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Propaganda has been around since before the dawn of mass media True, but what is different this time is the cost and reach of propaganda. It is a lot cheaper,

Propaganda has been around since before the dawn of mass media True, but what is different this time is the cost and reach of propaganda. It is a lot cheaper, easier and faster to send emails, post on FB/Twitter, throw a website up... etc compared to 40-50 years (or even 30) ago when you had to use newspapers and television. What is even more horrific is you can tailor these message down to a individual person

roenxi 7y ago
When was the alternate age when people had access to and revered the truth? That is a trick question; there never was one. Communities have always relied on a highly slanted version of the truth to make decisions. Propaganda and truth have both gotten cheaper to spread. The evidence is that the truth is doing a much better job relative to what it used to (I can see actual visual evidence of what is happening in Hong Kong, for example, in near real time). The downside is that it is cheaper for the government to track individual activities, but that is a slightly separate topic.
raxxorrax 7y ago
In my opinion this is one of the best developments of recent decades. People with formerly no voice are at least able to exchange themselves with others and find like-minded individuals. I am very skeptical of people that advocate for a more top down approach to information exchange.
- ddingus 7y ago
  As am I. Plenty of legitimate voices advocating for public good, let's say as an example, get swept up in these attempts to better centralize and manage information. That's not a good thing.
lr4444lr 7y ago
I think it was a heckuva lot cheaper for most of human history when there was no mass literacy or public schooling or universal suffrage. Perhaps we had a briefly better time than now in the mid-20th century, but what we are seeing now is if anything a slight backslide to the usual state of affairs. In the larger arc of history, I think we're on the better end of things.
YinglingLight 7y ago
The greatest lie Propaganda ever told is that a certain group of people are not as susceptible to it as others.
BeetleB 7y ago
>True, but what is different this time is the cost and reach of propaganda. Which benefits non-state actors as much as it benefits state actors.

roenxi 7y ago

When was the alternate age when people had access to and revered the truth? That is a trick question; there never was one. Communities have always relied on a highly slanted version of the truth to make decisions. Propaganda and truth have both gotten cheaper to spread. The evidence is that the truth is doing a much better job relative to what it used to (I can see actual visual evidence of what is happening in Hong Kong, for example, in near real time). The downside is that it is cheaper for the government to track individual activities, but that is a slightly separate topic.

raxxorrax 7y ago

In my opinion this is one of the best developments of recent decades. People with formerly no voice are at least able to exchange themselves with others and find like-minded individuals. I am very skeptical of people that advocate for a more top down approach to information exchange.

ddingus 7y ago
As am I. Plenty of legitimate voices advocating for public good, let's say as an example, get swept up in these attempts to better centralize and manage information. That's not a good thing.

lr4444lr 7y ago

I think it was a heckuva lot cheaper for most of human history when there was no mass literacy or public schooling or universal suffrage. Perhaps we had a briefly better time than now in the mid-20th century, but what we are seeing now is if anything a slight backslide to the usual state of affairs. In the larger arc of history, I think we're on the better end of things.

YinglingLight 7y ago

The greatest lie Propaganda ever told is that a certain group of people are not as susceptible to it as others.

BeetleB 7y ago

>True, but what is different this time is the cost and reach of propaganda. Which benefits non-state actors as much as it benefits state actors.