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The point of propaganda isn't actually to promulgate a lie that obscures the truth. It's to promulgate a lie that people will repeat. It may eventually reach a

The point of propaganda isn't actually to promulgate a lie that obscures the truth. It's to promulgate a lie that people will repeat. It may eventually reach a scale where it can eclipse the truth, but by then it's generally done its job. You may not be a weak minded fool, there surely are SOME people who are who will be genuinely moved by the now-banned content. Those people will then repeat credulously an idea, making it easier for folks who know better to repeat an idea. That's generally how propaganda starts. Eventually it becomes unquestionable.

liability 7y ago
There are many purposes of propaganda, a term which is not synonymous with falsehoods. Some propaganda tells the truth, and some lies. Some propaganda merely conveys a sentiment that is neither true nor false. Consider "Loose lips sink ships" or "Uncle Sam Wants YOU" Those are both classic propaganda lines and neither is promoting a falsehood.
- KirinDave 7y ago
  > Consider "Loose lips sink ships" or "Uncle Sam Wants YOU" Those are both classic propaganda lines and neither is promoting a falsehood. I agree with this and these are good examples of what I was talking about. I was responding specifically to the propaganda at hand and MikeGale's comment, "Also a bit insulting, these guys seem to assume that I'm a weak minded fool who will get taken in by this obvious nonsense."
bostik 7y ago
Let's keep in mind that propaganda, advertising and public relations are all spouting from one and the same sewer. Hell, PR as a modern profession is a descendant of propaganda[0]. It doesn't matter whether you're selling a product, a service or an agenda. The mechanics are the same, only the labels we assign them differ. Creating false grassroots support for your product? Astroturfing. Creating false grassroots support for your agenda? Sockpuppeting. An early episode of Motherboard's otherwise mediocre podcast "CYBER" did an interview with Gruqg.[1] That episode has an incredible amount of material about the nature of propaganda and modern information warfare. It's 40+ minutes, and well worth the time spent. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_public_relations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_public_relations 1: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qv7wmv/former-exploit-broker-the-grugq-talks-election-interference-and-disinformation https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qv7wmv/former-exploit-bro... [warning: stupid consent modal; find the episode in podcast search instead]

liability 7y ago

There are many purposes of propaganda, a term which is not synonymous with falsehoods. Some propaganda tells the truth, and some lies. Some propaganda merely conveys a sentiment that is neither true nor false. Consider "Loose lips sink ships" or "Uncle Sam Wants YOU" Those are both classic propaganda lines and neither is promoting a falsehood.

KirinDave 7y ago
> Consider "Loose lips sink ships" or "Uncle Sam Wants YOU" Those are both classic propaganda lines and neither is promoting a falsehood. I agree with this and these are good examples of what I was talking about. I was responding specifically to the propaganda at hand and MikeGale's comment, "Also a bit insulting, these guys seem to assume that I'm a weak minded fool who will get taken in by this obvious nonsense."

bostik 7y ago

Let's keep in mind that propaganda, advertising and public relations are all spouting from one and the same sewer. Hell, PR as a modern profession is a descendant of propaganda[0]. It doesn't matter whether you're selling a product, a service or an agenda. The mechanics are the same, only the labels we assign them differ. Creating false grassroots support for your product? Astroturfing. Creating false grassroots support for your agenda? Sockpuppeting. An early episode of Motherboard's otherwise mediocre podcast "CYBER" did an interview with Gruqg.[1] That episode has an incredible amount of material about the nature of propaganda and modern information warfare. It's 40+ minutes, and well worth the time spent. 0: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_public_relations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_public_relations 1: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qv7wmv/former-exploit-broker-the-grugq-talks-election-interference-and-disinformation https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qv7wmv/former-exploit-bro... [warning: stupid consent modal; find the episode in podcast search instead]