Really good article. I have a saying which hits the same nail on the head: The truth is the best propaganda.
To preface, I'm no fan of Russia. I'm no fan of my own government for that matter, but for all their faults at least leaders of opposition parties don't get poisons with radioactive isotopes or thrown out windows.
That said, I don't know how much Russian propaganda is overblown and how much is just the fact that Russian are really good at propaganda. The west is as well, but it seems while the US and its allies are good at propagandizing their own people, Russia is good at propagandizing westerners. They seem to understand how to use our lack of critical thinking against us, probably because they've been the victims of it for so long. They get something about our mindsets that we don't and use it against us.
One example is the Russian bots. I don't know how many times I've been accused of being a Russian agent, and no matter how I go through the fact that it doesn't make any sense; that the Kremlin wouldn't hire someone to troll a comment section that only 4 people would look at, that you can look at my profile and see months of content showing where I'm from, that I know way too much about where I'm from to be from anywhere else, it never makes a difference. If someone decides I'm working for the KGB, that's it. Their minds made up. Yet I've never ever seen someone successfully identify a Russian agent before. I haven't, except maybe once but I wasn't sure. The fact that westerners can't protect themselves from Russian trolls even when there aren't even any in the room says a lot about how bad we are at combating them.
The fact is, propaganda is common because it works. It's useful. Everyone always thinks it's everyone else that's the victim of it, but they're not. And the best way to combat it is to do the opposite and realize we all fall for it at least a little. I have a meme I can't post here but I will in your other comment that fits nicely.
"the Kremlin wouldn't hire someone to troll a comment section that only 4 people would look at"
Aaaaamen.
What if they were a Russian troll projecting to get attention away from themselves 😂
Not a big fan of government in general. Too much beaurocracy and bullshit. You could say that about private enterprises as well, I suppose once something gets to a big enough size, these things almost seem inevitable.
I like to see propaganda as a tool, it can be used for good or it can be used for evil.
That's actually exactly what a real one would do. Classic move to distract from yourself. If you're doing something you want to get away with, set someone else up to take the fall.
I've used that on someone, not because I really thought he was one but to try and show him how much he was delegitimizing his own point by calling everyone one.
I restacked the argument I was having with him and censored his name cause I didn't want to single him out or increase his readership, and like 3 people knew exactly who I was talking about and said "Yeah he did the same thing to me."
My shopping trolley: murdered. My groceries just gone!
Really good article. I have a saying which hits the same nail on the head: The truth is the best propaganda.
To preface, I'm no fan of Russia. I'm no fan of my own government for that matter, but for all their faults at least leaders of opposition parties don't get poisons with radioactive isotopes or thrown out windows.
That said, I don't know how much Russian propaganda is overblown and how much is just the fact that Russian are really good at propaganda. The west is as well, but it seems while the US and its allies are good at propagandizing their own people, Russia is good at propagandizing westerners. They seem to understand how to use our lack of critical thinking against us, probably because they've been the victims of it for so long. They get something about our mindsets that we don't and use it against us.
One example is the Russian bots. I don't know how many times I've been accused of being a Russian agent, and no matter how I go through the fact that it doesn't make any sense; that the Kremlin wouldn't hire someone to troll a comment section that only 4 people would look at, that you can look at my profile and see months of content showing where I'm from, that I know way too much about where I'm from to be from anywhere else, it never makes a difference. If someone decides I'm working for the KGB, that's it. Their minds made up. Yet I've never ever seen someone successfully identify a Russian agent before. I haven't, except maybe once but I wasn't sure. The fact that westerners can't protect themselves from Russian trolls even when there aren't even any in the room says a lot about how bad we are at combating them.
The fact is, propaganda is common because it works. It's useful. Everyone always thinks it's everyone else that's the victim of it, but they're not. And the best way to combat it is to do the opposite and realize we all fall for it at least a little. I have a meme I can't post here but I will in your other comment that fits nicely.
Thanks!
"the Kremlin wouldn't hire someone to troll a comment section that only 4 people would look at"
Aaaaamen.
What if they were a Russian troll projecting to get attention away from themselves 😂
Not a big fan of government in general. Too much beaurocracy and bullshit. You could say that about private enterprises as well, I suppose once something gets to a big enough size, these things almost seem inevitable.
I like to see propaganda as a tool, it can be used for good or it can be used for evil.
That's actually exactly what a real one would do. Classic move to distract from yourself. If you're doing something you want to get away with, set someone else up to take the fall.
I've used that on someone, not because I really thought he was one but to try and show him how much he was delegitimizing his own point by calling everyone one.
I restacked the argument I was having with him and censored his name cause I didn't want to single him out or increase his readership, and like 3 people knew exactly who I was talking about and said "Yeah he did the same thing to me."