1. Gone Viral
Views. Pagecount. Hits. Virality. Call it what you will. Ryan Holiday exposes the dark truth as a self-proclaimed media manipulator in his riveting book, "Trust me: I'm lying." He talks about how our headlines are intentional and strategically fashioned to GET OUR ATTENTION.
2. Satire, SNL, Same Difference!
Before enrolling in COM416, I thought satire and parody were interchangeable and meant the same thing. But now, I know better. Defining satire straight from the Lexicon of Lies from Caroline Jack would be too predictable. Instead, I’ll offer synonyms: exaggerations, hyperbole, irony, ridiculous, and absurd. These synonyms are usually present in a manner made for entertainment for audiences possess strategic intention. I thought satire was only present in literature. And from literature, satire is used to critique unjust societal standards and often times go against it. Caroline Jack describes the purpose of satire in propaganda to be, “calling attention to, and critiquing, perceived wrong-doing.” Examples are shown below.
Meanwhile parody is a form of satire which is more specific to public figures, artists, and genres and their most notable features. Check out the brilliant parody Melissa McCarthy does of the press conference as 'Sean Spicer' back in 2017.
It's important to be aware of satire and the subtleties between parody, so that we as propagandists know how to take a joke! Laughter is the best medicine, and in a time of national divide and an unstable political climate, we can use both to our advantage as a resource/tool/weapon to support our critiques of society.
3. Trolls: They don't just live under bridges anymore.
Trolls are actually human. Trolls share one common agenda: to enrage, upset, and/or distress users of a social media platform with obnoxious commentary. They want attention, and they receive it through users commenting to their comments. Both bots and trolls exist. In fact, they've become so commonplace in this generation, that we've all learned to overlook them as not serious; but it is important to know how to distinguish between the two and recognize who they are and not fall for their propaganda.
4. The future is now: bots.
Many think the future is approaching, but they're wrong. The future has already arrived. Technology has come a long way from the VCR and the massive computers that would take up entire rooms. We now have access to powerful mobile computers which fit in the palm of our hand! (The newest iPhone Plus might fit in two...) Therefore, it's no surprise that the emergence of bots follows the advance of technology. I learned from one of my peers (from the Lexicon Google spreadsheet), that “bots are automated systems that give out information.” On the final exam, one of the questions posed was to describe the difference between a bot and a troll. Part of my answer was: bots are automated systems created by humans, to distribute/gather information to/about other humans. Why are bots and trolls even important? Because it was Russian bots and trolls that swung the election votes of the 2016. They have power when they are not monitored. Trolls and bots have power and influence to spread their own agenda, filled with dangerous misinformation and disinformation. They are the newfound weapons of what Bernays would call, 'new propaganda.'
"On Twitter, as on Facebook, Russian fingerprints are on hundreds or thousands of fake accounts that regularly post anti-Clinton messages. Many were automated Twitter accounts, called bots, that sometimes fired off identical messages seconds apart, and in the exact alphabetical order of their made-up last names." NYTimes.
5. Mistake, Misleading, Misinformation
"Misinformation is information is inaccuracy is unintentional...Misinformation spreads when journalists misinterpret or fail to independently verify a source's claim." Especially likely to occur during an unfolding crisis.
6. Fake News. Fake News. Read all about it.
"Disinformation is information that is deliberately false of misleading." Both misinformation and disinformation spread readily via social media. Fact checking is crucial, otherwise all news we read/watch would be unverifiable and discredited. It's important to do our own research and fact-check as informed propagandists.
7. Propaganda is not just for war.
Propaganda gained the negative connotation from the relationship the word had with war. It was seen as a weapon during wartime. Over the years, the word still retains that negativity to those who are ill-informed about the concept; but we learned in COM416 that propaganda is just a word, like any other. With a variety of different meanings and definitions. Some definitions we discussed were very vague and over-generalized, like: "everything is propaganda." What's interesting is that before I took this course, I also thought propaganda leaned more towards manipulation and deception; however, you will later see that my opinion changes when we discussed the topic of beneficial propaganda.
8. Bernays quotes that shaped my understanding of Propaganda
Edward Bernays is considered the indisputable Father of Propaganda. There are many quotes from his text about Propaganda that have shaped my understanding of the concept that I would like to share.
“I am aware that the word “propaganda” carries to many minds an unpleasant connotation. Yet whether, in any instance propaganda is good or bad depends on the merit of the cause urged, and the correctness of the information published.”
“The mechanism by which ideas are disseminated on a large scale is propaganda, in a broad sense of organized effort to spread a particular belief or doctrine.”
“Universal literacy was suppose to educate the common man to control his environment. Once he could read and write, he would have a mind fit to rule...But instead of a mind, universal literacy has given him rubber stamps, rubber stamps inked with advertising slogans, with editorials, with published scientific data, with the trivialities of the tabloids, but quite innocent of original thought.”
“Propaganda in its proper meaning is a perfectly wholesome word, of honest parentage, and with an honorable history. The fact that it should to-day be carrying a sinister meaning merely shows how much of the child remains in the average adult.”
“Each man’s rubber stamps are the duplicates of millions of others, so that when those millions are exposed to the same stimuli, all receive identical imprints.” Example shown in gallery of Anti-Straw Campaign, Anti-Pollution, and the related Recycling Campaign.
9. Ten Steps to be an Informed Propagandist
Taken from one of the assigned readings for Week 3: Resilience in the Face of Propaganda, this journal informs propagandists how to analyze the types of propaganda we are exposed to. The steps included are all practiced in our LEAP 1 assignment and are important to remember in order to stay informed and educated about our surroundings! So in case we are exposed to more 'rubber stamps,' we can recognize it. We do not want to become desensitized and ignorant, because we would end up in a similar situation where audiences who viewed the New Zealand Mosque Shooting passively shared/live-streamed the video, and inadvertently promoted terrorism propaganda
the ideology/purpose of the campaign
context in which the propaganda occurs
identification of the propaganda
the structure of the propaganda organization
the target audience
media utilization techniques
special techniques to maximize effect
audience reaction to various techniques
counter propaganda, if present
effects and evaluation
10. Public Interest aka 'Beneficial Propaganda'
Is there such a thing? With the help of COM416, I found out there is! After researching, posting, and discussing the It Can Wait Campaign to stop texting while driving, I learned that not all propaganda serves self-interest or profit. It was refreshing.
References:
Bernays, E. (2010). Propaganda. Retrieved from http://www.whale.to/b/bernays.pdf
Boot, M. (2018, July 24). Without the Russians, Trump wouldn't have won. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/without-the-russians-trump-wouldnt-have-won/2018/07/24/f4c87894-8f6b-11e8-bcd5-9d911c784c38_story.html?utm_term=.f6287a4b54b3
Holiday, R. (2013). Trust me, Im lying: The tactics and confessions of a media manipulator. New York, NY: Penguin group (USA).
Jack, C. (n.d.). Lexicon of Lies: Terms for Problematic Information. Retrieved from https://datasociety.net/pubs/oh/DataAndSociety_LexiconofLies.pdf
Jowett, G. S., & Donnell, V. O. (2005, July 11). Propaganda and Persuasion: How to Analyze Propaganda. Retrieved from https://mediaeducationlab.pathwright.com/library/com-416-propaganda/85209/path/step/53341579/
Shane, S. (2017, September 07). The Fake Americans Russia Created to Influence the Election. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/us/politics/russia-facebook-twitter-election.html