazine. Below are several images of the same monthly issue of TIME Magazine. However, the one on the left was the version of the magazine that was sold in America. The other three versions were sold to the rest of the world.
Are these alternate covers “censored” or “watered down” for our protection, or the protection of something else? Looking at the images above, it quickly becomes clear that we are living in our own little media propaganda bubble that is not totally unlike that of North Korea.
Perhaps more than any other individual in history, we owe the modern invention and implementation of propaganda to the Austrian-American nephew of Sigmund Freud, Edward Bernays. Bernays was a pioneer in the field of propaganda and public relations and actually invented the techniques that made the Holocaust possible. Additionally, Edward Bernays was a participant in the Creel Committee during WWI. Perhaps one of his greatest public relations/marketing campaigns ever began in the late 1920s, when a large tobacco company enlisted his help to gain access to a previously untapped market, all under the slogan, “Torches of Freedom”. If you’re curious, more about this event can be found on the Oxford University Press website, here.
It is also from Edward Bernays himself that we get quotes like:
“There are invisible rulers who control the destinies of millions. It is not generally realized to what extent the words and actions of our most influential public men are dictated by shrewd persons operating behind the scenes.”
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country.”
“The great Allied campaign to celebrate (or sell) Democracy, etc., was a venture so successful, and, it seemed, so noble, that it suddenly legitimized such propagandists, who, once the war had ended, went right to work massaging or exciting various publics on behalf of entities like General Motors, Procter & Gamble, John D. Rockefeller, General Electric.”
“The gifted politician is able, by the instrument of propaganda, to mold and form the will of the people.”
Even though Bernays died more than twenty years ago, his ideas and his legacy are alive and well in modern American media. Public relations firms like Hill & Knowlton have been pulling the strings of public opinion for decades. For example, large public relations firms were instrumental in selling the public on the Gulf War.
Another extremely successful and dubious, yet little-known, PR campaign comes to us in the form of the “Tea Party Movement”. While appearing to be a “grassroots” movement, much like Bernays’ “Torches of Freedom”, the Tea Party Movement is a thinly veiled corporate agenda; one that was made possible in part by the billionaire brothers called Charles and David Koch.
“While tea partiers load their rifles and worry about a supposed “government takeover,” their nascent movement itself has, in fact, been taken over by GOP-affiliated PACs, professional PR operatives, wealthy corporate interests seeking a “grassroots” face and by individuals seeking to profit off of citizens’ honest concern about the country’s political direction. Like a human hand zooming in and animating an otherwise limp hand puppet, these entities have zoomed in and co-opted the tea party movement from the inside out, and have started using it to advance their own agendas. “ — Excerpt from “Will the Real Tea Party Movement Please Stand Up?”
As we can see, it is becoming harder and harder to tell the difference between truth and a cleverly organized and executed marketing campaign designed to manipulate. As critical-thinking members of society, it is of the utmost importance that we understand, and recognize, propaganda when it seeks to undermine, derail, or otherwise influence our quest for truth. Our actions, our ideas — ones that, ideally, we arrive at after intense scrutiny of the alternatives, the facts, and the evidence — should always be informed by objective reality, not suggestion, coercion, persuasion, or manipulation aimed at furthering a political, corporate, or economic agenda.
That being said, how can we learn to identify propaganda? A good start would be applying the tests of evidence we discussed several weeks ago. When reading news, identify the bias. Is it left-leaning, or right-leaning? Our chances of finding the truth improve if we look at current events from a variety of angles and different points of view. Ask yourself who the intended audience is. Is it attacking or ignoring certain points of view? Are there claims being made that can be verified, or are you simply reading/hearing well-articulated opinions (sometimes these opinions aren’t well-articulated at all — just spoken loudly)? If you don’t know, or can’t find all of the facts, it is preferable to defer judgment. Be sure to look for the sources of information and vested interests, and beware of appeals to emotion.
Being a critical thinking consumer of media is not easy, but given the vast array of messages that we see on a daily basis, it is of the utmost importance that we actively engage in the kind of questioning described above. Our thoughts, by nature of how they are formed through language, images and emotions, are very suggestible and susceptible to manipulation. Before you arrive at any conclusion for yourself, be sure that you have done the due diligence required to sort the facts from the bias, the journalism from the marketing, and the truth from the propaganda. Let’s raise the bar for our journalism. Let’s raise the bar for the burden of proof, and let’s stop going to war under false pretenses and let’s stop throwing our support to those who are simply seeking to profit from our credulity.
Below is a list of resources that can be used to help us along in our quest for truth:
