• Zexks@lemmy.world
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      10 hours ago

      Yeah they do. Its on the person to verify them. The only time they dont is when the individual decides for themselves to ignore the facts. Its people choosing to hold onto thier own prejudices and assumptions rather than accepting the truth for what it is. This is what propoganda depends on, stereotypes, assumptions, and a lazy mind unwilling to challenge itself.

      • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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        5 hours ago

        Yeah they do.

        That’s just not borne out by statistical evidence. Study after study (not to mention my own experience) disprove this idea.

        Its on the person to verify them.

        Sure, but relying on that to help assumes that the propagandists haven’t captured sources of verification, or convinced victims that they’re unreliable.

        The only time they dont is when the individual decides for themselves to ignore the facts. Its people choosing to hold onto thier own prejudices and assumptions rather than accepting the truth for what it is.

        That’s literally what propaganda does to someone. It seems like you’re thinking of just standard misinformation. Propaganda is a whole different thing; it has been intentionally crafted by very intelligent people who have been paid a lot of money to make you believe what they want you to believe. It’s not just a choice someone makes, it’s a virus that they’re infected with.

        This is what propoganda depends on, stereotypes, assumptions,

        Your mind isn’t magically immune to propaganda, either. You likely have a stereotype of conservative people as dumb and uncurious, for instance (and, to be sure, many are), but in reality many are quite clever; that intelligence is just turned toward selfishness, or some other warped view of reality.

        A lot of propaganda works on that exact kind of binary, black and white view that dehumanizes other people. Propagandists know that you can be convinced to act more easily if you can first be convinced that others are fundamentally worse than you in some inherent way.

        This is what I mean about “intentionally crafted.” Propagandists have been honing enough messages that they can likely tailor one to you. The only way you can escape one is if you (1) know it’s happening, and (2) are willing to think about it critically and with nuance. I’m probably being targeted by propaganda right now without realizing it.

        and a lazy mind unwilling to challenge itself.

        The mental gymnastics required to believe some of the things that propagandized people accept actually require more mental work, not less. You can call it cult programming, or even mind control, but it’s not laziness.

    • MiddleAgesModem@lemmy.world
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      20 hours ago

      Then why haven’t you fallen for the propaganda? Obviously there’s more at play here. Like a willingness to question things or an unwillingness to reject things just because you don’t like it.

      These people are not infants.

      • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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        15 hours ago

        I did fall for it. I was a vehement conservative/Republican all through high school and the first year or so of college; I bit down hard on the propaganda and bought it fully. What got me out of it was meeting people not like me and learning that they aren’t as evil as the conservative media machine says they are. Once I realized that that was a lie, it was just a process of investigating the other lies. In the meantime, friends from the conservative world started to insult and even threaten me for voicing questions, while progressive folks welcomed me to hang out with them and talk about what I was learning.

        That process started in about 2006 or so.By the time Trump came down the escalator, I was fully deprogrammed. At this point, I more or less identify as a democratic socialist.

        My experience matched pretty well with the research: it’s almost exclusively personal relationships that break people out of the bubble.

        • Glytch@lemmy.world
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          15 hours ago

          It’s important to remember that none of us are immune to propaganda. Doesn’t matter how smart we are, we can still fall for it.

          • ilinamorato@lemmy.world
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            15 hours ago

            Absolutely true. I like to think of myself as pretty intelligent, at least. Definitely not someone who would fall for something obvious. But propagandists are subtle and good at their craft.

          • Zexks@lemmy.world
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            10 hours ago

            No. Propoganda depends on a lack of willingness to question your own assumptions. Its a laziness of the mind that allows this.