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Ah yes, traditional media used to give us the truth before it was murdered and replaced by social media. Imagine what might have happened when George Bush was t

Ah yes, traditional media used to give us the truth before it was murdered and replaced by social media. Imagine what might have happened when George Bush was trying to invade Iraq, if we didn't have a robust media that cared about truth to stop him

recursivedoubts 6y ago
And, before that, the Lusitania was sunk, unprovoked, by the Germans. And, before that, the Maine was sunk, unprovoked, by the Spanish. "Media" is a tactic.
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  I don't have any sources from the time of Hearst, but I have read ad men in the 1920's say they produced war propaganda in the 19-teens by moving social clique by social clique, triangulating to make a message seem ubiquitous to the targets. While reading the account, I could only imagine what they might have accomplished with (a) an explicit social graph, and (b) better-than-mimeograph spamming rates.
  - recursivedoubts 6y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird Any educated person who takes the media at face value is being wilfully obtuse at this point. We simply know too much.
    - 082349872349872 6y ago
      I've been using Dr. Linebarger's approach (mnemonic "STASM") for propaganda analysis[1]. As he also worked generating the stuff, he speaks from experience. It's mid-twentieth century, but although the underlying media may change, the messages[2] don't seem to. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23858477 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23858477 "If you agree with it, it's truth. If you don't agree, it's propaganda. Pretend that it is all propaganda. See what happens on your analysis reports." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23897577 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23897577 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24208047 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24208047 or https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24696859 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24696859

recursivedoubts 6y ago

And, before that, the Lusitania was sunk, unprovoked, by the Germans. And, before that, the Maine was sunk, unprovoked, by the Spanish. "Media" is a tactic.

082349872349872 6y ago
I don't have any sources from the time of Hearst, but I have read ad men in the 1920's say they produced war propaganda in the 19-teens by moving social clique by social clique, triangulating to make a message seem ubiquitous to the targets. While reading the account, I could only imagine what they might have accomplished with (a) an explicit social graph, and (b) better-than-mimeograph spamming rates.
- recursivedoubts 6y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mockingbird Any educated person who takes the media at face value is being wilfully obtuse at this point. We simply know too much.
  - 082349872349872 6y ago
    I've been using Dr. Linebarger's approach (mnemonic "STASM") for propaganda analysis[1]. As he also worked generating the stuff, he speaks from experience. It's mid-twentieth century, but although the underlying media may change, the messages[2] don't seem to. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23858477 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23858477 "If you agree with it, it's truth. If you don't agree, it's propaganda. Pretend that it is all propaganda. See what happens on your analysis reports." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23897577 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23897577 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24208047 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24208047 or https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24696859 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24696859