6 ms·
"It's not propaganda when we do it!" - Every Politician, Ever Kidding aside, I'm not a fan of astro-turf avenues of engagement. There's no point 'discussing' w
by 6stringmerc 11y ago
"It's not propaganda when we do it!" - Every Politician, Ever
Kidding aside, I'm not a fan of astro-turf avenues of engagement. There's no point 'discussing' with a shill. Much like there's no reasoning with a hungry, rabid dog when you're holding a delcious cut of steak. Though the analogy may be flawed, it is worth considering how intensely votes are courted, generally speaking.
- oh_sigh 11y agoPropaganda is, by definition, anything which promotes or publicizes a political cause or POV. Are you really against that? Or are you just afraid of the word "propaganda"?
- Sharlin 11y agoWords, in the real world, have denotations and connotations. One would do well to not forget that.
- oh_sigh 11y agoRight... So how is an employee of a politician informing the public of what the politicians actual stance is 'propaganda' of the denotative and connotative form?
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- drdeca 11y agoPaid comments which try to hide the fact that they are paid comments are deceptive (and probably unethical), and if they are for a political purpose, they are also propoganda? This seems like a fairly reasonable criterion(?) to me. I don't know whether the comments in question hide the fact that they are paid comments. If they don't, and are up front about it, I suppose that isn't inherently very deceptive, and probably not really propoganda in any strong sense.
- 6stringmerc 11y agoIt's a loaded term to insinuate that the cause or POV is using less-than-transparent mechanisms to garner a desired reaction. I've got no problem with political discourse, or even espousing controversial ideological proposals. That's all natural and healthy. What I dislike is using tactics to frame one side of a narrative as impervious to criticism, which in this case, seems to be the desired outcome from the entity providing $$$.
- oh_sigh 11y agoHow would it be impervious to criticism? It seems like these people are going around looking for statements that are incorrect about her and correcting them.
- WalterSear 11y agoThese people are going around looking for statements that are "incorrect" about her and "correcting" them. And, despite the obvious shadiness, they are coordinating the process in ways that would be illegal in other media, simply because the laws haven't kept up with society.
- 6stringmerc 11y agoThey are being paid to "correct" them by the person who has a vested interest in how the "corrections" portray the facts, linguistically. Let's toss out a hypothetical example: Fact: Hillary Clinton is being investigated regarding her use of a private email server. Fact via "Correction": Republicans have instigated an investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server for political gain. See what I'm alluding to? If not, then okay, but I don't think I can get much more granular.
- tamana 11y agoCan you give a non-hypothetical example?
- WalterSear 11y ago
- lostlogin 11y agoNo, it's not that simple. Propaganda has a definition which usually includes something about false info or spin. From Marian-Webster "propaganda : ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and that are spread in order to help a cause, a political leader, a government, etc." Oxford "Information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view"
- kafkaesq 11y agoPropaganda is, by definition, anything which promotes or publicizes a political cause or POV. No, it isn't "anything" which promotes a cause or a POV. It's the presence of manipulation (and as applies to astroturfing campaigns, such as the "Correct the Record" antics appear to be) false pretense that make it propaganda.