Of Tin-Horn Tyrants
Welcome back, boys and girls and non-binaries, to Uncle B’s GeezerMedia 101 seminar! Let’s discuss how we warp minds, create fear and squelch opposition, so our Glorious Message can ring out unsullied to the eagerly awaiting masses!
Our topic today is our Patron Saint Joseph Goebbels, and how we are resurrecting his Perspicuous Principles of Propaganda, advancing our cause and beliefs throughout the world. Can I get an AMEN!
Maybe it’s because I have a degree in mass media, or I worked for years for the major networks, or because I’ve studied Leni Riefenstahl’s films frame-by-frame, but I am getting some serious Goebbelvibes these days.
Slogans like “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion” reek of “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer”. Campaign tag lines like Hope, Change and Joy are dripping with Goebbel’s simple, clear and emotive methods, repeated to the point of nausea. Goebbels understood mass media, and he pioneered its use as a mass brainwashing tool.
I should note an obvious marketing technique at this point: Kamala Harris’ cackle is seen as a negative in focus groups, kind of like the Joker in Batman, so you take the negative feature and make it a virtue with the slogan “Joy!” Viola! Spin Job 101. Consider that a bonus fun fact.
Back to the topic at hand. Let’s summarize Goebbels’ innovations and see if we can’t find analogies in our current media environment. Here are the primary features of his propaganda machine:
- Control of Media:
- Goebbels sought to control every aspect of media,
Article from LewRockwell
LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.