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When the rich have significant influence over the media and politics, they are able to sway public opinion to focus on others rather than them
by j7ake 9y ago
When the rich have significant influence over the media and politics, they are able to sway public opinion to focus on others rather than them
- tonyedgecombe 9y agoYes, much better to have poor people fighting each other than coming after them.
- mirimir 9y agoBasically, yes. So most of us have been conned. Or bought off with small change. Also, "scroungers" serve as object lessons, so they must be painted with fear and loathing.
- pjc50 9y agoIndeed. As I'm arguing downthread, a lot of this is driven by sensationalist media and TV reporting that tries to use the most extreme cases to smear everyone else. Very few people who aren't on benefits have an accurate idea of how the system works and how obstinate it is.
- toasterlovin 9y agoWasn't the lesson of Trump's election that the rich and powerful don't have significant influence over the media that people actually consume (social media) anymore?
- lightbyte 9y agoIs Trump not rich and powerful?
- toasterlovin 9y agoYes, Trump is rich (and powerful, now that he's president), but he doesn't control the media in the sense that the person I was responding to was referring to. I think they had someone like Jeff Bezos, who owns The Washington Post, in mind.
- lightbyte 9y agoHe might not control the media in the traditional sense, but we have to give him credit for how he manipulated it into giving him endless free coverage and exposure. He turned the lack of media control INTO the powerful position.