How Is Propaganda Used In The World Today To Bully and Confuse Us?
By Antoine G Larosiliere
Is it just me, or are you feeling a little confused too? Maybe confusion isn’t the right word, or the word confusion isn’t enough. You see, I’m not only confused, but also frustrated, aggravated and discouraged. So much information is being broadcast either through the television, social media, the internet or word of mouth, that it has become overwhelming. The frustrating part is that I don’t know what to believe anymore. It feels like I’m being harassed by biased, misleading information used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view. That defines propaganda, the source of my frustrations. How is propaganda used in the world today to bully and confuse us? Here is what I learned…
“There is no evidence the coronavirus was created in a laboratory as a potential bio-weapon”
The world was looking for someone to blame…
The origin of the virus was one of the topics at the center of propaganda and misinformation. The world was looking for someone to blame, and we had to ask ourselves; how is propaganda being used today to get bully us? Is it with unsubstantiated claims and myths? Could one of these claims be that COVID-19 escaped from a virology lab in Wuhan, China. There’s a myth about how the virus can be traced back to eating bats or bat soup. There’s even a myth that the virus was created to hide the effects of 5G on human health. U.S. intelligence officials said, “There is no evidence the coronavirus was created in a laboratory as a potential bio-weapon or engineered.” An initial source of the virus said that it had been “an unidentified infected animal from the Wuhan wet market.” This claim was later abandoned by China.
The importance and effectiveness of wearing a mask…
How Is propaganda used in the world today to bully and perpetrate misinformation on the importance and effectiveness of wearing a mask? One misleading information about masks is that “they limit the amount of oxygen getting into the body;” a condition called “hypoxia.” According to infectious disease expert Prof Keith Neal, “thin paper or cloth masks will not lead to hypoxia.” Another claim is that masks can cause carbon dioxide poisoning; but The World Health Organization (WHO) says, “The prolonged use of medical masks when properly worn, does not cause CO2 intoxication.” There’s the claim that mask will harm the immune system, but there has been no evidence to support this claim. Matter of fact, according to Pro Neal, “Masks may stop germs getting into your mouth or nose so your immune system doesn’t have to kick in.”
What if I do get sick? Should I go to the hospital, or not? Or better yet, how will I be treated to get better?
Is the pathway to treatment and a cure hydroxychloroquine?
Is the pathway to treatment and a cure hydroxychloroquine, the drug used to treat Malaria patients or are we being bullied to think otherwise? Hydroxychloroquine has been at the center of conversations and confusion in regards to COVID-19.
-At first there was a study published by Henry Ford Health System that showed treatment of hydroxychloroquine “cut the death rate significantly in sick patients hospitalized with COVID-19 – and without heart-related side-effects.”
-A research article published in the medical journal “The Lancet,” highlighted 96,000 coronavirus patients from 671 hospitals worldwide. Almost 15,000 of these patients were given hydroxychloroquine, either alone or with an antibiotic. The research concluded, “no benefits against coronavirus and increased the risk patients developing irregular heart rhythms and dying.”
Despite these concerns for its safety and efficacy, how is propaganda being used today to confuse us about hydroxychloroquine and its benefits?
-U.S. President Donald Trump in May said that he was taking hydroxychloroquine as a preventative measure against the virus.
-Even Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro claimed “hydroxychloroquine is working in all places.”
-Dr. Stella Immanuel, primary health physician for Houston spoke at a news conference that went viral, claiming she treated over 350 COVID-19 patients. “I give them hydroxychloroquine, I give dem zinc, I give dem Zithromax and all of them are well.”
-Dr. Anthony Fauci said that data shows “hydroxychloroquine is not an effective treatment for the coronavirus.”
-Dr. Sanjay Gupta of (CNN) said President Donald Trump “shouldn’t be taking” Hydroxychloroquine as a preventative treatment, claiming his announcement is “going to cause a lot of confusion.” Too late Dr. Gupta! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m already confused.
“When a COVID-19 vaccine is available, will many of us be manipulated by propaganda to get it…”
How is propaganda used in the world today to force me to get a vaccine?
There is a massive global effort to come up with a vaccine, and in time it will be available. When a COVID-19 vaccine is available, will many of us be manipulated by propaganda to get it, or will too many of us be bullied to believe we shouldn’t get it?
-In May, there was a viral 26-minute hoax video of COVID-19 that ill-advisedly stated that “vaccines weaken people’s immune systems.”
-The Angus Reid Institute in Vancouver, BC released an online survey in February of 2019. It concluded that “a staggering 29% of those aged between 35 and 54, and 36% of those aged 55+ say that the science on vaccinations is not clear.”
-In a 1998 publication, former physician Andrew Wakefield showed a link between measles, mumps and rubella vaccines and autism. His license was revoked and his work was retracted.
-In the United States alone this past winter, 183 children whose deaths were confirmed as flu-related, 80% had not been vaccinated that season, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
-Some other theories include that anti-vaccine debates are a financial opportunity for selling books, services, or other products.
-One theory is that Bill Gates created the virus. He patented it, and will use it to control people. Are they referring to the same Bill Gates whose the Microsoft co-founder, a billionaire philanthropist, and who is funding efforts to find treatments and vaccines for the virus? I have a time believing that one.
Should I watch the news or not?
With all the propaganda being spread about the virus and the protests, where can I rely on to get credible and accurate information. Since Mr. Trump’s presidency, he has coined the term ‘fake news’. But which news organization is he referring to?
-Is he referring to CNN? On January 2017, President Donald Trump famously told a CNN reporter, “you’re fake news.”
– CNN’s Joe Lockhart, who, while reporting on the Senate trial, invented a conversation between two Republican senators, then later retracted it and said, “Ok maybe I made up the convo, but you know that’s exactly what they’re thinking.”
-Is MSNBC ‘fake news’? Last year MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell retracted his story about alleged Russian connections to the president’s finances. He later apologized for reporting it and said, “We don’t know whether the information is inaccurate.”
-What about FOX news? Would they be considered ‘fake news’? FOX news this year in covering the Seattle protests has taken down and apologized for digitally manipulated, misleading photos that appeared on its website.”
What can we do about fake news and propaganda?
There are some things we can do to minimize some of our confusion and the abuse we’re receiving from this bully called— propaganda.
-Find the date of the original story and take some time to look for the original source.
-Read the whole article before you share it.
– Install B.S. Detector, a browser extension that identifies stories from sites that produce clickbait, fake news, and other suspect stories.
-Verify and cross-check the information on FactCheck.org to fact-check claims made by presidents, members of Congress, presidential candidates, and other members of the political arena.
-Report the fake news from the social media platform it was founded on. (Facebook/Instagram/Twitter)
I hope this has been helpful! Many strategies on bullying can also be found in the novel The Bully Experience: Daniel’s Story. Also subscribe to the YouTube channel for more insight to these topics.
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