mockingbird
Silver Meritorious Patron
Scientology is so influential in the beliefs of members that I spent decades believing the idea that Hubbard provided that all media are always lying about everything and all politicians are also always lying about everything. I must admit it was in some ways easy, because I could ignore the media.
Scientology set me up with certain beliefs, they happened to be untrue and incorrect, sure, but it made life easy because I didn't have to worry about if a politician is lying or if a media source is correct on a study because I just lumped it all into one pile and didn't have to worry about trusting the wrong people, because I only trusted Hubbard and Scientologists. Now, that was worse for my accuracy and correct understanding by a considerable factor. I got to be a few thousand or a few million times more wrong than most people, whether they trust any media or don't simply because I believed in thousands of incorrect ideas that are in Scientology.
In leaving Scientology it seems to be almost unavoidable to find dishonesty and propaganda in media and often from politicians. I don't have to give a moment by moment breakdown to say that if you take the best criticism of many media outlets and individuals you can find examples of times they are slanted or outright dishonest.
It is usually easiest to see this in media that have the opposite to your own political beliefs. Liberals are able to see it in Fox news and Rush Limbaugh. Conservatives can see it in MSNBC ABC and CNN. Some people who are dissidents can see and point it out in ways that the rest of us might not.
I confess it was easy for me to read books on Fox news and to see the use of propaganda techniques there. It has been similar with Rush Limbaugh and Breitbart. There are several excellent books that use good facts and evidence to show how these outlets are dishonest.
Recently I have been exposed to high quality work in my opinion that has shown that MSNBC has a lot of, well dishonest or slanted, content. Similarly The Washington Post, probably the second or third most trusted newspaper in the United States has been similarly exposed. It has produced several dishonest stories recently that were exposed in fine detail and to my knowledge never apologized or printed retractions. The other two most trusted newspapers are The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times has been exposed a long time ago by Noam Chomsky and the editors confirmed his claims in part by admitting they are capitalists and pro capitalism. They are also pro war and in several instances pro Israel.
Now, I am not saying that these are all equally dishonest, not at all, but it is disheartening to see solid evidence that in some cases all these sources get things wrong and even if it is pointed out to them they subsequently do not admit it, do not print retractions and do not change what they are reporting in the stories that come after their incorrect reporting is pointed out.
I found an article by Caitlin Johnstone on this issue and think it has a lot of food for thought. I am not saying everything in the article is my opinion but it offers a lot to consider.
Thirty Two Tips For Navigating A Society That Is Full Of Propaganda And Manipulation
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/0...-that-is-full-of-propaganda-and-manipulation/
Scientology set me up with certain beliefs, they happened to be untrue and incorrect, sure, but it made life easy because I didn't have to worry about if a politician is lying or if a media source is correct on a study because I just lumped it all into one pile and didn't have to worry about trusting the wrong people, because I only trusted Hubbard and Scientologists. Now, that was worse for my accuracy and correct understanding by a considerable factor. I got to be a few thousand or a few million times more wrong than most people, whether they trust any media or don't simply because I believed in thousands of incorrect ideas that are in Scientology.
In leaving Scientology it seems to be almost unavoidable to find dishonesty and propaganda in media and often from politicians. I don't have to give a moment by moment breakdown to say that if you take the best criticism of many media outlets and individuals you can find examples of times they are slanted or outright dishonest.
It is usually easiest to see this in media that have the opposite to your own political beliefs. Liberals are able to see it in Fox news and Rush Limbaugh. Conservatives can see it in MSNBC ABC and CNN. Some people who are dissidents can see and point it out in ways that the rest of us might not.
I confess it was easy for me to read books on Fox news and to see the use of propaganda techniques there. It has been similar with Rush Limbaugh and Breitbart. There are several excellent books that use good facts and evidence to show how these outlets are dishonest.
Recently I have been exposed to high quality work in my opinion that has shown that MSNBC has a lot of, well dishonest or slanted, content. Similarly The Washington Post, probably the second or third most trusted newspaper in the United States has been similarly exposed. It has produced several dishonest stories recently that were exposed in fine detail and to my knowledge never apologized or printed retractions. The other two most trusted newspapers are The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times has been exposed a long time ago by Noam Chomsky and the editors confirmed his claims in part by admitting they are capitalists and pro capitalism. They are also pro war and in several instances pro Israel.
Now, I am not saying that these are all equally dishonest, not at all, but it is disheartening to see solid evidence that in some cases all these sources get things wrong and even if it is pointed out to them they subsequently do not admit it, do not print retractions and do not change what they are reporting in the stories that come after their incorrect reporting is pointed out.
I found an article by Caitlin Johnstone on this issue and think it has a lot of food for thought. I am not saying everything in the article is my opinion but it offers a lot to consider.
Thirty Two Tips For Navigating A Society That Is Full Of Propaganda And Manipulation
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/0...-that-is-full-of-propaganda-and-manipulation/