We have all noticed how clumsy and unbelievable all propaganda works look. It’s always easy to spot a fake. The only explanation we use is the one we like: they are stupid idiots who can’t even organize a decent forgery. But, in reality, it’s the opposite. We are the stupid idiots, because fake news is made in such a way that it can be easily exposed. How is that possible?
The principle of filtering out the gullible is used here. This is how those who send out “Nigerian letters” operate. Only those who believe even a little in this nonsense will respond to a large stream of spam. Scammers have no use for critical thinkers; they need fools, or rather, trusting individuals. That’s why Nigerian letters are crafted in such a way as to immediately filter out the critically thinking crowd. The cost of the first transaction is negligible when calculated per user. What matters to the scammer is to then “cultivate” and spend time and effort only on those who believed. And even if that’s just 0.001% of all recipients, it doesn’t matter. The same goes for the flow of propaganda.
A critically thinking person simply stops consuming the stream of lies and nonsense, turns off the television, blocks propaganda content online, and so on. This leaves a small portion, about 10% of the population, but they are already obedient, brainwashed, and unable to think critically—a “sucker” army that can be manipulated with just a snap of the fingers.
If 10% of the population actively supports a certain viewpoint, they begin to influence the rest of society. Another 10% will “play a role,” similar to the Komsomol members of the 1980s, living a double moral life—echoing propaganda slogans for their own benefit.
In total, we already have 20% of the population that, under any circumstances, secures the majority of votes in elections and public opinion polls, since the passive part does not vote, the unmobilized part votes statistically randomly, and those who are truly “against” either take to the streets or prefer to remain silent or not express opinions that sharply contradict the prevailing view. aggressive and the mobilized part of the population.
At the same time, the number of like-minded individuals is constantly growing due to the instinctive behavior present in people that supports conformity. The “bandwagon effect” kicks in. salty porridge “People change their opinions under the influence of their surroundings. Only very conscious individuals, asocial personalities, born dissidents, the elite of the scientific community, and consumers of LSD can truly and consistently resist this machine.” 🙂
How does this work? We are fed information or news that seems to be pulled out of thin air. “Information” will always come with the possibility of being refuted, while the news will be such that everyone around will start rolling their eyes. What happens next?
But who pays attention to propaganda sources? Only those who have not turned away from them, who still trust them. The critically thinking part of the population does not watch propaganda, does not read propaganda news, and does not pay any attention to provocative messages at all. What should a propaganda operator do? That’s right! They need to introduce a “dummy” into the part of the information space where critically thinking people reside.
And the media and bloggers will help with this. They are such… scavengers They are only interested in having their publications shared, referenced, and eliciting emotions when people read their articles and posts. They need to show numbers to advertisers. The main criteria for their success are likes, shares, karma points, and visitor counts—all of which can be sold to advertisers. It is precisely this that makes them eager to retransmit nonsense.
People joyfully start to debunk false news or indignantly react with a sense of superiority to yet another ridiculous initiative from some sexually frustrated politician. There are reposts, links to articles, and a viral spread of audience engagement. What have we achieved by refuting lies or belittling nonsense? We have ensured that the lie spreads and forced ourselves to read it, becoming even more agitated. If we hadn’t read the lies or the rebuttals to them, and hadn’t worried about them, we wouldn’t even know they existed. Since a lie is not a real entity to begin with, it is our discussion and attention that make it real. It transforms from just another fantasy of some individual into a topic for discussion.
The propaganda operator is completely unconcerned about the fact that rebuttals will occur. The impact of these rebuttals on the mobilized supporters is virtually zero. They isolate themselves from any “machinations” of their own. enemies “The propaganda operator has a simple KPI — they can gauge the popularity of a news story by the number of views, clicks, and shares. The people on the payroll who write and disseminate such news are, of course, also interested in the audience. It’s truly frightening when people, unknowingly, inflate the significance of a news story or provocation that involves dead individuals. This directly motivates the propaganda operator to orchestrate further killings, blame the other side for them, while leaving ‘Easter eggs’ behind so that the news can easily be challenged. It’s enough to use the same actors in crowd scenes, present poorly made fake photographs for discussion, or even blatantly organize a ‘random leak’ of the truth.”
All the sensational “news” from the propaganda is crafted according to a standard propaganda script: leaving “gaps” for rebuttals or even allowing “leaks” themselves so that the information spreads further, already aided by the rebuttals. Are they really such idiots that they can’t even put together a decent forgery? The worst thing you can do is underestimate your opponent. It’s enough to try to recall even one instance of propaganda that wasn’t immediately followed by the possibility of rebuttal. Can we really believe that, for such money, they have idiots on their payroll who can’t handle Photoshop, After Effects, or the assortment of the same actors appearing in different stories without raising suspicion, and who can’t create “clean” narratives?
Most of the information background regarding the so-called ” crucified boys” was created not by brainwashed “suckers,” but by supposedly critical thinkers. They shout, “Attention, we are being lied to,” driven by their instincts that command them. monkey to shout at the top of your lungs upon seeing a tiger. What comes out of it? Exactly what the propagandists need. Not only does falsehood spread faster and more effectively than real news, but it also… reasons Moreover, lies are spread precisely to suppress the real news, and those who shout “Tiger! Tiger!” are the ones who help the lies to spread.
People who take pride in being smarter than “suckers” end up becoming tools in the manipulation of those “suckers.” We have all been forced to play a TV quiz scam of “guess the word and call a premium number.” We marvel and tell each other that these “leaders of Luhandon” seem to have been chosen on purpose, each one more impressive than the last, all shining with intelligence and charisma. Well, yes, it was intentional. Firstly, such “leaders” help to “filter out the suckers,” and secondly, they provide a reason for the “critically minded” to mock = to proliferate these figures in our minds.
Ask yourselves, do you really want your mind to be cluttered with the images of Gubarev or Motorola instead of the faces of attractive members of the opposite sex? And why were you even made to learn who these people are and what they look like? Why does the word “Babai” now trigger a specific group of neurons in each of you, responsible for the image of yet another moral degenerate that you never asked for in your life? You weren’t even paid for this; your mind was simply violated. Yes, there was one rather likable and even charismatic “militia leader,” even though he was just as much of a clown as the rest. As soon as it became clear that he had more “clown” than “substance,” he promptly disappeared.
What to do?
Do not spread lies. Even if it’s a rebuttal to a lie. There’s no need to write, “Actually, the boy wasn’t crucified; they interviewed an actor, not a resident of Slavyansk,” and there’s no need to provide evidence. There’s no point in debunking lies. The “suckers” won’t accept it, and the “critically thinking” ones will just refute it themselves and smirk. And without you, there will be an “activist” who will shout “tiger, tiger.” One shout is enough, really. It’s not the lies you need to fight against, but the liars. If some “source of information” is spreading disinformation, it’s not trustworthy, and discussing its “creations” or, worse, spreading it and generating clicks, traffic, and an audience for it is just working for the liar. Ask yourself where you heard about, say, the “crucified boy.” Did you turn on the TV yourself? Or did you go watch a video that was handed to you by well-meaning debunkers? Just think about it: some troll created a new entity out of thin air, meme. …that continues to live in our minds right now, occupying a space in our heads. Would you feel the urge to vehemently refute something if you simply didn’t know, if no one knew about this nonsense? After all, it is precisely thanks to the refuters that this very crucified boy made the leap from television’s information space to online, and now into our brains as well.
Do not publish anything that requires verification. No matter how pleasant it may sound to you, remember that the more appealing the news, the more tempting it is to share, the more likely it is to be a piece of propaganda from one side or another. Build a reputation for being someone who only deals with verified information. If you spread rumors, you are only deepening the chasm that propagandists on both sides are working to create, which is their true common goal.
Understand that the more you are urged to share some news or feel compelled to spread it, the more likely it is to be manipulation. Ignore calls for “Maximum repost!” Analyze your emotions after reading the material. Instantly consider who benefits from it and what the authors’ true intentions are. Be mindful. Count to ten in your head before reposting. Take a look at your feeds. If the news reached you through reposts, find the strength within yourself not to open it. It is most likely a viral meme.
Understand that if there is some false narrative that is not tied to specific events, it is 100% likely that this narrative is masking some truth and is designed precisely to be refuted — to be spread further, to fill news feeds with it or its rebuttals, and to make people discuss what doesn’t exist instead of what does! If a boy was crucified, dig deeper and find information about a girl who was raped to death, having her hands nailed to the floor beforehand. Instead of spreading disinformation, let’s present the truth that is being concealed. It just needs to be uncovered. It’s not always necessary, but it’s likely that there’s something reflective like “Bus in Volnovakha = Stop in Donetsk” or the news that an economic catastrophe in Ukraine = the actual decline in living standards in Russia. A false narrative serves its purpose well — it captures attention, distracting from more important issues.
So, find the truth and spread the truth, not just refutations of disinformation. Want to debunk something? Sit down and write an analytical article yourself. Want to fight against propaganda? At the very least, write a complaint or file a lawsuit against the source of the propaganda. Of course, this applies if you have personally become a victim of it, rather than just being handed it by well-meaning debunkers. If you want to be a true soldier of the “armchair troops,” seek the truth and disseminate it in response to every false narrative with reposts.
And, of course, always comply. information hygiene Пожалуйста, предоставьте текст, который вы хотите перевести.