The Toll of Government-Sponsored Media Deception

How the absence of truth corrodes mental health

Photo by Peter Lawrence on Unsplash

Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire (Writer, philosopher, 1694 — 1778, France)

It’s pretty obvious that American governance and media are rife with ethical contradictions and misrepresentations that are driven by political, economic, and cultural forces. In order to advance ideological agendas, historical realities and nuance are ignored while distorted versions of facts claim absolute truth. This wielding of propaganda to manipulate evidence, deflect criticism, and create alternate narratives that align with ideological goals and geopolitical interests, requires a controlled media that will broadcast mythic storylines.

One notable example of this type of coordinated deceit was the narrative surrounding the Iraq War (2003) and the claim that Iraq possessed Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) and had links to terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda.

Although the 9/11 Commission and later investigations found no credible evidence of WMDs or operational cooperation between Saddam Hussein’s government and Al-Qaeda, (in fact…