The Internet and the “Alternate Press”
“American freedom of the press is evident in the internet and in the wide variety of publications critical of the government.” So say the apologists for US imperialism.
To begin with, the propaganda power of the mass media is not counteracted by small-time publications and blogs that reach a small fraction of the population. It can hardly be denied that the US mass media fully supports the general principles of US imperialist rule and the direction of US policies. The “differences” that one occasionally encounters in the big-time media almost always center around personalities and secondary tactics. No problem there. Presidents, senators etc. come and go, but the basic orientation and policies of US imperialism do not change as a result.
What is crucial besides direction is the volume of the propaganda of the genuine mass media, which reaches – constantly and repeatedly – virtually the entire population. Various liberal and left publications are read by only a tiny fraction of the populace and usually just occasionally. Quantity translates into quality, in that the vastly powerful mass media basically determines public consciousness – unless harsh reality contradicts the disseminated lies.
Very rarely even the big mass media may offer a genuine dissenting point of view, but this occurs so infrequently that these rare occasions cannot effectively counter the main thrust of the reactionary mass propaganda. Instead, the aura of fake “democracy” and “freedom of the press” is enhanced by rare sorties into the realm of more-or-less dissent.
As for dissenting publications, internet sites and blogs, they serve two main goals. The first is to show how “democratic” US imperialism is. More importantly, they function – in a big way – as traps for the US secret political police to identify and scrupulously follow the thoughts of virtually every honest, independent activist or would-be activist in the entire country.
If the independent-minded individual connects with “The Nation,” “Counterpunch,” “Alternet,” etc. etc. (as ineffectual or diversionary as the “criticism” of most of these publications is), this is immediately signaled to the US National Security Administration (NSA) and personal records are recorded and kept. If you plug in repeatedly, you are more “suspect” than if you do it only once or twice. If you contribute money to some cause on the internet, you are even more “dangerous.”
The vast majority of the liberal and radical publications are established and run by the US secret political police. In this respect, they serve the same function as the vast multitude of “liberal” and “radical” organizations set up by the FBI and its cohorts. But even if a site, etc., is genuine, i.e. if it is “unwitting,” the secret political police tap into it in the same way and for the same purpose.
For instance, anyone logging into the site of “Silent Terror” arnoldlockshin.wordpress.com/ is sure to be recorded by the NSA. What should I do? Tell people not to read the book? Avoiding the vicious claws of the US secret political police is virtually impossible.
As for the internet, it is the ideal “Big Brother is Watching You” machine. We know from Edward Snowden's revelations that the US NSA – an important arm of the US secret political police – intercepts, analyses and stores virtually everything transmitted electronically by anybody in the world. Definitely including the internet, of course.
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The widespread use of the internet social media also has become a favorite tool of mass imperialist propaganda. The secret political police apparatus can and does send thousands, if not tens and hundreds of thousands, of ostensibly “independent,” “spontaneous” texts and videos through the internet. All this is simply another form of imperialist propaganda, designed to produce an “independent,” “personal touch” to mass dissemination of vicious lies and distortions.
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Правительство США жестоко нарушало мои права человека при проведении кампании террора, которая заставила меня покинуть свою родину и получить политическое убежище в СССР. См. книгу «Безмолвный террор — История политических гонений на семью в США» - "Silent Terror: One family's history of political persecution in the United States» - arnoldlockshin.wordpress.com
Правительство США еще нарушает мои права, в течении более 13 лет отказывается от выплаты причитающейся мне пенсии по старости. Властители США воруют пенсию!! Всё это — ещё доказательство, что настоящий действующий закон в США — Закон джунглей.
ФСБ - Федеральная служба «безопасности» России - вслед за позорным, предавшим страну предшественником КГБ, выполняет приказы секретного, кровавого хозяина (boss) - американского ЦРУ (CIA). Среди таких «задач» - мне запретить выступать в СМИ и не пропускать большинства отправленных мне комментариев. А это далеко не всё...
Арнольд Локшин, политэмигрант из США
BANNED – ЗАПРЕЩЕНО !!
ВНИМАНИЕ: ЦРУ - ФСБ забанили мои посты и комментарии в ВКонтакте!
“American freedom of the press is evident in the internet and in the wide variety of publications critical of the government.” So say the apologists for US imperialism.
To begin with, the propaganda power of the mass media is not counteracted by small-time publications and blogs that reach a small fraction of the population. It can hardly be denied that the US mass media fully supports the general principles of US imperialist rule and the direction of US policies. The “differences” that one occasionally encounters in the big-time media almost always center around personalities and secondary tactics. No problem there. Presidents, senators etc. come and go, but the basic orientation and policies of US imperialism do not change as a result.
What is crucial besides direction is the volume of the propaganda of the genuine mass media, which reaches – constantly and repeatedly – virtually the entire population. Various liberal and left publications are read by only a tiny fraction of the populace and usually just occasionally. Quantity translates into quality, in that the vastly powerful mass media basically determines public consciousness – unless harsh reality contradicts the disseminated lies.
Very rarely even the big mass media may offer a genuine dissenting point of view, but this occurs so infrequently that these rare occasions cannot effectively counter the main thrust of the reactionary mass propaganda. Instead, the aura of fake “democracy” and “freedom of the press” is enhanced by rare sorties into the realm of more-or-less dissent.
As for dissenting publications, internet sites and blogs, they serve two main goals. The first is to show how “democratic” US imperialism is. More importantly, they function – in a big way – as traps for the US secret political police to identify and scrupulously follow the thoughts of virtually every honest, independent activist or would-be activist in the entire country.
If the independent-minded individual connects with “The Nation,” “Counterpunch,” “Alternet,” etc. etc. (as ineffectual or diversionary as the “criticism” of most of these publications is), this is immediately signaled to the US National Security Administration (NSA) and personal records are recorded and kept. If you plug in repeatedly, you are more “suspect” than if you do it only once or twice. If you contribute money to some cause on the internet, you are even more “dangerous.”
The vast majority of the liberal and radical publications are established and run by the US secret political police. In this respect, they serve the same function as the vast multitude of “liberal” and “radical” organizations set up by the FBI and its cohorts. But even if a site, etc., is genuine, i.e. if it is “unwitting,” the secret political police tap into it in the same way and for the same purpose.
For instance, anyone logging into the site of “Silent Terror” arnoldlockshin.wordpress.com/ is sure to be recorded by the NSA. What should I do? Tell people not to read the book? Avoiding the vicious claws of the US secret political police is virtually impossible.
As for the internet, it is the ideal “Big Brother is Watching You” machine. We know from Edward Snowden's revelations that the US NSA – an important arm of the US secret political police – intercepts, analyses and stores virtually everything transmitted electronically by anybody in the world. Definitely including the internet, of course.
////////////////////////////////////////////////
The widespread use of the internet social media also has become a favorite tool of mass imperialist propaganda. The secret political police apparatus can and does send thousands, if not tens and hundreds of thousands, of ostensibly “independent,” “spontaneous” texts and videos through the internet. All this is simply another form of imperialist propaganda, designed to produce an “independent,” “personal touch” to mass dissemination of vicious lies and distortions.
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Правительство США жестоко нарушало мои права человека при проведении кампании террора, которая заставила меня покинуть свою родину и получить политическое убежище в СССР. См. книгу «Безмолвный террор — История политических гонений на семью в США» - "Silent Terror: One family's history of political persecution in the United States» - arnoldlockshin.wordpress.com
Правительство США еще нарушает мои права, в течении более 13 лет отказывается от выплаты причитающейся мне пенсии по старости. Властители США воруют пенсию!! Всё это — ещё доказательство, что настоящий действующий закон в США — Закон джунглей.
ФСБ - Федеральная служба «безопасности» России - вслед за позорным, предавшим страну предшественником КГБ, выполняет приказы секретного, кровавого хозяина (boss) - американского ЦРУ (CIA). Среди таких «задач» - мне запретить выступать в СМИ и не пропускать большинства отправленных мне комментариев. А это далеко не всё...
Арнольд Локшин, политэмигрант из США
BANNED – ЗАПРЕЩЕНО !!
ВНИМАНИЕ: ЦРУ - ФСБ забанили мои посты и комментарии в ВКонтакте!