As I began to understand the overwhelming amount of propaganda in my life, within the past week I have started to think about specific examples as Leap 1 required. I started by keeping my eyes and ears open. What I found and heard was immense. First I want to acknowledge how Ryan Holiday, within Trust me I’m Lying, unfolded that bloggers and media outlets are under so much pressure to have the next or best article that much of the time the quality of the work is lacking and the information may in fact be false or out of context. “ Every person in media (with the exception of a few at the top layer) in this ecosystem is under immense pressure to produce content under the tightest of deadlines (holiday, 2013)”. Now with information like this in mind, I Looked for posts, phrases, pictures etc… that seemed to me to be hollow or rushed. Over this past week, a few of these instances thoroughly caught my attention. The first example of propaganda that I encountered was while listening to sports radio. I usually listen to 103.7 fm, and on my way into work. I was forced to listen to the sports analysts talk about the patriot’s game against the chiefs. It was clear that the “pats” had received a whooping. The analyst started to talk about how he believes Tom Brady is getting to old and towards the end of his years in the league (wrong). Then I noticed he said this right before allowing open calls from listeners. Knowing that his listeners would be in outrage, the analyst said this to stir up controversy, which in return would boost ratings as well as calls. Although this particular analyst is a firm believer in Tom Brady, he said this information to stir up emotions and make a controversy much like Ryan Holiday with the marketing campaign for I hope they serve beer in hell. While listening to the same argument over this sports radio, I noticed my second example of propaganda. When prompting listeners to call in with some outrageous claims, there is a brief two-second pause that says something along the lines of “standard data and call rates may not apply”. I couldn’t help but laugh knowing that all these poor shmucks were getting all worked up only to be agreed with over the radio, and to have their money and ratings taken by the radio stations and their cellular provider. Also relating to the NFL, I noticed that for players such as Colin Kaepernick, were being used by bloggers and analysts because of his image. Within the past two seasons it is safe to say that Colin Kaepernick was a pioneer amongst athletes to stand up for African American rights as well as political views. This past week I have noticed that many sports blogs are using his face as click bate with ridiculous titles merely to lure in clicks and page views. He currently has no business as an NFL player, yet is still referred to and quoted due to the amount of buzz that unfolds around his name. Below is a link to see just how vague and biased this information is. Also, many touchy subjects are brought up that have the potential to start controversy on the message boards. In a nutshell, this blogger wanted to receive more views on his page. Colin was the best way to do this. And lastly he basically just quoted and released all old information or personal opinions. https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/colin-kaepernick-finally-speaks-im-ready-right-now-to-return-to-the-nfl/ The next form of propaganda that I have noticed is the extensive amount of misinformation that has flooded the mainstream social media platforms about Donald Trump. First and foremost I do not have any particular stance towards his actions, this neutrality has allowed me to actually understand that people looking for clicks from unknowing social media users make most of the articles that are posted. I found this article from business insider that basically debunks this statement. Although it debunks the statement I was in aw that this is even an article. All of this seems to be nonsense. It is so obvious to see that this man even at the head of state is being made a fool by bloggers and media to stir up controversy. http://www.businessinsider.com/is-donald-trump-is-afraid-of-stairs-steps-2017-1 Propaganda within the education system, to me at least, seemed a bit more confusing for me to find. My favorite picture that I found shows a student with chains on his ankles. One chain connected to an enormous metal ball titles “student loans”, the other chain connected to a metal ball titles “Tuition Hike”. I feel as though the main form of propaganda within the education system explains how College is needed to make it within our current social environment. This makes more and more people each year decide to further their educations. On the flipside of this, College’s are earning more money for the increase of students while also increasing tuition, and the price of books and supplies. This expression of need for a degree makes the general population worry and in return enroll into colleges and universities. These colleges and Universities, rather than a tool are now a business that exploits the want for education and replaces that feeling with a need for education to merely feed the pockets of those behind the universities. Did you know that the highest paid state employee In Rhode Island is URI’s Basketball coach? Lastly I have noticed propaganda and misinformation from online bloggers regarding the latest on “Bitcoin”. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that is not backed by and government. This allows for a universally recognized form of currency that is virtually as safe as you keep it. The media as well as some online bloggers will post their misinformation to try and keep the population from believing in the possibilities as well as likelihood of this currency thriving. Some reasoning behind this would be that new/radio stations will only post negative theories towards this due to the fact that it would be an alternative to government run currencies. Many outlets take stances against the ‘coin’ to try and discredit this phenomenon. Without stating my beliefs I urge my viewers to read into Bitcoin and try and understand how revolutionary this currency “can” be. I saw this picture that I really liked, This portrays how you can take control of your wealth and virtually squash the bankor that wants to “help” only to take your money. This week I kept my eyes open to what is going on. Propaganda is everywhere and in many forms. Stay Woke. -Alexander Izzi Works cited: Holiday, R. (2013). Trust Me I'm Lying. Hudson S, New York: Portfolio Penguin. Bienkov, J. E. (2017, January 30). The rumour that Donald Trump is afraid of stairs came from Downing Street. Retrieved September 18, 2017, from http://www.businessinsider.com/is-donald-trump-is-afraid-of-stairs-steps-2017-1 Ryan Wilson @ryanwilson_07 22h ago • 2 min read. (2017, September 17). Colin Kaepernick finally speaks: 'I'm ready right now' to return to the NFL. Retrieved September 18, 2017, from https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/colin-kaepernick-finally-speaks-im-ready-right-now-to-return-to-the-nfl/ Propaganda. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2017, from http://freecollegeforall.weebly.com/propaganda.html Phneep! » Bitcoin – Propaganda. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2017, from http://www.phneep.com/projects/bitcoin-propaganda/
1 Comment
Kristen B
9/25/2017 06:38:14 am
Alexander - I like how you begin by making the connection between our Holiday reading assignment and this LEAP 1. It really puts things into perspective from the start.
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Alexander IzziCommunications Major |