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A space for sporadic updates on the media situation.
avatar: ⨂
author: @oxymoronist@rawtext.club
license: CC BY-NC-ND
Although hate speech and disinformation with potentially dangerous consequences do not need to be encouraged in any way, the most zealous efforts to stop such speech also have negative consequences. The problem, of course, is that jokes, irony, parody, various forms of art, or legitimate critique may fall under the generous definition of hate speech or disinformation. Shellenberger's substack Public is a resource on the consorted efforts to stifle free speech, as is this site:
https://censorshipindustrialcomplex.org/
Some of the material lean toward opinion pieces rather than neutral information, if such a thing could possibly exist.
An excellent site based on open source information is Tech Inquiry by Jack Poulson, along with his substack All-Sourcee Intelligence Fusion. References added to part 2 of the media guide, and part 14 has been updated.
The Grayzone has tried to fund three journalists for long-term positions, among them Kit Klarenberg, known for his many scoops. Now GoFundMe has frozen all money from their fundraiser with very vague explanations. Mint Press also had their Gofundme account cancelled, as have some activist organisations. Similar to international sanctions leading to de-dollarisation, these cancelled fundraisers only lead to other fundraising organisations popping up.
https://thegrayzone.com/2023/08/28/gofundme-freezes-grayzone-fundraiser/
There is a myth that propaganda is not used or needed in a democratic society. Well, if you still live in one of those, look around in the media. As Jacques Ellul explains (1962, still valid), there is a need for propaganda both by the state and the individual. The participation of the masses in politics makes propaganda necessary; because the government cannot follow the opinion, the opinion will have to follow the government. And thus the need to sway opinions. Ellul's radical claim is that if propaganda succeeds, it happens because there is a need for it in the individual subjected to it. Indeed, there is a psychological need for belonging, that is, to agree with your fellow citizens on basic issues. Another reason is the need for simplification and clarity. Pure information, or something approaching it, might be found by reading the press releases of a few complementary news agencies. Or imagine wading through the enormous information dumps Wikileaks used to deliver as your source of news. It is too much to make sense of, too much to take in for a normal person. Following a single story also would require exceptional memory, as news about it drops once in a while interspersed with much else. Thus there is a real need for editorialised news digests, but those cannot be as neutral as the sources. More important, though, is the individual's need for certitudes and confirmation of world views.
... l'individu a reçu par la propagande des certitudes irrationnelles, et justement parce qu'elles sont irrationnelles elles lui semblent faire davantage partie de sa personne. Il se sent donc personnellement attaqué lorsque ces certitudes le sont. Il y a là un sentiment comparable à celui du sacré.
So, as Ellul says here, the irrational beliefs the individual has received by means of propaganda now seem to be a part of his or her own person. Attacks on these views are taken very personally, as if the opinions were sacred. The individual who has been submitted to a vigorous propaganda characterise new ideas as being propaganda. Those who attribute any opinion they do not share to propaganda, Ellul surmises, are themselves the product of propaganda. Sounds familiar? The association with the sacred is an astute observation. Notably, symbols such as national flags are treated as sacred, but principles also may become sacred, such as the absolute sovereignty of nations, or free speech absolutism taking the perverse form of burning someone else's holy writ.
The history of CIA's involvement in media and intellectual life in general is an important background to understanding the present media situation. As news of the agency's infiltration of media organisations broke in 1973, a story was leaked that the CIA admitted its involvement, but it was now going to be rolled back, they claimed. The first part was true, not the second, but it came to be believed that their involvement had ended. The CIA's covert manipulation of culture through journals, conferences, and festivals is well documented in Frances Stonor Saunder's The Cultural Cold War (also published as Who paid the piper?), and Gabriel Rockhill is working on a book on the CIA's role in undermining the more radical left by supporting and compromising a more malleable and moderate left. The always excellent Patrick Lawrence also has a forthcoming book on journalism. An interesting excerpt can be read here:
https://consortiumnews.com/2023/07/25/the-us-press-spooks-the-church-committee/
Alfred de Zayas writes: "...even highly educated persons ... continue to put their trust in media outlets that do not deserve our trust. ... Indeed, it takes temerity to realize that our own politicians and media lie to us, that they are purveyors of dis-information and practitioners of Orwellian doublethink." Jacques Ellul made the point in 1962 that propaganda can only work on an educated audience. Aimed at those who cannot read, who are not interested in politics at all, it is pointless. Today most can read and are at least dimly aware of politics. Propaganda typically cannot be made up entirely of lies, it has to have a core of truth. Most effectively it would present nothing but facts. Propaganda has more to do with persuasion and arguably with a certain aesthetics. Take a look at Scott Ritter's series on Agent Zelensky, for instance. No doubt there are many factually correct statements in these videos, but presented with a clear bias and aimed at persuading the viewer. In my view, it is the aesthetics of these videos that turn them into propaganda, more than the stated facts or opinions. The more nuanced de Zayas article can be read here:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/07/19/the-dynamics-of-war-insanity-natos-ukraine-roulette/
The Censorship-Industrial Complex is the new monicker for those sprawling startups in the business of reality-perception curating. Matt Taibbi (et al) just published a top 50 list, out of which only a handful have been dissected here in the media guide (part 4).
In anti-disinformation literature, the public is often depicted as insufficiently panicked.
On the list we find not only fact-checking organisations, but also foundations and other types of organisations. Some notable entries include Wikipedia, "a defender of free speech in certain circumstances" but no always, Jigsaw ("Perhaps the slickest and most technically sophisticated of the censorship and speech control initiatives"), Bellingcat, and Integrity Initiative. Connections, modus operandi, funding, characteristic world views, and "gibberish verbiage" typical of each organisation are detailed.
In the wake of Twitter Files, Andrew Lowenthal writes about the misuse of anti-disinformation to suppress free speech. An increasing number of organisations are devoted to this and they seem to have no difficulties getting funded. Lowenthal acknowledges that disinformation does exist and needs to be addressed.
However, the biggest source of disinformation are governments, corporations and increasingly anti-disinformation experts themselves.
https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/26/an-insiders-guide-to-anti-disinformation/
Also, a list of search engines has been added to this capsule. As EU is preparing new legislation that will affect large tech companies, it may be time to degoogle, although if you read this, you may have already done so.
The founder of Cryptome has asked to be a co-defendant in the case against Julian Assange, for publishing the same documents as Wikileaks. Godspeed! Cryptome and a number of other sites have now been added to the media guide with annotated links to independent media sites.
gemini://rawtext.club/~oxymoronist/media2.gmi
The attempted launch of the Disinformation Governance Board, aka Ministry of Truth, met with a backlash, but the attempts to gain tighter control over public discourse are obviously ongoing. Although this predominantly concerns social media, the efforts are not limited to the largest ones. An Intercept article reports on some leaked DHS documents, commenting: "How disinformation is defined by the government has not been clearly articulated, and the inherently subjective nature of what constitutes disinformation provides a broad opening for DHS officials to make politically motivated determinations about what constitutes dangerous speech." They provide some additional insight into the Hunter Biden laptop story, but fail to mention the embarrassing split up with Glenn Greenwald, who had wanted to report on it on the Intercept.
DHS plans to police disinformation
In a commentary on the recent attack on Salman Rushdie, the Angry Arab makes some interesting remarks, for example that Western liberals often insist that muslims should tolerate insults in the name of free speech, but that Israel, the state rather than its people, should be shielded from criticism. He also shares this intriguing observation: "the Arab-Islamic civilization was most tolerant when it was strong and powerful and [...] its decline coincided with an atmosphere of strictness and intolerance." Is there a causal connexion? The American power sphere including Europe is obviously going down, at what speed remains to be seen. Does that have implications for our tolerance?
German journalist Alina Lipp has been reporting what she sees on the ground in Donbass. As a consequence she has had money drawn from her bank account, her paypal account frozen, and now she also seems to face the risk of imprisonment if she returns home to Germany. No doubt whose side she stands on, and also no doubt that the German state stands on the opposite side; but still, isn't this a bit of an over-reaction? She has also appeared on a kill list, as has Eva Bartlett, another brilliant journalist.
Aline Lipp interview on Rokfin
If the British Online Safety Bill wasn't bad enough, now there is also a new law proposal that would threaten journalists reporting on matters related to national security with life in prison. It would also apply to direct action. Looks like the UK is expecting to grow its prison population.
https://consortiumnews.com/2022/07/07/uk-bill-threatens-journalists-with-life-in-prison/
Paypal has terminated the accounts of at least two important independent news sites, Mint Press and Consortium News (there could be others I'm not aware of). This is serious, since these organisations are funded by their readers. It also shows how vulnerable dissenters are in a digital economy.