Restless Souls/Research/War/Propaganda: Difference between revisions

Propaganda in dictatorships is almost self-explanatory. The shades of gray in democracies and their reasons are much more interesting.

Propaganda, Gleichschaltung and censorship usually happen at the same time. In wartime autocracies, this is almost guaranteed.

In peacetime, there is no Gleichschaltung - at least '''in democracies'''. Propaganda and '''censorship usually only appear subliminally''' there. Transitions, in turn, can be fluid - just as a state (or a hypothetical WCG) can be a mixed form of democracy and autocracy (dictatorship): First of all, a '''[[wp:The_Economist_Democracy_Index|incomplete]] and finally [[wp:Defective_democracy|defective democracy]]'''. See also: [[wp:Narco-state|Narco-state]].

Like real conspiracies, large-scale cover-ups and the like - see Watergate - harsh propaganda and censorship are also possible in real democracies - but '''fortunately rare'''.

Some governments, in turn, try to keep reporters on a short leash. See also: [[wp:de:Embedded_Journalism|Embedded journalism]]. [https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199891580.001.0001/acref-9780199891580-e-6200 pool reporting], critically discussed in the documentation "[[wp:de:Why_We_Fight_(2005)|Why We Fight]]" (2005)

* Germany's minimal left-wing position, the symptom of which is the equation of the right with right-wing extremism. -- However, the AfD story about the "left-green filthy" ("linksgrünversiffte") "lying press" ("Lügenpresse") and the "opinion dictatorship" is again a massive exaggeration for the purpose of populist agitation.

In the Internet age, many state and public actors are afraid of digital shitstorms and waves of public outrage. The “interest representatives” can have political as well as purely economic motives.

** Despite all the mistakes now broken Assange has made in protecting sources, it would be a good thing for the democratic USA to '''show autocrat Putin the diplomatic middle finger''' and, in an act of humanity, stop the prosecution of Assange on the next anniversary of Navalny's death. -- Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence, [[wp:Polymath|Polymath]]: "Critics are our friends. They show us our faults." -- In July 2024, the US government and [[wp:Julian_Assange|Assange]] agreed on a deal. However, a short time later, Biden's quasi pre-election campaign was overshadowed by debates about his age.

*** Individual statements can be based on the Basic Law. '''However, the situation changes when those statements are part of inflammatory propaganda or discriminatory ideology that despises people or the state.''' -- Or even contain hidden calls for violence. -- [https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/inland/thomas-haldenwang-meinungsfreiheit-ist-kein-freibrief-fuer-verfassungsfeinde-19623960.html Haldenwang] [https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/meinungsfreiheit-ist-kein-freibrief-haldenwang-wehrt-sich-gegen-kritik-am-verfassungsschutz-11449871.html made] a similar statement in the Maaßen case. In addition, the end of 2023 / beginning of 2024 was preceded by other events: parts of the German farmers' protests were infiltrated by lateral thinkers. (Some of these were in turn incited by right-wing extremists and Russian propaganda.) The ambush and intimidation of politicians was organized in chat groups. [https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/attacke-auf-robert-habeck-in-schluettsiel-wer-hat-die-bauern-aufgestachelt-a-aac02c64-96b4-4184-b4c3-dcac3896adce Requests peppered with seemingly harmless irony were enough]: "ACHTUNG !! Robert Harbeck (sic!) lädt heute zum Bürgerdialog um 16:45 Uhr im Fährhafen Schlüttsiel ein ! Er wünscht sich unendlich viel Interesse. Tun wir ihm den Gefallen und kommen mit allem was Räder hat ! Heute 16:45 Uhr Schlüttsiel !!!!!!"

: But you cannot fool all people all the time." - Ein Community-Mitglied

* Due to its own dynamics and security dilemmas (in the context of Separatists and Syndicate (SOC)), the prevailing opinion within the WCG is to rely on a minimum of propaganda and censorship from the TCTF (see also "Scimon" Bertram). Despite its power, the WCG has too many enemies.