A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine • Hacker News Board

Re: A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine

#31

Post by lispm » Sat, Feb 14, 2015, 6:21 PM UTC

rational-future wrote: post #16

bayesianhorse wrote: post #9

Funny story: In Germany there is currently a "movement" of people calling for stricter immigration control (to abbreviate an endless discussion about what they actually want), called Pegida. During one of their demonstrations a comedy/satire show dressed up an actor as a "Russian" journalist from "Russia Today", a news caster/online magazine financed by the Russian state. The Pegida participants were very willing to…

You're funny as well :) RT, BBC, Al Jazeera are official state propaganda machines, but that doesn't mean ALL they say is propaganda. As a matter of personal opinion on many subjects (not directly connected with the Russian government) RT is more honest than the big international media outlets (that cant afford to alienate the western governments, big advertisers or powerful interest groups).

RT is pure propaganda. We have now a German program by RT. Website: http://www.rtdeutsch.com

Straight from Putin's mouth...

Re: A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine

#32

Post by DenisM » Sat, Feb 14, 2015, 6:22 PM UTC

imissmyjuno wrote: post #28

DangerousPie wrote: post #21

The headline sounds very interesting but I was actually quite disappointed by the article itself. It doesn't offer any concrete examples or any attempt to actually validate what this guy is saying. It also doesn't even attempt to compare this to what the media landscape looks like in other countries. If all that happened was that a "prominent news anchor reviewed the coming events as if they were part of a film scrip…

I find it amusing that an article that's supposed to criticize a controlled media system is itself a thinly veiled advertisement. I guess mass media has issues everywhere you look :)

New York times regularly publishes book reviews. They even have that thing they call "NYT Bestsellers" [1]. I'm not sure why that seems problematic to you?

[1] http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/

Re: A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine

#33

Post by everyone » Sat, Feb 14, 2015, 6:25 PM UTC

Hey everyone check out this documentary film!!

https://vimeo.com/67739294

Experienced investigative journalist John Pilger looks at and questions (among other things) the British medias role as a dumb mouthpiece for the government leading up to and during the invasion of Iraq.

EDIT: link has been fixed

Re: A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine

#34

Post by A_COMPUTER » Sat, Feb 14, 2015, 6:28 PM UTC

bayesianhorse wrote: post #9

Funny story: In Germany there is currently a "movement" of people calling for stricter immigration control (to abbreviate an endless discussion about what they actually want), called Pegida. During one of their demonstrations a comedy/satire show dressed up an actor as a "Russian" journalist from "Russia Today", a news caster/online magazine financed by the Russian state. The Pegida participants were very willing to…

They're on to something, but they don't know the whole picture. Which is that in a world where mass media is under the control of one superpower or another, you are only going to hear painful criticism of your own government from the opposing superpower's media arm. What I find just as painful as you about your countrymen's opinion of RT, is that people in my country will criticize RT as propaganda and then comically think the media in our own country isn't propaganda at us, and against Russia.

Re: A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine

#35

Post by icebraining » Sat, Feb 14, 2015, 6:28 PM UTC

rational-future wrote: post #19

fragsworth wrote: post #13

> a prominent news anchor reviewed the coming events as if they were part of a film script, musing on how best to entertain the audience and questioning who that week’s enemy should be. Having avoided traditional American news sources for a long time (10+ years), whenever I get a glimpse of it now (especially cable news sources), I always got the sense that this is exactly how American news is produced.

Russia is a small country (as population and industry) compared to US and EU. It cant afford to reinvent the way a modern society, government, media, etc. works. The state propaganda machine is a direct copy of what the US and especially the UK governments have built.

I find it funny how you're trying to defend RT and Russia (which is fine), but managed to make the most damning criticism of the whole thread :)

Poor Russia, the first country to put a man in space, now reduced to copying propaganda machines!

Re: A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine

#36

Post by hindsightbias » Sat, Feb 14, 2015, 6:30 PM UTC

bayesianhorse wrote: post #9

Funny story: In Germany there is currently a "movement" of people calling for stricter immigration control (to abbreviate an endless discussion about what they actually want), called Pegida. During one of their demonstrations a comedy/satire show dressed up an actor as a "Russian" journalist from "Russia Today", a news caster/online magazine financed by the Russian state. The Pegida participants were very willing to…

> so far from truth

Western media isn't corrupt and unfree, or is more honest? Citation required.

Yes, RT is a propaganda organ, just like much of the western media (corporate or otherwise). But at least on RT, I get to see alternative viewpoints of western concerns. You'll never see someone like a Chomsky on NBC/CBS/ABC/Fox/CNN - at least alternatives get a microphone on RT.

In western media, I get to see alternatives to non-Western propaganda organs.

Here's RT covering Syria/Lebanon in 2012. Way more objective than anything you'll ever see on US networks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yho_m0HRa9c#t=1076

And also, more accurate - if you'd been watching CNN, they'd have been telling you Assad's days were numbered.

Re: A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine

#37

Post by Tarang » Sat, Feb 14, 2015, 6:30 PM UTC

Its like a news source version of the Byzantine General's problem.

When it comes to Ukraine there's so much doubtfulness in the accuracy of everything because both sides are so contradictory. I don't think it is that simple to just trust one side's story

Re: A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine

#38

Post by rational-future » Sat, Feb 14, 2015, 6:35 PM UTC

icebraining wrote: post #35

rational-future wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russia is a small country (as population and industry) compared to US and EU. It cant afford to reinvent the way a modern society, government, media, etc. works. The state propaganda machine is a direct copy of what the US and especially the UK governments have built.

I find it funny how you're trying to defend RT and Russia (which is fine), but managed to make the most damning criticism of the whole thread :) Poor Russia, the first country to put a man in space, now reduced to copying propaganda machines!

I'm not trying to defend anyone. Russia is as evil as the US, it just doesn't have enough hardware to do as much damage.

The man in space flew on a rocket initially designed in Nazi Germany.

Re: A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine

#39

Post by icebraining » Sat, Feb 14, 2015, 6:36 PM UTC

michaelry wrote: post #30

bayesianhorse wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, actually it doesn't... This stuff may be going on inside Fox News, and I doubt that. But that would be a single TV channel. In Russia they coordinate among all TV channels and there is no dissenting voice. The superiority of western media over what is available from Russia or similar countries is not in the honesty and quality of any single media outfit, but in the plurality of media voices. In the west, there ar…

In the US, I find it interesting that the major headlines of the day, no matter how insignificant are picked up by all the major news players. The same "stories" are repeated on all every mainstream news outlet. I remember the day that all the new stories had to report how the man was arrested for "eating and driving" as a DUI. Certainly a worthy new story is such a bland world devoid of any actual events that might…

Probably from AP or another agency.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_Press

Re: A Russian TV Insider Describes a Modern Propaganda Machine

#40

Post by maxxxcohen » Sat, Feb 14, 2015, 6:37 PM UTC

rational-future wrote: post #38

icebraining wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it funny how you're trying to defend RT and Russia (which is fine), but managed to make the most damning criticism of the whole thread :) Poor Russia, the first country to put a man in space, now reduced to copying propaganda machines!

I'm not trying to defend anyone. Russia is as evil as the US, it just doesn't have enough hardware to do as much damage. The man in space flew on a rocket initially designed in Nazi Germany.

You sound like such a racist..