Propaganda is a latin term that means to disseminate or spread information.
In modern times this has been abused so much that it now has the meaning of pushing a specific view, these days referred to simply as fake news. However, fake news is quite often taken as fact by those that don't want to question or simply want to believe, which makes it very difficult to actually get reality as some media tend to push these stories as fact. With the mass of competing media today, may "Journalists" grab stories straight off the internet with no or minimal fact checking.
Political leaders in modern times have capitalised on that to to the extent of threatening their own countries political structure in attempts to retain power at all cost.
But lets keep it simple and call it misinformation.
These days we hear fact free announcements about 5G causing everything from birth defects to Corona Virus, wind power generators causing cancer and vaccinations causing autism or being used to implant microchips for mind control.
Even Covid is touted as a man made disease to control population growth or a fake disease no worse that a cold.
The fact that some governments have been actively supporting these stories because it works to their advantage, means that they are now between a rock and a hard place trying to overcome what has been accepted as the new normal.
Even here in Australia we have federal member of parliament, Craig Kelly, still pushing anti vax propaganda and that hydroxychloriquine is a cure for Covid despite the lack of any evidence. He has now been hit with a one week ban by Facebook for just that. As we all know, that's a very harsh punishment (sarcasm).
Hopefully, with the world starting to swing back from populism we may have a chance with the grownups back in the room.
But then again, it could be a long battle as there are still a lot of people out there that still think the US election was rigged and a pedophile ring run by the Clintons still exists in a New York Pizza shop.
Hopefully, what will come out of this is a much better understanding and control of social media.
In Australia, you have a right to say a lot of things, but if you slander or libel anyone then you have to be able to prove it. It's not a given that you can say anything just because it's your opinion. We actually don't have an enshrined right of free speech, just common law acceptance, so you can't hide behind the law.
Here's how fake news works.
