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Not many, but it doesn’t take many to have an impact. A historical parallel is the use of shortwave receivers inside the USSR to receive Radio Free Europe. It
by tlb 8y ago
Not many, but it doesn’t take many to have an impact.
A historical parallel is the use of shortwave receivers inside the USSR to receive Radio Free Europe. It was illegal to listen to, and the KGB jammed it sometimes, but people listened secretly anyway and it was an important conduit of information into an otherwise mostly closed society.
- golergka 8y ago> it was an important conduit of information into an otherwise mostly closed society No it wasn't, really. Have you actually experienced this or are you retelling some long-read from New Yorker? Sorry if it reads as uncalled for personal attack, just that I and my family have much more first-hand experience with this, and while having western news was nice, it really didn't affect the political stability of the regime in any meaningful way. People are not rational. They don't make decisions based on information presented to them. They mostly just repeat whatever opinion they perceive to be popular, usually without even asking themselves if they believe it or not. Propaganda is not about making people think something. Propaganda is about making people think that most of other people think so.
- tlb 8y agoMy wife's family were dissidents in Czechoslovakia, and they've mentioned western shortwave broadcasts as being part of their political climate between 1968 and 1989. But that's a small sample size. For sure, a shortwave broadcast isn't going to change the majority opinion the way 24/7 propaganda can. But it can influence a few intellectuals, who in turn influence others. It's impossible to do a randomized controlled trial to measure its effectiveness.