People forget that the purpose of our news media is not to neutrally report what is happening in the world, but to influence public opinion according to the political ambitions of their proprietors.
Each media outlet has its own agenda and biases. State controlled media, whatever their claims of independence, aim to further state objectives, both at home and abroad.
When you read or view their output you must do so with a critical eye. You don’t just take what they say at face value, but probe to understand what their longterm goals are.
And yes, I say longterm, because we are conditioned long in advance to accept the next foreign policy objective, justified by a litany of selective and unchecked reporting for months and years.
Often you will see different magazines and newspapers using the exact same language — even identical words, however obscure — to describe favoured or disliked individuals.
In these cases it is clear that their reporting represents not independent journalism, but rather a pre-agreed agenda. In crude terms, it is propaganda designed to prepare us for what comes next.
None of us is immune to the pervasive influence of our media, friend or foe. But we can help ourselves by deploying a critical eye, reading critically and more broadly. Think ahead. Or, if you can’t do that, look back and reevaluate past reporting and all that followed.
Last modified: 22 September 2024
