As others have said elsewhere more eloquently than I, the major media and the mainstream information sources serve only one purpose: deception. While they may feel they are serving their own bottom line, that simply explains why they have no interest in truth or facts, except as shaped by decades of academic philosophical assumption building, and a long history of “professional journalism” habits and methods. Meanwhile, they are permitted to exist only because they serve the needs of those in control.
I’m not attempting to compete with them. I dont’ run with the bloggers who somehow believe they are carrying the fire of truth in reporting, getting the real story out, etc. I’m content to mutter to myself and see if perhaps a few friends and random passers seeking entertainment might find something useful in my words, even if only for target practice.
Whatever it is blaring from the mainstream media sources, you must know beyond all shadow of a doubt, it is designed to misdirect your attention from what really matters.
- Outright lies — Yeah, they do that. Your beloved local newsbabe will knowingly tell you a falsehood because it’s her job. Her managing editor is there to make sure of that before she even gets past the first interview. He’s allowed to stay in business because he won’t quite push for the truth, but will pass on government pronouncements without checking. I suppose their frontal consciousness may believe they are doing the best they can, but having poked around in that business, and the supporting academic journalism hatcheries, you can find well tested methods of mass manipulation. I’ll bet anything some part of them knows all this, but they keep that voice chained in their mental basement. Example: The attack on the USS Liberty.
- Ineffective retractions — Tell the official lie first, then come back later and retract it. However, the retraction is timed to have minimal effect. After the panic is built up, burned into the minds of everyone in the audience, they say, “Oops. We were misled. Sorry about that.” But they know it won’t change the underlying assumptions, fears, suspicions, etc. Think of all the people railroaded by false charges, whose lives cannot be put back together. Then there are the retractions which are barely presented, perhaps on the late night broadcast during a really big event on a competing network. Same result.
- Half truths — “A gunman surrendered today after a shooting rampage.” What they utterly refuse to report is the gunman surrendered because some armed civilian pulled their gun on the shooter. All the folks the gunman managed to shoot were unarmed, of course. This won’t happen in all markets, but regional differences simply predict what sorts of lies will be told by half truths. Leaving out the bigger context is a favorite tool.
- Unimportant truths — Let’s hear all about the latest episode of stupidity from some lame-brained movie star or other “notable” newsmaker. Meanwhile, the local city council has banned people from gathering in groups to protest in certain key areas near their chambers, but that’s not reported. Today there’s a flu outbreak, but it was a strain of flu virus created in a government-funded laboratory. And no one will report the move to give unaccountable authority to force inoculations except in terms of how nice it will be if people can get their shots — “Surely no one questions the need?” — so quickly and for free! And God forbid they report what a windfall this is for the pharmaceutical company, with a no-bid contract, that same laboratory which can’t even keep their own trash from blowing across the street with critical lab notes. And how many people have they killed in the past with accidental bio-active releases?
- Pure hype — Blow something completely out of proportion to foment a specific reaction. This really a subset of the previous trick, but so often used, it deserves separate mention. So we hear all about how the temperature in one small section of Antarctica is rising enough to melt a little ice. Let’s not mention there’s an active volcano under that patch of ice, of course. Let’s tell everyone about this nasty flu strain, but forget to mention more people will die today from police abuse than all the flu cases worldwide. Or wail about the awful terrorists, but forget to mention our government has killed more innocent citizens than can be linked to any combination of supposed terrorist attacks on our soil during the same statistical time frame.
Let’s make it clear once again: If it appears in the news, it’s a lie in effect. Even sports reporting is politicized. Weather coverage is tainted, since the Global Warming lie still stands. Genuine meteorologists have been fired for not toeing the line on that. The only purpose served by tracking the news broadcasts is to see where the government is trying to railroad people.
