23/08/2008

The Power of Conformity

Candid Camera was a popular television program in the US in the 1960s. The program used the classic methodology of naturalistic experiments in social psychology as the source of its humorous scenarios. The resulting programs were not only entertaining, but also potentially instructive. For example, how independent is the average person when confronted with the all-powerful "consensus of the group?" Not very.



Creating a consensus quickly is the goal of every "shock and awe" propagandist. That's why it's often true that "a lie makes it half way around the world before the truth gets its pants on."

Professional liars - and I could tell you a few recent stories of them - have their stories worked out well in advance and then pump them out hard and fast long before thoughtful, honest analysts have the chance to ask even the first question.

Once the consensus is pointing in one direction, it becomes very difficult to take, hold and promote a contrary point of view, even if that point of view is accurate and the consensus is completely false.

That's why it's prudent to assume that ANYTHING you "know" that is consensus-based and was produced and is continuously supported by the so called "mainstream" news media (news, PR and/or propaganda) is probably the product of a calculated attempt to mislead.

As a simple rule of thumb, the proper response to ANYTHING that makes its way to the network news or the front page of a major newspaper is to ask yourself two questions: "Whose propaganda is this?" and "What facts are they withholding and skewing in a calculated attempt to mislead me?"


One of the most important skills in the propagandist's bag of tricks is controlling where your audience places its attention. In magic, it's called "misdirection." In politics, it's called setting the agenda.

Once you realize that EVERYTHING that's featured by the news media is most likely someone else's propaganda and that the key to successful deception is misdirection, you are well on your way to liberating your mind from a ton of nonsense and misinformation and, in the process, perhaps saving your own life some day.



Take this short test and see how powerful misdirection is and how it works:




Perception is limited - always. The challenge is not to perceive everything, it's to perceive what's important. The primary tool of the propaganda system (also known as "the news media") is misdirection, having you pay attention to the wrong things.

1 comment:

steve said...

I can't believe I didn't see the bear!