Trump and Propaganda

[hauslern]

I read this site on Joseph Goebbels' theories on propaganda. He could not have known how short his life was and how it and his family members' lives would end:

http://kuny.ca/blogs/2010/45/essays/jos ... ropaganda/

If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.

The election was stolen.

There was no point in seeking to convert the intellectuals. For intellectuals would never be converted and would anyways always yield to the stronger, and this will always be ‘the man in the street.’ Arguments must therefore be crude, clear and forcible, and appeal to emotions and instincts, not the intellect. Truth was unimportant and entirely subordinate to tactics and psychology.

Intellectual activity is a danger to the building of character.

I have seen interviews with members of MAGA supporters. Some seem poor, missing teeth, and have opinions that are not well reasoned.

Why is Trump on about now how cognately well he is?

[Physics Guy]

Totalitarian regimes used to figure that they had to control all media, so that they could keep repeating even childish lies without fear of contradiction. A lot of Americans today, though, seem to be propagandising themselves, by paying selective attention to a wide range of free media.

I guess maybe it used to be important to control all the media because in the days when there were just a few newspapers, radio stations, and newsreel producers, just getting something published carried a fair amount of authority for most people. It was hard to believe that somebody could get a statement into print on a large scale, or onto screens or over the airwaves, without there being at least something to the statement. It's kind of like how just seeing a big highway bridge makes you assume that it's safe to walk over the bridge. If someone didn't know how to make a solid bridge, how would they have made such a big bridge at all?

If some stranger pulls some leftover goop out of their fridge, on the other hand, you're not at all sure the stuff's safe to eat. Refrigeration is a technological wonder that took longer to develop than bridges, but these days anybody can have anything in their fridge. It's no sign at all that their refrigerated stuff is consumable. So maybe in a similar way now the hurdle of achieving wide dissemination of statements has fallen so low that nobody respects anything just because it's been published.

So maybe regimes used to try to control media because all media were respected by the public, like bridges, but now there's no need to control media, because published statements are less like bridges and more like leftovers. Some people are as ready to believe that network news is full of lies as they are to believe that Uncle Wilbur's Tupperware is full of salmonella.

[Gadianton]

though, seem to be propagandising themselves, by paying selective attention to a wide range of free media.

I'd take the "propagandizing themselves" a step farther than that. Social media has allowed a myriad of mini-cult leaders rise to fame by just piping out the most extreme things that they can muster for clicks and reactions. Many of those most extreme things are invented by basement dwellers on platforms like 4chan that are near total free speech. The media isn't necessarily making up the narrative, but keeping momentum going. And Trumps lies aren't necessarily the driving force. Trump gets booed on stage by his own people when he pats himself on the back for his vaccine efforts. His "stolen election" stuff may have resonated with a lot of people, but I don't think the typical Republican believes it. The ones I know just get real quiet about that and don't know how to play it. During the election, my right-wing friend said he hoped the Supreme Court overturned the election, but it wasn't because he believed the election was stolen, in his simplistic view of reality, conservatives have to stick together and help each other. They needed to overturn it because putting in a conservative as president was the right thing to do. If they had the power to do something, then they should do it.

[Vēritās]

though, seem to be propagandising themselves, by paying selective attention to a wide range of free media.

I'd take the "propagandizing themselves" a step farther than that. Social media has allowed a myriad of mini-cult leaders rise to fame by just piping out the most extreme things that they can muster for clicks and reactions. Many of those most extreme things are invented by basement dwellers on platforms like 4chan that are near total free speech. The media isn't necessarily making up the narrative, but keeping momentum going. And Trumps lies aren't necessarily the driving force. Trump gets booed on stage by his own people when he pats himself on the back for his vaccine efforts. His "stolen election" stuff may have resonated with a lot of people, but I don't think the typical Republican believes it. The ones I know just get real quiet about that and don't know how to play it. During the election, my right-wing friend said he hoped the Supreme Court overturned the election, but it wasn't because he believed the election was stolen, in his simplistic view of reality, conservatives have to stick together and help each other. They needed to overturn it because putting in a conservative as president was the right thing to do. If they had the power to do something, then they should do it.

Yes, and you get the sense from Ajax's posts that he believes this as well. It is why he can never honestly respond to questions without diverting.

He doesn't care about anything other than keeping Republicans in power, no matter what it takes. Because in his mind the end justifies the means. Who cares if you have to destroy democracy if it means keeping the other team off the field? It was never about what's best for America or society at large, it has always been about what makes them feel good about winning against the "other" side they have demonized relentlessly.

[Gunnar]

Yes, and you get the sense from Ajax's posts that he believes this as well. It is why he can never honestly respond to questions without diverting.

He doesn't care about anything other than keeping Republicans in power, no matter what it takes. Because in his mind the end justifies the means. Who cares if you have to destroy democracy if it means keeping the other team off the field? It was never about what's best for America or society at large, it has always been about what makes them feel good about winning against the "other" side they have demonized relentlessly.

I think you're right about that. What is or is not actually true seems to be largely irrelevant to him. His overriding obsession is "winning against the 'other' side", even if lying and cheating is the only way to do it.

[Gadianton]

He doesn't care about anything other than keeping Republicans in power, no matter what it takes. Because in his mind the end justifies the means. Who cares if you have to destroy democracy if it means keeping the other team off the field? It was never about what's best for America or society at large, it has always been about what makes them feel good about winning against the "other" side they have demonized relentlessly.

Let's not forget that along with all of that, it's merely "feeling good about winning" because there is no reason to believe either he himself or republicans in general will experience any material benefit.

[Gunnar]

Let's not forget that along with all of that, it's merely "feeling good about winning" because there is no reason to believe either he himself or republicans in general will experience any material benefit.

I'm sure you're right about that. The perception winning, even if only delusional, is really what they crave.

[ajax18]

59 Intelligence officers stated that the Hunter Biden laptop had all the hallmarks of Russian disinformation. Then the Department of Injustice in partisan political fashion pressured Facebook to censor the story. Why would anyone not trust the media or suspect the federal government has it's hand in censoring information that is politcally inconvenient for them?

The only people destroying democracy is the left with lawfare and removal of Trump from the ballot. That's all they have. They can't run on Bidenomics. It only takes a trip to the grocery store to realize that the mainstream media has lied to them about how great the economy is.

[Doctor Steuss]

It only takes a trip to the grocery store to realize that the mainstream media has lied to them about how great the economy is.

Good point about looking at grocery stores to find out who is being lied to. Under President Trump, food stamp spending increased over 34%. Under President Biden, food stamp spending has decreased 0.7%.

SNAP data can be downloaded as a .zip file, with Excel spreadsheets for each fiscal year at this link: Link

[ajax18]

It was never about what's best for America or society at large, it has always been about what makes them feel good about winning against the "other" side they have demonized relentlessly.

Veritas, your game has always been to purchase votes with taxpayer money. Whether that be poor white trash, people of color, or illegal immigrants, it's the same playbook. So what do politicians get out of this deal? They get to become independently wealthy through influence peddling schemes and selling out American interests to hostile foreign powers.

I want what's best for native born working Americans. The triad of the America First movement is to avoid expensive foreign wars, not police the world for free in exchange for what's best for foreigners, pursue and America first policy in trade, and establishing a legal merit based immigration system rather than making America the perpetual dumping ground of economic refuges to provide for. In case you haven't noticed it's very popular with the American people. You call it populism because that's you're pejorative term you stick onto what it really is, democracy. We often call it rule by the people and that's exactly what the leftist elites are trying to usurp from the American people. Saviors of democracy? No, you're the savior of globalism, woke corporatism, transing of the kids, anti white discrimination, leftist control of social media and the usurpation of the 1st amendment rights of anyone who might opine left of center, and every other twisted view of virtue that can't possibly win at the ballot box.

You had the motive, means, and opportunity to cheat in the election of 2020. You used the scamdemic to destroy a once great economy because you'd rather be impoverished than admit that Trump's policies were successful. You're already rigging the election of 2024 with lawfare. But why should I even waste my breath. The time for talk and reason was over many years ago.