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The filter I use for determining propaganda is, "does this seem like an original thought or the product of original thinking?" In most cases, propagandists comm

The filter I use for determining propaganda is, "does this seem like an original thought or the product of original thinking?" In most cases, propagandists communicate using banal, recieved, thought terminating cliches, or rote criticisms. They aren't master manipulators, but the ideas spread because they are easy, satisfying, and empowering to some base impulses. They're like pop songs that get stuck in your head. In the case of the article, Assata Shakur's "nobody will give you the education you need to overthrow them" applies, where it's just enough info about propaganda techniques to manage them, but not enough to fight or make them yourself.

giraffe_lady 3y ago
This is also foolish though. Plenty of concepts are not remotely original but are still very useful if you haven't come across them before. No one is sitting down and recreating all of knowledge from first principles, even very smart people hear things for the first time. And for that matter, it's not like propagandists are dumb, any more than pop musicians are bad musicians. It's absolutely possible for one for formulate an original idea in the service of propaganda.
- motohagiography 3y ago
  Propaganda is basically just viral shitty reasoning, where a small stack of memes replaces consideration with cliches. It's the lie delivered between two truths. The filter is based on whether a comment or belief is thoughtful or not. Sure, there are simple things that are mostly true, but thoughtless or rote repetition of them doesn't make them meaningful. Original ideas can be in service to propaganda, but preferring them imposes a cost that is higher than what most propaganda needs for scale. Your argument is misleading and neutralizing noise and not a counterpoint. Innoculating people to propaganda with humour and dead ideas is probably the most practical way to mitigate its more pernicious effects. Of course great musicians can be employed to make pop, but when the message is the same, it's like using IMAX to produce porn. See any music awards show.

giraffe_lady 3y ago

This is also foolish though. Plenty of concepts are not remotely original but are still very useful if you haven't come across them before. No one is sitting down and recreating all of knowledge from first principles, even very smart people hear things for the first time. And for that matter, it's not like propagandists are dumb, any more than pop musicians are bad musicians. It's absolutely possible for one for formulate an original idea in the service of propaganda.

motohagiography 3y ago
Propaganda is basically just viral shitty reasoning, where a small stack of memes replaces consideration with cliches. It's the lie delivered between two truths. The filter is based on whether a comment or belief is thoughtful or not. Sure, there are simple things that are mostly true, but thoughtless or rote repetition of them doesn't make them meaningful. Original ideas can be in service to propaganda, but preferring them imposes a cost that is higher than what most propaganda needs for scale. Your argument is misleading and neutralizing noise and not a counterpoint. Innoculating people to propaganda with humour and dead ideas is probably the most practical way to mitigate its more pernicious effects. Of course great musicians can be employed to make pop, but when the message is the same, it's like using IMAX to produce porn. See any music awards show.