Thursday, September 07, 2006
The Future of Propaganda
A while ago there was a furor over the Iranian President starting up a blog. I checked out said blog and checked it out just minutes ago. It seems he hasn't updated since his first post which is somewhat disappointing considering all the media attention that it has garnered. This has made me think deeply about propaganda and the future of such tactics in the technologically driven world we live in.
It would be very hard in some ways to use the internet as a tool to sway those who live in said totalitarian state but it would be an amazing tool in getting the message out to the world. Let's use Mr. Ahmadinejad as an example. As we're all aware Iran isn't backing down from their nuclear program. Iran claims that the program is being used for peaceful means by supplying a power source for the Iranian population. In recent days Mr. Ahmadinejad has pointed out (to some) the inherent unfairness of the US and France having nuclear programs while Iran is having to fight just to build a nuclear energy infrastructure.
This is where a blog can come in handy.
A blog can be used as an informal way for Mr. Ahmadinejad to get his point across by presenting his case in easy to understand and sympathetic language. People who are generally moderate in term will always be willing to listen to the other side if they present themselves in a humble way. Let's face it, the strategy of proclaiming the US as unfair bullies and demanding a debate with President Bush isn't going to make friends any time soon.
Mr. Ahmadinejad started his blog on the right foot tho with details of his youth and life as a young man in Iran. It's this kind of saccharine and sunny type of story telling that can open the window to the personal man. It's a lot harder to vilify someone when they're willing to open up and talk about their life experiences and their point of view.
This is what I would like to call "soft peddling propaganda". There may be kernels of truth to what is being said but for the most part the language and attitude is so sunny and rosy that one can't help but be swayed to at least listen to the arguments of the propagandist. In some ways you see a form of this in official government documentation in western countries. Sure, it's not very informal but more often then not you'll get a white washed version of events rather then the cold hard facts unless there's mitigating circumstances. (mostly in regards to tragedies such as 9/11 and Katrina)
Then there's the kind of propaganda using blogs that could be downright scary. When I first heard about Ahmadinejad's blog the first thought that came to mind was "what if the Nazis had today's telecommunications technology?" You have to acknowledge that for better or for worse it was Josef Goebbels, Adolf Hitler and to a lesser extent Alfred Rosenberg that created the basis of modern propaganda. Just about every propaganda technique today has its roots in what the Nazis did in the 20s through the 40s. Now imagine these guys with the power of the internet in their hands. You would see a far more robust recruitment of people outside of Germany to follow the movement through state sponsored websites, news sites, blogs and scientific sites. You would probably see the Nuremburg Rallies on official state run sites every year. Goebbels would almost assuredly have a blog where he could spout off on the issues of the day with a Nazi bent to it. Last but not least, I'm almost positive that Hitler would have himself a personal site. If you think Mein Kampf was the worst example of a political tract then can you imagine him typing out political proclamations online?!
Then again, we've never seen any country try this, not even the Chinese who aren't exactly as democratic as some people like to think. So maybe I'm jumping to conclusions but the technology is there and as long as it's there then there's going to be people who will try to exploit it for their own means. The blogosphere is rich with diverse opinions and the blurring of the lines between entertainment and news can easily lead to internet based propaganda without anyone really catching on unless it's made extremely blatant.
Oh well, that's just food for thought.
It would be very hard in some ways to use the internet as a tool to sway those who live in said totalitarian state but it would be an amazing tool in getting the message out to the world. Let's use Mr. Ahmadinejad as an example. As we're all aware Iran isn't backing down from their nuclear program. Iran claims that the program is being used for peaceful means by supplying a power source for the Iranian population. In recent days Mr. Ahmadinejad has pointed out (to some) the inherent unfairness of the US and France having nuclear programs while Iran is having to fight just to build a nuclear energy infrastructure.
This is where a blog can come in handy.
A blog can be used as an informal way for Mr. Ahmadinejad to get his point across by presenting his case in easy to understand and sympathetic language. People who are generally moderate in term will always be willing to listen to the other side if they present themselves in a humble way. Let's face it, the strategy of proclaiming the US as unfair bullies and demanding a debate with President Bush isn't going to make friends any time soon.
Mr. Ahmadinejad started his blog on the right foot tho with details of his youth and life as a young man in Iran. It's this kind of saccharine and sunny type of story telling that can open the window to the personal man. It's a lot harder to vilify someone when they're willing to open up and talk about their life experiences and their point of view.
This is what I would like to call "soft peddling propaganda". There may be kernels of truth to what is being said but for the most part the language and attitude is so sunny and rosy that one can't help but be swayed to at least listen to the arguments of the propagandist. In some ways you see a form of this in official government documentation in western countries. Sure, it's not very informal but more often then not you'll get a white washed version of events rather then the cold hard facts unless there's mitigating circumstances. (mostly in regards to tragedies such as 9/11 and Katrina)
Then there's the kind of propaganda using blogs that could be downright scary. When I first heard about Ahmadinejad's blog the first thought that came to mind was "what if the Nazis had today's telecommunications technology?" You have to acknowledge that for better or for worse it was Josef Goebbels, Adolf Hitler and to a lesser extent Alfred Rosenberg that created the basis of modern propaganda. Just about every propaganda technique today has its roots in what the Nazis did in the 20s through the 40s. Now imagine these guys with the power of the internet in their hands. You would see a far more robust recruitment of people outside of Germany to follow the movement through state sponsored websites, news sites, blogs and scientific sites. You would probably see the Nuremburg Rallies on official state run sites every year. Goebbels would almost assuredly have a blog where he could spout off on the issues of the day with a Nazi bent to it. Last but not least, I'm almost positive that Hitler would have himself a personal site. If you think Mein Kampf was the worst example of a political tract then can you imagine him typing out political proclamations online?!
Then again, we've never seen any country try this, not even the Chinese who aren't exactly as democratic as some people like to think. So maybe I'm jumping to conclusions but the technology is there and as long as it's there then there's going to be people who will try to exploit it for their own means. The blogosphere is rich with diverse opinions and the blurring of the lines between entertainment and news can easily lead to internet based propaganda without anyone really catching on unless it's made extremely blatant.
Oh well, that's just food for thought.
# posted by Chris Fung @ 12:45 PM 
