One thing I am always astounded by in the way media spins things is how places outside of western Europe and the US are admonished for paying people to post propaganda on social media. About the liberal witch hunt for Russian bots and the ever elusive Chinese internet brigade.
I bring this up because it has a two faceted thing that is quite remarkable. First off, I am from an eastern culture, I’ve lived in eastern diasporic communities for most of my life. I don’t shy away from this. I am perfectly candid about how there is a lot of prejudices and ignorance about Eastern peoples and societies, and I like to confront it.
And what I like about the paid propaganda thing is that, first off, it’s kind of true. In the west these things are called public relations, think tanks, research committees, university trustees, etc. It exists here too, people make long and profitable careers out of peddling propaganda. Society runs on propaganda. What separates the rich and powerful from the noose and the guillotine is propaganda.
And what’s interesting is how “anti-propaganda propaganda” is such a wonderful invention of neoliberal totalitarianism. Now there is an entire trend of people who shut down and silence dissent by accusing dissenting voices of being paid propagandists.
And I can’t help but notice two paradoxes there. First off, if you live in a society that has propaganda, political campaigns, canvassing, election and parties, and no one is paid for it, then that speaks volumes to how brainwashed the population is. You’re doing labour for millionaires, why would you not want to be paid?
When you volunteer for political work, and you spend your afternoons getting doors slammed in your face whilst wearing some stupid T-shirt they gave you, then congratulations, you’re indoctrinated. That’s pure indoctrination. No rational or sensible person could ever justify doing such things for free.
Secondly, when you silence every dissident voice in the world for lacking objectivity, and objectivity just so happens to be whatever it is that reaffirms your own social and cultural biases, then you’re once again indoctrinated.
Step one to leaving this is to not say “I oppose propaganda.” It’s all propaganda. It’s to start looking for sources that are honest about the propaganda. New York Times, Reuters, Associated Press, Washington Post, most prestige publications that represent “independent” media not only have government funding, but even direct ties to government workers in the military and covert intelligence.
https://thegrayzone.com/2020/09/23/syria-leaks-uk-contractors-opposition-media/
ARK FZC is based in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. It brands itself as a humanitarian NGO, claiming it “was created in order to assist the most vulnerable,” by establishing a “social enterprise, empowering local communities through the provision of agile and sustainable interventions to create greater stability, opportunity and hope for the future.”
In reality ARK is an intelligence cutout that functions as an arm of Western interventionism.
In a leaked document it filed with the British government, ARK said its “focus since 2012 has been delivering highly effective, politically-and conflict-sensitive Syria programming for the governments of the United Kingdom, United States, Denmark, Canada, Japan and the European Union.”
ARK emphasized that it had “well-established contacts” with some of the top media outlets in the world, naming Reuters, the New York Times, CNN, the BBC, The Guardian, the Financial Times, The Times, Al Jazeera, Sky News Arabic, Orient TV, and Al Arabiya.
Now this is just the tip of the iceberg. Since I was raised by a cold war spy, this was always normal to me. I was taught about how propaganda works since my age was in single digits, but most people believe that there’s some kind of distinction between state media and independent media.
I hate to tell you, but all those scary state media publications are your best friends. They are the most transparent among the bunch. Truly independent media gets discredited, maligned and censored at every turn.
(Just watch the replies now that I cited a Grayzone article in spite of how it is littered in primary sources from the government itself.)
I read all manner of news, but it’s all paid propagandists. It’s all state affiliated media. And I got a lot more respect for the publications who openly disclaim this bias than those who hide it behind shell corporations, NGOs, lobbyists and think tanks.
And I sure as hell have more respect for paid propagandists who maintain their self respect rather than those who would give their labor to rich politicians for free.
