It is perhaps hard to believe that there are actually masses of people out there in the world who don't realise, don't know or just don't care that what passes for 'mainstream media' these days is actually almost exclusively just the propaganda arm of governments and the rich elite.
Millions of people believe the falsehood, deception and outright lies written by pseudo-journalists, who are in reality either peddling their own agenda in the form of 'opinion pieces' or towing the establishment line. Just as insidious are the distraction pieces shown on TV news, be it regular showpiece bulletins on national networks or on the 24-hour rolling channels, and in national newspapers, designed to hide undesirable stories from gaining prominence - the 'burying of bad news'.
One of the most galling things I find about mainstream news is the fact that these outlets chose the news we see, or read, and how it is presented. In my opinion there is not a single one of them that can claim to be unbiased, objective or reliable. Much worse than that, by following the agendas of whatever malignant media boss, political party or special interest group, mainstream media deliberately misinforms the world.
To accept the narratives of the propaganda machine that is the mass media is to allow oneself to be used, and in the information age there is really no excuse for this mindless acceptance by anyone with internet access and more than a 10-year old child's level of research ability. However, make no mistake, we are all involved in a world war against propaganda, and it has been raging for decades.
Prior to the internet age, and really until the birth of social media, this war was being all but won by the propagandists. Apart from a tiny number of academics and researchers, a few ultra-savvy artists and comedians, and the occasional revolutionary thinker, the misinformation and deception was taken, to a varying degree of success, as trusted reality. Even those few speakers of truth found it incredibly hard to get their message out, of course, because the only outlet to the masses was the mainstream media.
Fast-forward to 2018 and the current epidemic of proponents of the mainstream media slinging mud at social media companies. This highlights the progress that has at last been made in the fight against the propagandists. The mainstream media bosses and their lackeys in political circles are running scared. Pubic opinion is slowly starting to turn. Newspaper sales are rapidly falling. Ratings for TV news networks are dropping off. Information is power, but we can never underestimate the awesome power of those shadowy figures, the puppet-masters, with their fingers in the pies of lobby groups and international business.
Nowhere is the propaganda war more dangerous than in the military-industrial complex. The situation in all the flashpoints of the world, not least the Middle-East, are administered by pure propaganda. It is worth watching this 26 minute interview with a real veteran journalist, John Pilger, to understand just how effective and dangerous the war has become -
So what are us mere mortals to do about the situation? Well, I believe it's simple. Ask questions - always. Whenever you are being told some story, reading an opinion piece or 'analysis', or watching the news - ask yourself what are we not being told? What is the motivation of the individual(s) presenting the item? What is the source? Are both sides of the story being told in a fair way?
Finally, we should make use of any means at our disposal to converse, debate and discuss what we are being told. Talk to friends, family, anyone who'll listen and respond. Post on social media. Search the web for alternative viewpoints and sources, bookmark what you find. We have to make use of the powerful free tools we have been provided to fight this propaganda war.