Tag Archives: Propaganda

16 Basic Principles of Mass Indoctrination

28 Wednesday Sep 2016

Posted by in Politics, Propaganda, Psychology

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Source: 16 basic principles of mass indoctrination

Aspie Savant

Sep 10, 2015

 

1. Start while they’re young.

 

2. Create the illusion of political freedom.

 

3. Use simplistic stereotypes to sway public opinion.

4. Mix facts with lies.

 

5. A big lie is more convincing than a small lie.

 

6. Give the masses “bread and circuses” to keep them well-fed and distracted.

 

7. Simplify complex issues by portraying them as dichotomies. Eliminate nuance.

 

8. Spread propaganda by all means possible.

 

9. Ostracize dissident voices through ridicule or defamation.

 

10. Faith in the correctness of a religion or ideology is more powerful than force.

 

11. Manipulate history records to support your religion or ideology.

 

12. Control different sides of the same debate and you control the outcome.

13. The masses are less swayed by reason than by stirring their emotions.

14. Drive the opposition in a corner. When they fight back, act like a victim.

 

15. Label all non-conformistic behavior as pathological and promote “cures” for them.

 

16. Use rituals and mass events to keep people occupied and strengthen their faith.

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Repurposing Classic Soviet Propaganda Imagery for the Moscow Olympics

17 Monday Feb 2014

Posted by in Media Psychology, Propaganda, Psychology

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The Moscow Olympics, like so many before it, provides the opportunity for political statements to be made, this time one focusing on Russia’s stance against members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities (Reuters, 2013). One voice against this discrimination is an artist who uses classic Soviet propaganda images and gives them new life and meaning. Posting the work on Tumbler.com, a microblogging and social networking site owned by Yahoo, #PridePropaganda has redefined an array of images using the colors of the rainbow which can often be seen in other LGBT support events. A comparison can be seen below.
Continue reading →

Advertising as Economic Propaganda

15 Wednesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Advertising, Propaganda, Psychology, Public Relations

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“Public relations is … a communicative process designed to enhance the relationship between the organization and the public and, as such, is a branch of propaganda…. Propaganda is here defined as a deliberate attempt to persuade people, by any available media, to think and then behave in a manner desired by the source, it is really a means to an end” (Taylor, 2003, pp. 6-7).

References

Taylor, P. M. (2003). Munitions of the Mind. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Chris Hedges on Media Psychology

01 Friday Mar 2013

Posted by in Media Effects, Psychology

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“We are entranced by electronic hallucinations which peddle fantasy, which most Americans believe.  These systems of propaganda and brainwashing and miscommunication are very, very sophisticated. If we sever ourselves from a print based culture, and we rely on these systems (which many people do already for their understanding of reality) then we are in essence captives.”

–  Chris Hedges, Death of the Liberal Class, Q&A.

Al-Jazeera America – Coming to a Cable Channel Near You, Part Two

16 Saturday Feb 2013

Posted by in Psychology, Public Diplomacy

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Media channel Al Jazeera has an unprecedented chance to increase its psychological impact on Americans, if it doesn’t appear to be just another partisan outlet, but that chance may be floundering. In 2011 Wadah Khanfar, Director General of the Al Jazeera Network, left the channel after having built it up to represent an independent and fairly objective news resource in the Middle East. He was replaced by Qatari royal family member Sheikh Ahmed Bin Jassim Al Thani, an engineer specializing in gas and oil projects, as the royal family owns the channel which has resulted in further internal changes. This article in Germany’s Der Spiegel captures some of those issues and the hemorrhaging of talent while also keeping in mind that Al Jazeera is about to gain a foothold in America through its recent purchase of Current TV (Kühn, Reuter, & Schmitz, 2013).

Al Jazeera's Global Reach

Der Spiegel

Never before has another countries’ attempts at statecraft and influence had such an opportunity to communicate with Americans through media in their own homes. Even Britain’s BBC Network has found that challenging. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave the station a huge plug when she stated that the United States was losing the international information war. Al Jazeera, she said, was “literally changing people’s minds and attitudes” and, like it or hate it, “it is really effective … In fact viewership of Al Jazeera is going up in the United States because it’s real news” (Gornall, 2011).

References

Gornall, J. (2011, June 24). Arab Spring Brings   Al Jazeera to Full Bloom. Retrieved Jan 12, 2013, from The National:   http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/arab-spring-brings-al-jazeera-to-full-bloom

Kühn, A., Reuter, C., & Schmitz, G. P. (2013,   Feb 15). After the Arab Spring: Al-Jazeera Losing Battle for Independence.   Retrieved Feb 16, 2013, from Spiegel Online:   http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/al-jazeera-criticized-for-lack-of-independence-after-arab-spring-a-883343.html#ref=rss

10 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by in Psychology

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An interesting and insightful read which examines a fallacious technique of propaganda known as the straw man. Psychologically, the straw man concept breaks things down to a simplistic level in which context is lost and decisions are relegated to “yes/no” choices, or extremes, which are more difficult to defend. This technique can be refuted by clarifying one’s original position.

The Propaganda Professor

straw man

Once upon a time when I was a teenager and didn’t know any better, I got into a discussion (i.e. argument) with a relative on a topic that he had strong beliefs about. That topic was the hazards posed by certain chemicals used in growing and processing food — a hazard which, he was convinced, was nonexistent, but was merely a fraud concocted by devious scientists, or the government, or some other “them” who couldn’t be trusted. At one point, he said to me, ” if it wasn’t for chemicals, you couldn’t live.” Although I wasn’t even familiar with the term at the time, this was my first real awareness of the straw man tactic, which is the sixth in our series of propaganda techniques.

A straw man is an oversimplified substitute for an actual issue or another person’s actual position on an issue.  Although the term’s origins are unclear…

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Media Psychology and ‘Call of Duty’ Video Game Impact, Part 1

05 Tuesday Feb 2013

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The influence of popular violent video games, such as the Call of Duty series, has penetrated into the global consciousness and culture as an example of the media psychology. Last year Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 grossed $1 billion dollars in sales within 15 days of its release and $500 million dollars in the first 24 hours (LeJacq, 2012). Averaging $60 per game, that’s more than 1.5 million copies sold in 15 days. Its predecessor, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, sold 8.8 million units in the United States alone in its first month (LeJacq, 2012). Two recent examples seem to point to it becoming a cross-cultural phenomenon. The first example being of an Agence France-Presse (AFP) photo of a French soldier during combat operations sporting a facemask that resembles a character in the game known as “Ghost” to protect himself from dust. Continue reading →

Al-Jazeera America – Coming to a Cable Channel Near You

20 Sunday Jan 2013

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Al-Jazeera recently announced that it had finally broken into the American media by purchasing Al Gore’s Current TV network. It’s been a long time coming in this nation that appeared to support the mass psychological vilification of the channel following the agenda and cues of former President George Bush.  During those years, Al-Jazeera was a new offering that presented the Middle Eastern perspective on world activities – a view that most in the Bush administration didn’t care for as it tended to be critical of American activities in the region – which can be seen in the documentary Control Room (Noujaim, 2004). Continue reading →

Media Psychology Irony

28 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by in Media Effects, Psychology

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A late Christmas gift appeared at the house today which was wrapped in a bit of media psychology irony. Jacques Elull’s “Propaganda, The Formation of Men’s Attitudes” arrived in an Amazon wrapper emblazoned with a bold advertisement for the militeristic action video game “Call of Duty, Black Ops II.” Somehow the juxtiposition between “The Formation of Men’s Attitudes” and the media content in “Call of Duty” struck me in regard to the amount of militainment Americans consume on a regular basis these days, wether they choose to or not. It’s no wonder that at a cognitive level we are so “accepting” of so many of the activities we witness taking place in the world today. What’s a little desensitization matter in the long run (the diminished emotional responsiveness to a negative or aversive stimulus after repeated exposure)?

Amazon's wrapper for Call of Duty.

Amazon’s wrapper for Call of Duty.

Anytime, Anywhere Access – Psychological Use of the Media

16 Sunday Dec 2012

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Army Col. (ret) Lawrence Dietz, a former Psychological Operations officer (now called Military Information Support Operations, or MISO), recently observed that no matter where a military operation was taking place in the world, the military could leverage mobile phones to communicate directly to a host population, more so than any other communication medium.

“IO (Information Operations) tools are never fixed. One AO (Area of Operations) demands TV, while another can hardly read…//…Which brings me to the only constant, regardless of AO – the mobile phone. It appears that no matter where you go, whether urban or rural, developed or not, the cell phone is an important, if not the most import means of communication – the way people get or give information. To be effective the IO needs to know how to use mobile phones as a medium, but also how to deny individuals the use of their phones at certain times, or perhaps to alter the messages they receive” (Dietz, 2012).

ITU

There are almost six billion mobile cell phone subscriptions which is a global penetration of 87 percent (ITU, 2011). Srivastava notes that the rapid expansion of the internet was quickly overtaken by the development of mobile phones, both the analog varieties and Smartphones. In a three year period, twice as many people decided on cellular subscriptions instead of on home internet subscriptions (Srivastava, 2008). The majority of this growth can be attributed to personnel convenience. Six years ago there was more than one analog mobile phone for every three people on earth, while as of 2011 one third of the earth’s population was using the internet (Srivastava, 2008; ITU, 2011). Obviously the potential for using this medium to communicate messages to mass audiences for more than military applicatons is almost indescribable, if service providers cooperate.

References

Dietz, L. (2012, Dec 13). IO Refined in New Version of JP 3-13. Retrieved Dec 14, 2012, from PSYOP Regimental Blog: http://psyopregiment.blogspot.com/2012/12/io-refined-in-new-version-of-jp-3-13.html

ITU. (2011). ICT Facts and Figures. Retrieved Dec 8, 2012, from ITU: Commited to Connecting the World: http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/facts/2011/material/ICTFactsFigures2011.pdf

Srivastava, L. (2008). The Mobile Makes Its Mark. In J. E. Katz, Mobile Communications Studies (pp. 15-27). Cambridge: MIT.

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