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I met someone who was from China say that these people in these camps are being “harmonized”. It’s interesting how things can be perceived when the government

I met someone who was from China say that these people in these camps are being “harmonized”. It’s interesting how things can be perceived when the government controls the media.

singularity2001 8y ago
I heard the expression "qu xuexi": The went “studying”.
tjr225 8y ago
It's not so different when private entities control both the government and the media - in the case of conservative money controlling conservative propaganda arms such as Fox News and in turn conservative money also controlling congresspeople via PACs and campaign funding. Sometimes the things my Fox News Junkie Parents In Law say makes me very worried for their mental well being and the well being of our voting public..
- ralusek 8y ago
  There are many similarities between oppressive states and large corporations, but they are not the same. If there is a market for a spectrum of biases in the media, which there clearly is, the spectrum of those biases will manifest in available media, which it has. Your parents have chosen the lense through which to consume information, so have you. This is not a luxury afforded by an oppressive state.
eeeuo 8y ago
From a purely Orwellian standpoint, I think the Russian model of government/media interaction is more effective. There is "freedom of press" in Russia, and there are opposition media groups, but they are toothless. Journalists that publish scoops on high-level Russian government figure are in serious danger. Therefore, the opposition media produces watered down, safer takes. This allows state media to refute the opposition points step by step, so that the next time the argument is made, the viewer feels that it has already been addressed. Contrast this with media blackouts like in North Korea. While NK's propaganda is extremely effective at training their population not to believe foreign accounts, they have a serious problem when it comes to South Korean movies/TV/music. NK citizens are fed the narrative about dire conditions in SK their entire lives. When they begin watching smuggled SK media, they realize that SK is in a much better economic place than them. This results in a serious erosion of trust towards the NK government, which is evident in the number of NK refugees who point at SK entertainment as being the impetus for their escape. This seems ridiculous on the face of it, but makes sense in light of how it results in a breakdown of belief towards the NK government. If, instead, the NK government accurately portrayed what life looks like in SK, but provided reasons and justifications for the difference, they would not have this problem. There would not be the cold water shock when citizens saw a SK movie for the first time and realized that their world was a lie. You also see this type of thing with $POLITICAL_PARTY's big social media personalities. They take a watered-down, strawman version of the other side's argument and refute it. When their followers see the real version of the argument elsewhere, they are primed to disregard it, and they roll their eyes and laugh and move on. Whereas, if they saw the argument and it was novel to them, they would be much more inclined to read and consider it on merit. I've worked with Chinese students who are studying abroad who slowly begin to lose belief in their government when living outside of China. It is not the hardcore, biting Western anti-Chinese propaganda that makes them lose their trust, but the day-to-day life of living in a place where there is substantially less corruption, genuine freedom of the press, and information is much more open.
- AnimalMuppet 8y ago
  > If, instead, the NK government accurately portrayed what life looks like in SK, but provided reasons and justifications for the difference, they would not have this problem. I think they still would. People (at least some) would look at the difference, look at the alleged justification for the difference, and think that the justification was bunk.
- meowface 8y ago
  Russia has had much more time to hone their information warfare and propaganda abilities. And now that they're led by a KGB officer with extensive experience in political manipulation, they're effectively a Chekist state and can synchronize narratives in very politically savvy ways, like you stated.

I met someone who was from China say that these people in these camps are being “harmonized”. It’s interesting how things can be perceived when the government controls the media.

singularity2001 8y ago

I heard the expression "qu xuexi": The went “studying”.

tjr225 8y ago

It's not so different when private entities control both the government and the media - in the case of conservative money controlling conservative propaganda arms such as Fox News and in turn conservative money also controlling congresspeople via PACs and campaign funding. Sometimes the things my Fox News Junkie Parents In Law say makes me very worried for their mental well being and the well being of our voting public..

ralusek 8y ago
There are many similarities between oppressive states and large corporations, but they are not the same. If there is a market for a spectrum of biases in the media, which there clearly is, the spectrum of those biases will manifest in available media, which it has. Your parents have chosen the lense through which to consume information, so have you. This is not a luxury afforded by an oppressive state.

eeeuo 8y ago

From a purely Orwellian standpoint, I think the Russian model of government/media interaction is more effective. There is "freedom of press" in Russia, and there are opposition media groups, but they are toothless. Journalists that publish scoops on high-level Russian government figure are in serious danger. Therefore, the opposition media produces watered down, safer takes. This allows state media to refute the opposition points step by step, so that the next time the argument is made, the viewer feels that it has already been addressed. Contrast this with media blackouts like in North Korea. While NK's propaganda is extremely effective at training their population not to believe foreign accounts, they have a serious problem when it comes to South Korean movies/TV/music. NK citizens are fed the narrative about dire conditions in SK their entire lives. When they begin watching smuggled SK media, they realize that SK is in a much better economic place than them. This results in a serious erosion of trust towards the NK government, which is evident in the number of NK refugees who point at SK entertainment as being the impetus for their escape. This seems ridiculous on the face of it, but makes sense in light of how it results in a breakdown of belief towards the NK government. If, instead, the NK government accurately portrayed what life looks like in SK, but provided reasons and justifications for the difference, they would not have this problem. There would not be the cold water shock when citizens saw a SK movie for the first time and realized that their world was a lie. You also see this type of thing with $POLITICAL_PARTY's big social media personalities. They take a watered-down, strawman version of the other side's argument and refute it. When their followers see the real version of the argument elsewhere, they are primed to disregard it, and they roll their eyes and laugh and move on. Whereas, if they saw the argument and it was novel to them, they would be much more inclined to read and consider it on merit. I've worked with Chinese students who are studying abroad who slowly begin to lose belief in their government when living outside of China. It is not the hardcore, biting Western anti-Chinese propaganda that makes them lose their trust, but the day-to-day life of living in a place where there is substantially less corruption, genuine freedom of the press, and information is much more open.

AnimalMuppet 8y ago
> If, instead, the NK government accurately portrayed what life looks like in SK, but provided reasons and justifications for the difference, they would not have this problem. I think they still would. People (at least some) would look at the difference, look at the alleged justification for the difference, and think that the justification was bunk.
meowface 8y ago
Russia has had much more time to hone their information warfare and propaganda abilities. And now that they're led by a KGB officer with extensive experience in political manipulation, they're effectively a Chekist state and can synchronize narratives in very politically savvy ways, like you stated.