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"You Don't Hate Journalists Enough"
I'm sure we've all heard this statement several times over the past few years. If you have been paying any attention to the insane lies and establishment toadying that are hailed as journalism today, the message is difficult to argue against.
While I know it's best to ignore nearly every mainstream media outlet, I sometimes break down and browse through the garbage. When I do, it serves as a helpful reminder of these people's complete lack of ability to be honest or direct about anything.
When it comes to being an establishment tool, some manage to elevate their propaganda to the level of art. Today I want to highlight one such masterpiece in disingenuous writing from The Atlantic. This one comes to us from the mind of Anne Applebaum, a High-Priestess of the Professional Managerial Class.
She offers us the following:
The Americans Who Yearn for Anti-American Propaganda - The Atlantic
Applebaum's initial point is that China and Russia are trying to influence our elections and political discourse. Even more troubling, they're trying to get Americans to do the work for them.
“…Beijing is also aware that news marked “made in China” doesn’t have anything like the influence that local people, using local media, would have if they were uttering the same messages…”
How do they plan to make that happen?
“…That, in the regime’s thinking, is the ultimate form of propaganda: Get the natives to say it for you. Train them, persuade them, pay them—it doesn’t matter; whatever their motives, they’ll be more convincing…”
“…a handful of employees at RT, the Russian state television network formerly known as Russia Today, allegedly offered to provide lucrative payments to the talking heads of Tenet Media, a Tennessee-based far-right influencer team…”
hm.
“…The indictment makes clear that the influencers—propagandists, in fact—must have had a pretty good idea where the money was coming from…”
"Propagandists, in fact"
I doubt that accusation could be supported by even their most flexible "Fact-Checkers".
"Must have had a pretty good idea"
Right off the bat we're into weasel-words and baseless assumptions. Remember that this woman calls herself a journalist and a historian.
Applebaum then gets to the real point of her article, which is that the right probably doesn’t even care whether there is foreign influence in the media they consume.
“…But the real question is not whether the talking heads of Tenet Media—the founders, Lauren Chen and Liam Donovan, who were the main interlocutors with the Russians, but also Tim Pool, Lauren Southern, Dave Rubin, and Benny Johnson—had guessed the true identity of their “investor.” More important is whether the audience knew, and I think we can safely say that it did not. And now that Tenet Media fans do know who funds their favorite influencers, it’s entirely possible that they won’t care…”
Imagine someone not caring that media figures they listen to were receiving foreign money.
Anne then goes on the describe just how misguided and dumb the views of these pundits are, and how stupid their audience must be to listen to them. She gives examples of their ridiculous opinions:
“…They denounce U.S. institutions as broken, irreparable…”
“…If Donald Trump doesn’t win, it’s because the election is rigged…”
“…They imply American society is degenerate…”
“…White people are discriminated against in America…”
“…They suggest immigrants are part of a coordinated invasion designed to destroy what remains of the culture…”
“…Illegal immigrants are eating household pets, a trope featured during this week’s presidential debate…”
The town’s authorities claim this isn’t happening. The townspeople seem to think otherwise. The video below shows the full hearing held recently.
“…But these themes are also consistent with the Trump campaign’s interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions...”
“…People who have come to distrust the basic institutions of American democracy…”
“…who feel aggrieved and rejected…”
“…who believe that immigrants are invaders who have been deliberately sent to replace them…”
“…These are not people who will necessarily be bothered that their favorite YouTubers, according to prosecutors, were being sponsored by a violent, lawless foreign dictator...”
“…On the contrary, many of them now despise their own country so much that they might be pleased to hear there are foreigners who, like the ex-president, want to burn it all down…”
“…If you truly hate modern America—its diversity, its immense energy, its raucous debate—then you won’t mind hearing it denounced by other people who hate it and wish it ill…”
Likewise, if you truly love your country and care about freedom of speech, you also won’t mind those remarks.
“…On X earlier this year, Chen referred to the U.S. as a “tyranny,” for example, a phrase that could easily have been produced by one of the Russian propagandists who regularly decry the U.S. on the evening news…”
Warning against tyranny? How very un-American.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.
-James Madison
I have sworn upon the altar of God Eternal, hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man.
-Thomas Jefferson
“…The relationship goes the other way around; Russian, Chinese, and other influence operations are designed to spread the views of Americans who actively and enthusiastically support the autocratic narrative…”
“…Indeed, the Grigoriann scheme was not the only one revealed in the past few days. In a separate case that has received less attention, the FBI last week filed an affidavit in a Pennsylvania courthouse supporting the seizure of 32 internet domains. The document describes another team of Russian operatives who have engaged in typosquatting—setting up fake news websites whose URLs resemble real ones…”
Wait, so the Russians are the ones spreading disinformation? You just got done telling us that they merely amplify Americans who already support the "Autocratic Narrative". Which is it?
“…The affidavit mentions, for example, washingtonpost.pm, washingtonpost.ltd, fox-news.in, fox-news.top, and forward.pw, but we know there are others.
The fake URLs they provide make posts on Facebook, X, and other social media appear credible. When someone is quickly scrolling, they might not check whether a sensational headline purporting to be from The Washington Post is in fact linked to washingtonpost.pm, the fake site, as opposed to washingtonpost.com, the real one…”
The integrity of legitimate news sites is a real problem. We wouldn’t want people mistaking any of these genuine Washington Post articles for fake, unserious journalism:
“…Just as the Grigoriann scam assumed the existence of pundits and viewers who don’t really care who is paying for the videos that make them angry, typosquatting—like all information laundering—assumes the existence of a credulous audience that is already willing to accept outrageous headlines and not ask too many questions…”
Information Laundering?
Is that just a term for any information not approved of by Anne Applebaum? We know these people see themselves as gatekeepers of information, but to openly describe the free flow of information as a criminal act is bold even by their own non-existent standards.
Anne gives us a few more of the ridiculous positions of those who dare to get information from channels she doesn’t control:
“…These influencers and audiences are cynical, even nihilistic…”
“..,They have deep distrust in American institutions, especially those connected to elections…”
“…We talk a lot about how authoritarianism might arrive in America someday…”
“…What happens next is up to other Americans, the ones who don’t believe that their country is cratering into chaos and don’t want a leader who will burn it all down…”
Like Anne Applebaum, I don't know all the ins and outs of the Tenet Media situation. Unlike Anne Applebaum, I'm not going to pretend that I do and lie to you about it.
It’s kind of a moot point anyway, because the article wasn’t really about Tenet Media or foreign influence peddling. As you’ve seen, this was just one more opportunity for an elitist to express disdain for the American people.
I’m not a fan or follower of any of the personalities implicated in this Tenet story. This isn’t about defending them or their views. My concern is the way Applebaum and her colleagues in the legacy press are able to keep a straight face as they completely invert reality and distill dishonesty into its purest form.
I think our country has proven that it can weather extreme disagreement on just about every societal front. For my own part, I can accept that however strongly I may disagree with someone about politics or culture, there is a good possibility that I am wrong. Ideally, allowing for that possibility helps keep us all honest or at least civil with one another in these matters.
What is impossible to tolerate, however, is shameless dishonesty and disingenuous attempts to manipulate. This is now all that the media does. That underlying dishonesty turns heated disagreements about policy or the direction of society into genuine hatred and resentment.
This refusal to operate in good faith sets neighbor against neighbor and a civilization against itself. We descend into naked tribalism and find ourselves in a never-ending power vacuum, decorated with outrage, pandering, and sanctimony.
Of course, journalists are just mouthpieces for their owners in business and government. The problems we face are caused by elements at a much higher level than any individual journalist or media outlet. The puppet masters behind these media figures are far more culpable in the decay that is overtaking society.
So why do I feel more disgust for the journalists than for their owners?
Political and corporate figures are willing to harm their fellow man and society at large to obtain power and wealth for themselves. This is contemptible, but perhaps even more disgusting is the would-be journalist that sees that societal destruction going on and wants to be the face of it.
Out of a desire for fame, status, and accolades these media lapdogs will fight tooth and nail with each other for the chance to debase themselves, their profession, and their country.
A greedy or corrupt person might stab you in the back to get what they want, but only a journalist will get excited to tell you why being stabbed is actually a good thing.
Sometimes the point isn't to make people believe a lie - it's to make people fear the liar.
-Anne Applebaum
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“I'm a human being, I exist. And if I speak one thought aloud that thought lives, even after I'm shovelled into my grave.”
“We got the bubble-headed bleach-blonde who comes on at five
She can tell you about the plane crash with a gleam in her eye
It's interesting when people die, give us dirty laundry
Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie
Love to cut you down to size, we love dirty laundry
We can do the innuendo, we can dance and sing
When it's said and done, we haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king, give us dirty laundry”
Lyrics to “Dirty Laundry” by Don Henley, written in 1982! And every year it amazes me, THIS song remains relevant EVERY. SINGLE. ‘EFFIN. YEAR!
As an outsider myself, it's useful to know that the media bias and as you say, downright lying, is as pervasive over there as it is over here. The once-almost universally trusted BBC as an impartial observer of politics and geopolitics through its "World Service" LW radio broadcasts, as well as domestically, has become a mockery of itself. It's been happening incrementally, but during the covid scam they obviously completely sold out ( the government controls the decision on retaining or scrapping the BBC licence fee which is a non-negotiable tax on every household unless you scrap your TV basically) and at that point there was no going back for a lot of people. They were as tainted as the rest of the legacy media. A recent large consumer survey across the Western world which gave a yes/no option for the statement : " I believe that all or at least most of the news I hear on the broadcast media is largely true" put the UK and US in the bottom two places, I recall. Less than 40% in both cases, I think. Which is encouraging in a way. Some of those screenshots were jaw-dropping to me, by the way. Tops was the statistic on employment discrimination against white people. Great piece again.