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    Caitlin Johnstone: It's Not The Really Blatant Propaganda That Gets You Archived Message

    Posted by sashimi on July 19, 2023, 10:44 am

    One of my favorite follows on Twitter right now is a smallish account run by an
    anti-imperialist activist who goes by "Left I on the News", because he has a
    real knack for going through articles in the mainstream press and highlighting
    the mundane little manipulations we're fed each day to shape our worldview in
    alignment with the US empire.

    One story he singled out recently was a New York Times article titled "Russia
    Fires Drones and Missiles at Southern Ukraine," which opens with the line,
    "Russian forces launched drones and missiles at cities in southern Ukraine from
    the Black Sea early Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said, a day after Moscow blamed
    Kyiv for an attack on a bridge linking the occupied Crimean Peninsula to
    Russia."

    Can you spot anything funny in that sentence? It's not super obvious at first
    glance.

    "Look how the NYT phrases this subhead to make Russia sound extra evil," Left I
    tweeted with a screenshot of the article. "Not 'a day after Kyiv attacked the
    Kerch Bridge', but a day after Russia blamed them for doing it (as if it's just
    some wild accusation). Remember - the most effective propaganda is the
    subtlest."

    "The most effective propaganda is the subtlest" is a phrase you should try to
    remember, because it's so very true.

    It is indeed ridiculous to try to frame this as some wild accusation by Russia,
    as though Moscow should have remained open to the possibility that the bridge
    was struck by Bolivia or Nepal. CNN reports that Ukrainian officials have taken
    credit for the attack, and just days ago Ukraine's deputy defense minister
    publicly acknowledged that Ukraine was behind last year's attack on the very
    same bridge. No serious person doubts that Ukraine was behind the attack,
    including those who support Ukraine.

    But that subtle manipulation didn't really stand out when you first saw it, did
    it?

    As we've discussed previously, these subtle little adjustments of perception are
    what constitutes the vast majority of the propaganda westerners ingest through
    the news media from day to day. This is because the really overt, ham-fisted
    propaganda isn't what's effective; what's effective is those sneaky little lies
    that slide in unchecked underneath people's critical thinking faculties.
    -- Cont'd at https://caityjohnstone.medium.com/its-not-the-really-blatant-propaganda-that-gets-you-dc067efe8972

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