learning almost ANYTHING from any commercial entity is like taking swimming lessons from a shark. its hilarious how that shit still works on people. lets all go

learning almost ANYTHING from any commercial entity is like taking swimming lessons from a shark. its hilarious how that shit still works on people. lets all go learn about how cigarettes are safe from tobacco companies, how index funds are superior to all other investments from Vanguard, tricks to finance your car from a dealership, how social media "connects people" from Facebook and so on. as an immigrant it was clear to me how deeply ingrained marketing is in the culture early on and how dangerous it is to let those people shape your opinions. that basic understanding of how marketing/"submarine" PR is pervasive and how their interests are usually NOT aligned with yours just seems lost on too many people. like marketing has long since gone beyond a simple ad and now teaches entire frameworks to see the world through, frameworks that may be very dangerous to you. i feel like immigrants generally understand this - almost anyone who you don't know, who teaches you anything for free and is trying to nudge you towards a product or seems too promotional is probably a rat-bastard liar on some level. there are very very few exceptions like Khan Academy, online college courses etc. at the least if you don't understand someone's incentives, you should be wary. if your parents don't teach you that, and the media is owned by those same marketing fuckers, and you don't luck into a book or TV show that teaches you that or see what real education is, its hard.. i think the first step is for people to take back control of "common knowledge". you and ordinary people around you should have an oral culture of trusted knowledge, that parents and children understand is more truthy and in your best interest than whatever trash is on the news. oral cultures cannot be taken over by marketers.