The process of shaping opinion, attitudes, and perceptions was termed the 'engineering of consent' by one of the founders of the modern public relations industry, Edward Bernays.
~ Noam Chomsky
It's an interesting time to be alive. Because mainstream media has come to rely significantly on government funding, our leaders have seized unchecked power.
Ethical investigative journalists have had to find alternative means to hold the powerful accountable.
Considering alternative views on any topic is critical to making informed decisions. Debate is healthy.
Edward Bernays
The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, and our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of…. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind.
Edward Bernays books should be mandatory reading so that people understand how their thoughts and beliefs may have been shaped.
Exposing an audience to opposing views in an argument interferes with the engineering of consent according to Bernays. The best way to alter public opinion is through propaganda and public relations techniques.
Propaganda is a method used to manipulate people's thoughts and beliefs by spreading biased or misleading information and public relations is a rebrand of it. Both aim to shape public opinion and influence behaviour in favour of a particular agenda or ideology.
Propaganda and public relations often employ techniques like emotional appeals, selective presentation of facts, and repetition to create a persuasive effect.
Falling under the influence
There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why, ninety-five percent of the information that reaches you has already been preselected and paid for.
~ Haruki Murakami
It is easy to fall under the spell of someone who communicates with complete conviction on a topic.
The power of some speakers and writers to capture an audience and influence behaviour (for better or for worse) fascinates me.
Occasionally, those who one would believe are above falling under the influence of misinformation become more susceptible to it, especially in health messaging.
For this reason, I welcome public debate and miss journalism that presents both sides of an argument and exposes examples of integrity and corruption to hold the powerful accountable.
Don’t trust mainstream media
This is precisely why the mainstream media’s language has failed us, it has not been telling us what we really need to know, because their language marches in step with that of the bankers, warmongers, oppressors, and executioners. We need a new language of radical love not radical hate.
~ Louis Yako
This week I took the time to listen to a Munk Debate on the trustworthiness of mainstream media. The debate was held at Roy Thomson Hall, in Toronto, on November 30th, 2022.
The motion debated was, “Be it resolved, don’t trust mainstream media.”
Arguing for the motion (PRO side) were Douglas Murray and Matt Taibbi. And arguing against the motion (CON side) were Malcolm Gladwell and Michelle Goldberg.
Before the debate started, organizers polled the audience and found that attendees were almost evenly split 52% against the motion and 48% for it.
But by the end of the event, 67 percent agreed that mainstream media is NOT worthy of our trust.
Interestingly this is the largest gain in votes (39%) ever recorded at a Munk Debate.
To learn emerging ways to hold the powerful accountable and why democracy’s detectives have gone missing in mainstream media, I invite you to watch the debate.
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