A recently declassified report from 1951 reveals the CIA's interest into the effects of propaganda. In the report they state many things which I recommend everyone to read. The reports subject line reads “Comparison of Soviet and VOA propaganda”. The important key here is to understand the actors at hand. VOA stands for Voice of America and is the largest U.S. International broadcaster which serves “an estimated weekly global audience of 236.6 million..”. They provide a litany of information in different formats and are constantly evolving to fulfill their “mission”. The CIA is the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States of America and I believe we all know what the Soviet Union was. This document is a rare look into one of the most power agencies in the world.
“The Voice of America (VOA) is a dynamic international multimedia broadcaster with service in more than 40 languages. Serving an estimated weekly global audience of 236.6 million, VOA provides news, information, and cultural programming through the Internet, mobile and social media, radio, and television. VOA is funded by the U.S. Government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors.” - https://www.insidevoa.com/p/5829.html
Here is some irony.
“The Voice of America began broadcasting in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda with accurate and unbiased news and information. Ever since then, VOA has served the world with a consistent message of truth, hope and inspiration.” - https://www.insidevoa.com/p/5829.html
“The resemblances between Soviet and American propaganda are great-much greater, probably than most Americans realize.”
To begin, here is a summary of the CIA report about “The comparison of Soviet and Voice of America propaganda is intended to provide (a) clues to the mentality which shapes USSR propaganda techniques and (b) comparative material for the examination of the U.S. Propaganda techniques.”
And here we have a list of 33 in total, “Similarities” found by the CIA in this report.
Here are some listed differences that the CIA found between the propaganda “programs”.
This screenshot shows detailed differences of propaganda between the VOA and Moscow. I recommend reading the rest when you have a time.
Here the CIA notes the use of “American Religion and Tradition” propaganda.
In conclusion, these actors use the tools of deception to help move their agendas while no one "bats an eye". Even as going as far as to use religion against presumably religious communities. These tools are very effective, otherwise they wouldn't continue to do these things to this day. If you learn what to look for, you start to see it everywhere. Crypto has become a target of propaganda. Luckily, the crypto community is generally transparent which makes these tools of deception less effective. We must continue to be transparent within the community. We will see more waves of propaganda targeting people that hardly know anything of crypto, much less the talking heads that will spread the propaganda. I feel the crypto community is up to the task. Time will tell.
Read the full CIA document here: https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP80-00809A000500730210-4.pdf
A few questions:
If you're outside the United States, do you know of the VOA?
What do you think about this CIA report?
Are you confident in spotting propaganda? &desnbsp;
Do you believe your country is targeted by propaganda of some sort?
Thanks for reading,
- Citizen
(Image Source)