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The structural kind of propaganda is one thing: make sure American cultural products have to respect Chinese sensibilities, and that's huge. I'm speaking stric
by scarmig 5y ago
The structural kind of propaganda is one thing: make sure American cultural products have to respect Chinese sensibilities, and that's huge.
I'm speaking strictly of the hamfisted Twitter accounts and silly press releases that are meant for international consumption.
- dalbasal 5y agoI think the most hamfisted ones stand out the most, so we might be underestimating mean quality. Not sure it matters though. Twitter sockpuppeting is a recurring red herring, not just regarding china. For all the attention it receives, it's not a major component of any major effort. FWIW, I don't think anyone's is particularly slick. It's not intended to be. At best, it's about algorithm hacks and generating a veneer of debate. As "sentiment analysis" becomes integrated (intentionally, or accidentally) into recommendation engines and such... these may be more about fooling machines than people. Not saying this is a factor now (or ever, necessarily), just that stuff can look lame but still work. This article seems to be referencing registered lobbyist budgets, which is another relatively minor component. It's also relatively easy to obscure, or act through proxies. In some cases, proxy can be fairly nebulous... relating to what you call structural propaganda. The most visible parts are not necessarily good indicators, is my main point.