A Bulgarian
police officer and a protester in Singapore, or, an old lady in
Argentina and "Loukanikos" - the dog that gained global
publicity for participating in demonstrations in the center of
Athens: What do they have in common?
All of them
appeared in photos showing that they participated through various
ways in conflicts after the anti-government demonstrations in
Venezuela. Nicolas Maduro opposers were uploading photos of police
brutality from all over the planet very fast, in order to promote
their positions. Many of these photos became, as it is known, viral,
which means that they have been reproduced very fast on the internet,
in such extent that, they reached the reportage of a CNN journalist.
The fact
that, none of these photos were forged through picture processing
programmes, but only pictures from other countries were used, made
propaganda much more effective (although many people wondered why
Venezuelan police officers wear fur hats, or, have Asian-type eyes,
or, hold shields with the word "police" in Greek language
on them).
Only two
decades ago, the misleading use of photos could be spread at this
speed only through the mainstream media of the planet. The famous
cormorants of Brittany which were appeared to be drowning in Persian
Gulf oil lakes by CNN, and photos of the supposed mass graves in
Timișoara-Romania, were only the most known examples of the dominant
misinformation.
Today,
however, social media secure that such counterfeiting of reality can
start by any internet user to flood the planet. Usually, the most
serious propagandists avoid such practices as they can be easily
uncovered (an exception is the Greek PM's advisor, George Mouroutis,
who, in order to prove that a SYRIZA gathering was not successful,
uploaded photos of an empty square on twitter). However, even the
most blatant examples of fraud usually meet their target, which is to
create the desirable impression.
Theoretically,
the answer to this problem would be someone to condemn such
incidents, blame the irresponsible journalism of citizens and give
credit to professional journalism, or probably not?
A more
careful examination of photographs and videos (modified or not) which
usually become viral on the internet, proves that the vast majority
of them are in alignment with the ideological line of the mainstream
media each time. Not a single photograph has been circulated globally
showing prosperity in Venezuela. On the contrary, false pictures of
empty shelves in supermarkets spread like a virus every time there is
a government crisis in Caracas. Also, false stories against Muslims
usually spread rapidly, although such stories against Christians are
almost absent.
A
characteristic example is a picture, a few years ago, showing the
little bridesmaids in a wedding in Gaza. The caption on this
photograph described Muslims as paedophiles funded by Hamas to marry
little girls - a fraud also reproduced by a Greek newspaper.
Many people
consider the official propaganda mechanisms of governments and big
organizations responsible for the fact that, false news that
reproduce the dominant ideology in international matters become more
frequently viral, and in many cases, this is not far from reality.
For example, a video that millions of people saw recently, concerning
the situation in Ukraine has been directed by Ben Moses (creator of
the movie "Good Morning, Vietnam"), who is connected with
American government executives and organizations like National
Endowment for Democracy, funded by the US Congress. This video shows
a beautiful young female Ukrainian who characterizes the government
of the country as "dictatorship" and praise some protesters
with the neo-nazi symbols of the fascist Ukranian party Svoboda on
them.
However,
behind complicated explanations which can be dangerously connected to
conspiracy theories, there is probably a more simple explanation:
social media still reproduce, to a great extent, the mainstream
storytelling, which is shaped by the state mechanisms - school and
mainstream media - reflecting economic elites that control them. The
scene, of course, is very different now than only five years ago.
The
challenge of the mainstream media domination by the journalism of
citizens and by new ways for revealing information like WikiLeaks,
has brought impressive changes. However, it seems that, those who
believed that technology alone would be enough to change rules in
information, neither this time have proved right.
Key
parts from the article by Aris Chatzistefanou on infowar
Comments
Post a Comment