By
M.
Richard Maxson
Have
you ever thought about how much of your thoughts are truly and
authentically your own and where did these ideas come from? Given
the fact that only a handful of corporations control everything we
read, see, and watch, it’s easy to see how public opinion and
desire gets shaped even when what we take in is not true. The fact
of the matter is that we are subject to propaganda, false
advertising, opinionated news, and other methods of manipulating our
thoughts and perceptions every day.
Why
do we accept and give credence to “false information or so-called
fake news?” It's because our brains are wired to believe
information automatically—even if it’s false. “It’s a useful
skill for us to accept what people tell us, because often what people
tell us is true,” says David Rapp, PhD, a psychology and education
professor at Northwestern University.
"When
we hear new information, those fresh facts don’t override what we
already knew before. Instead, both the new and old information live
together in our minds. A few factors determine which one we’ll draw
on when the situation comes up. Oftentimes, we’ll quote the
information you heard most recently—even if it’s wrong. Because
they’re fresher in our minds, short-term memories are easier for
our brains to access than facts we heard longer ago.”
"We
are also inclined to buy into the facts that seem more plausible.
Often, this means they fit better with what we want to believe, which
could explain why people quote such different facts in political
debates. “Both candidates said something that was objectively true
or not, but people would ignore that information and go with their
hopes, wishes, biases, preferences, or gut responses because it
aligns with what they hope to be true,” says Dr. Rapp.
Why
do you think everyone seems to own the same things? How much of what
you like to wear or eat is actually because you like it, and how much
because you’re being told to like it? Everyone wants the newest
iPhone or the latest pair of Nikes. We live in a consumerist world,
a fact that has become so blatantly obvious that Americans are
starting to look like clones of one another. Those who control the
media controls what people purchase, talk about and think about.
For
a long time, the elite have used these tools to
That
brings us to December 8th 2017 which was one of the most
embarrassing days for the U.S. media in quite a long time. It was
kicked off by CNN, with MSNBC and CBS close behind, and countless
pundits, commentators, and operatives. By the end of the day, it was
clear that several of the nation’s largest and most influential
news outlets had spread an explosive but completely false news story
to millions of people, while refusing to provide any explanation of
how it happened.
It’s
hard to say exactly how many people were swamped with this “false
news” or as some call it “outright propaganda” by the CNN
story. But thanks to Democratic-loyal journalists and operatives who
decree every anti-Trump claim to be true without seeing any evidence,
it’s certainly safe to say that many hundreds of thousands of
people, almost certainly millions, were exposed to these false claims
and many believed them and still do!!!
How
often do we step aside and question what we’re actually hearing?
How often do we it for ourselves and use our own critical thinking
skills instead of blindly believing what we’re told. The elite
control so many aspects of our lives that it can sometimes be
difficult to even think of our lives as being our own anymore. So,
if you find yourself surrounded by billboards or listening to
propaganda on the news, ask yourself: How is this affecting my
decisions and my life? We must be vigilant. By raising our
consciousness and educating ourselves, we can shield ourselves from
this type of manipulation.
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