Another Step Towards The Sovietization Of American Media | Zero Hedge
Description: "Citizens! Be grateful for such wise leaders and dedicated information workers! Smash the enemy voices that seek to undermine our democracy as we march boldly into the radiant future!"
Keywords: Zero Hedge,Zerohedge,Finance,Economics,Markets,Politics,Analysis,Barack Obama,Crude,Department of Justice,Donald Trump,Fox News,Google,Iran,Iraq,Michael Moore,MSNBC,New York Times,North Korea,Reality,Ron Paul,Saudi Arabia,Twitter
Date: 2013-01-07T00:00:00Z

### What National Review Gets Wrong About the Opioid Crisis and the War on Drugs

by TDB - Nov 18, 2017 12:58 PM

The Cartel presence in the U.S. could become massive, and ubiquitous, as black market heroin profits will soar, corrupting the political class, and everyone standing to cash in.

### Sex, Power, and Consent: How to Interpret the Media Frenzy Around Sexual Assault

by TDB - Nov 17, 2017 2:52 PM

If we really want to get to the root of this issue, we will examine the fundamental nature of the relationship between governments and citizens.

### The Economist Magazine Remains Confused On Zimbabwe Inflation

by Steve H. Hanke - Nov 18, 2017 10:08 AM

The Economist’s claim that “measuring hyperinflation is hard,” is unfounded.

# Another Step Towards The Sovietization Of American Media

by Tyler Durden
Nov 18, 2017 4:30 PM
0
SHARES

Authored by James George Jatras via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

This week the US Department of Justice Criminal Division forced the Russian-funded television network RT (formerly Russia Today) to register as a “foreign agent” under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Failure to comply would have risked arrest of RT’s management and seizure of its assets. The move comes on the heels of Senators’ recent demands that terrified tech giants Twitter, Facebook, and Google act as ideological filters.

With no discernable defenders among America’s media establishment, RT rightly denounced the selective FARA mandate as an attack on media freedom – which it is. But more ominous is what the move against RT says about America’s rulers’ further intention to limit the sources of information available to its subjects.

As Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Institute writes:

> “RT America is a news organization operating in the United States that is funded at least partly by a foreign government. So is the BBC. So is Deutsche Welle, France24, Al-Jazeera, and numerous other foreign media organizations. It is assumed that they all to a degree reflect the editorial interests of those who pay the bills.

> “The same is true with other, non-state funded media outlets, of course. It’s up to us to factor these things in when we consume media. That’s what it means to be a free people.

> “A core value in a free society is that our own government has zero power over what we read, what we watch, how we think, how we come to interpret current events, the conclusions we draw based on these inputs, and so on. These are private matters over which any government that is not tyrannical should have no sway.

> “The real insidiousness of tyrannical systems is that the government most lasciviously seeks control over most private spaces — including the most private space called our brain, our intellect, our conscience. We must be free to follow our interests down whatever path they may lead us so that we may reach our own conclusions and then perhaps test them ourselves in the marketplace of ideas.”

The attack on RT (and another Russian network, Sputnik, which evidently has not yet been given a deadline for registration) is a milestone in the degeneration of the American official (call them what you want – corporate, legacy, mainstream) media into PR agencies for the governing establishment and its ideological imperatives. We’ve been moving along this path for a while now, and it’s going to get worse.

Long gone are those halcyon days of yore when Americans could just sit back and watch CBS’s Walter Cronkite with total confidence they were getting the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. (For youngsters who have no idea who the hell Cronkite was, just Google “most trusted man in America.”) Back in the naïve infancy of the TV age, from about the 1950s until the beginning of the 1990s, there was a common national media culture that reflected the established, generally liberal, mainly Democratic tilt of the American inteligentsiya that was almost uniform among the (then only) three networks and a handful of major newspapers and magazines. To be sure, that was also a ruling class media of a sort, but it reflected a broad and deep social consensus.

Those days are no more. Perhaps the unraveling of media trust and social consensus alike started in earnest with Vietnam. But still, for decades afterwards there still seemed to be plenty of empty cranial receptacles for government and corporate propaganda of the first Gulf War under Bush 41, Bill Clinton’s phony humanitarian wars in the Balkans, Bush 43’s Iraq War, and Obama’s Libyan and Syrian imbroglios. Sadly, there are many such cranial receptacles even today.

By its attack on RT, the US government is officially telling us that only the mainstream media (MSM) can be regarded as are purveyors of Truth (with a capital T) and that anybody not on the approved list is fake. How do we know? Why, the MSM themselves tell us! The Washington Post’s “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” CNN’s “Facts First.” The New York Times’ “The Truth is Hard.” (The fact that certifiably authoritative and truthful media are militantly hostile to Russia, not to mention to Donald Trump, is purely coincidental.)

A lot of Americans don’t buy it anymore, though. Some of the skepticism falls along purely partisan lines reflecting increasing moral and political polarization: our media (which I exclusively consult) tells the truth, but your media (which I don’t consult) are liars. About one-third of Americans get their talking points from, say, Michael Moore, and from Rachel Maddow on MSNBC, with their related internet echoes, while another third gets theirs from Rush Limbaugh, and from Sean Hannity on Fox News, and their internet echo chambers. Increasingly, there is nothing like a national dialogue on anything, but rather two entirely separate, diametrically opposed ideological cultures – and alternate realities – each demonizing “them.” This is why when after Barack Obama’s election the Tea Party appeared, the GOP fell over itself trying to co-opt them, while the Democrats denounced them as a mob of racists and subversives. When later the “Occupy” and Black Lives Matter movements broke out on the Left, the Democrats tried to figure out how to channel it while top Republicans denounced it as gang of commie anarchists and losers.

With the election of Donald Trump the divide intensified further to one of latent civil war.

At some point the false picture of pseudo-reality (as Alain Besançon called it in the late Soviet propaganda context) diverges so far from real reality that the official media narrative becomes useless and even counterproductive. While a majority of Americans probably are still glued to the partisan outlets of “their” side of the political divide, there is a growing sense across the spectrum that not only the MSM but even partisan media like Fox News and MSNBC are untrustworthy.

In the past, notably in the totalitarian societies of the 20th century, maintaining the credibility of official media required the physical repression of alternatives. Today, such a crude approach is unnecessary and almost technologically unfeasible, even for such undemocratic countries as Iran, Cuba, and Saudi Arabia (though North Korea may be successful through the sheer unavailability of modern communications technology to most of the population). Instead of suppressing dissent, is it sufficient to maintain major media’s role as gatekeeper and certifier of reliability.

Which brings us back to the impact of foreign media like RT, Sputnik, Strategic Culture Foundation, Al-Jazeera, CGTN, Press TV, often in parallel with alternative media like Zero Hedge, Lew Rockwell, Antiwar.com, Ron Paul Institute, and others, to break through the information firewall but arguably then being influenced by the agenda of the sponsoring foreign governments. In any case, a growing segment of the American public is discovering a skill once well-honed by the citizens of the former communist countries: reading between the lines of the official media (which is assumed to be full of lies) and making informed comparisons to samizdat alternative media, foreign sources, and the rumor-mill to guess what the truth might be.

Make no mistake – what has started with RT won’t end with RT. Our betters have decided they need to protect our minds from “propaganda” penetration that might cause us to doubt the truth of what CNN and the Washington Post tell us.

Citizens! Be grateful for such wise leaders and dedicated information workers! Smash the enemy voices that seek to undermine our democracy as we march boldly into the radiant future!

- New York Times
- Donald Trump
- Iran
- North Korea
- Ron Paul
- Twitter
- Barack Obama
- MSNBC
- Fox News
- Iraq
- Department of Justice
- Michael Moore
- Crude
- Saudi Arabia
- Google
- Reality
- Twitter

- Printer-friendly version
- Nov 18, 2017 4:30 PM
- 25

## Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
moorewasthebestbond Nov 18, 2017 4:33 PM

First bitchez!

Back in the 80's I heard a phrase that really got me thinking.

"In Russia they get propaganda. In America we get the news."

Barney Fife moorewasthebestbond Nov 18, 2017 4:39 PM

I once had a Russian plumber who emigrated here in the 90's tell me with a straight face "The difference between Soviet Union and America today is that in Soviet Union we knew press was full of shit".

Truer words never spoken.

besnook Barney Fife Nov 18, 2017 4:46 PM

that's why places like china have more honest .gov. they tell you to your face that not toeing the line can be dangerous to your health. in the usa we get seth rich.

Escrava Isaura besnook Nov 18, 2017 5:10 PM

The title is completely wrong.

America media, religion, and education are the ultimate propaganda machines and indoctrination centers.

Second, Soviet Union is over. And Soviets had nothing that Americans didn’t have it. So, why use it?

Third, Soviets that believed their media was on the single digits. In America, over 80% believed the mass media. Professor Chomsky has these numbers in one of his books. Soviet mass media was a total failure.

And, the most important point of all: We all lie. Humans are hardwired to lie as we age.

A study published in “Developmental Psychology” asked a set of 65 kids not to peek at a hidden toy. When the examiner turned away, 50 percent of 3-year-olds and 80 percent of 8-year-olds snuck a look. When asked whether they peeked, most of the set had lied.

Scornd Escrava Isaura Nov 18, 2017 5:15 PM

Perestroika.

chunga Escrava Isaura Nov 18, 2017 5:19 PM

The title is wrong. From that you'd think Soviets own practically every single "major" fake news outfit.

GreatUncle Barney Fife Nov 18, 2017 4:53 PM

He had decades to observe and realise it ... we are only just waking up.

2016 The year the press was observed to be full of shit.

Mr. Universe Nov 18, 2017 4:32 PM

Propaganda must not be held to the light of truth.

HRH of Aquitaine 2.0 Nov 18, 2017 4:33 PM

Fuck the MSM. I watch that crap so I know what the government wants me to think.

VWAndy Nov 18, 2017 4:34 PM

Truth and Love or Faith and Force. Its your choice.

Tiwin Nov 18, 2017 4:40 PM

When the fuck will AIPAC be forced to register as an agent of a foriegn power??

besnook Tiwin Nov 18, 2017 4:44 PM

israel is the 58th state. they aren't foreigners.

besnook Nov 18, 2017 4:43 PM

the problem is most people have trouble putting their socks on the right foot in the morning so they are easily swayed by an authoritarian figure claiming to know more than them so they can claim to have the same smarts when they repeat what they have been told. trying to break through that wall of ignorance is nearly impossible. look at mugabe. the people lived under his authority for 30 years and are euphoric now that he is gone but no one took the time and effort to whack him until now. the same thing has repeated itself a thousand times throughout history. how long will it take in the usa?

nmewn Nov 18, 2017 4:44 PM

Look how effortlessly CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC, NYT's, WaPo (really, an almost endless list) fell into line on the "Trump-Russian collusion" non-story.

One of the most blatant examples of journalistic malpractice and party-line propaganda dissemination I have ever seen.

But nmewn...what about the peeing Russian prostitutes?!...lol.

MuffDiver69 nmewn Nov 18, 2017 5:07 PM

Simpson of Fusion GPS admits to briefing them all on the hit..They didn’t fall in line, they played along willingly obviously...Just like the leaks of shaped for effect Deep state leaks..It’s criminal in my book..

44magnum Nov 18, 2017 4:45 PM

The goy are waking up must get them back to sleep somehow

VWAndy Nov 18, 2017 4:50 PM

As if truth was the kinda thing one could put in a pocket.

0hedgehog Nov 18, 2017 4:59 PM

Even the government is unable to identify reality at this point.

Reality is just a dream some of us once had.

MuffDiver69 Nov 18, 2017 5:04 PM

FAUX News has some clowns that have been around forever in the evenings, but their ”news” is not even remotely conservative or right wing. Chris Wallace,Brett Baier and the rest are uniparty hacks that in no way support Trump...The left wing media is literally the Democratic Party...People aren’t fooled unless they want to be..I’m enjoying the lefts pain personally...The exposure of all of this is good..The censorship will be worked around soon enough..Give it time..

Scornd Nov 18, 2017 5:05 PM

russian americans are about the toughest meaniest anti jew anti govt anti NWO people i know of dont believe this crap. yeah they alittle rowdy but thats who you want in your foxhole

Mena Arkansas Nov 18, 2017 5:06 PM

Durbin Introduces Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act

U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today introduced new legislation to address the growing threat of white supremacist groups and other violent domestic extremists. The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act would enhance the federal government’s efforts to prevent domestic terrorism by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to regularly assess those threats and provide training and resources to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement in addressing these threats.

According to a May 2017 intelligence bulletin by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), white supremacist extremism poses a persistent threat of lethal violence, and white supremacists were responsible for 49 homicides in 26 attacks from 2000 to 2016—more than any other domestic extremist movement.

“Violent white supremacist groups and other right-wing extremists are the most significant domestic terror threat facing the United States today,” said Durbin. “But too often when violent tragedy strikes our people, the conversation only shifts to terrorism if the perpetrator is from another country. Our own federal law enforcement agencies recognize that terrorism is on the rise in our own backyard, and it’s time that Congress take steps to address it.”

The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act has been endorsed by leading civil rights organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, the Arab American Institute, Muslim Advocates, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. The bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-introduces-...

That's right, goy. You - the last remaining white male - are the most significant terror threat in the us. The jews told me so.

Expect hate speech laws (aka anti-semite laws) with jail time in 3 ... 2 ... 1.

besnook Mena Arkansas Nov 18, 2017 5:09 PM

i always knew antifa was an altrightwing white man ttttttuuuuurrrrrriiiiiissssssttttttt .org. and there are all those blackface radicals at blm.

Captain Nemo de... Nov 18, 2017 5:10 PM

I'm afraid they may be right about the radiant future ...

NuYawkFrankie Nov 18, 2017 5:12 PM

HEIL ZION!

Megaton Jim Nov 18, 2017 5:18 PM

More like the Jew-ization!

## User login

Username: *
Password: *

- Create new account
- Request new password

To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.

- New Comments
11-18 17:22: The Economist is a stupid (Koba the Dread)
11-18 17:22: VIDEO OF HILLARY SHOOTING (didthatreallyhappen)
11-18 17:22: 14 minutes? It takes a (Captain Nemo de...)
11-18 17:22: "Let me say it again. I don't (Kagemusho)
11-18 17:21: Perhaps he could take control (HowdyDoody)
11-18 17:21: WTF is going on in the USN? (wherewasi)
11-18 17:21: Yes all that Danish and (ludwigvmises)
11-18 17:21: Where can I apply? (Bigly)
11-18 17:20: You don’t get it -obama & (Omen IV)
11-18 17:20: They're also paying $573 (Donald J. Trump)
- Today's Top Stories
192,359 - The 11 Nations Of The United States
157,892 - "Helpless, Raging" Charlottesville Families Shocked By These 2018 Obamacare Premiums..."It's Horrific"
129,193 - FBI Informant Has Video Of Russian Agents With Briefcases Of Bribe Money In Clinton-Uranium Scandal
119,317 - "It's A Nightmare" - Chinese Bureaucrats Are Killing The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show
83,151 - Why People Will Happily Line Up To Be Microchipped Like Dogs
64,859 - The Great Retirement Con
64,644 - Financial Times: Sell Bitcoin Because The Market Is About To Become "Civilized"
58,532 - WTF Chart Of The Day: America's Youngest Child Brides & Grooms
56,349 - Katy Perry, Gigi Hadid Banned From China As Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Unravels
38,418 - Can You Do A Backflip? Because This Robot Can

- Contact Information

Tips: tips [ at ] zerohedge.com

General: info [ at ] zerohedge.com

Legal: legal [ at ] zerohedge.com

Advertising: ads [ at ] zerohedge.com

Abuse/Complaints: abuse [ at ] zerohedge.com

Advertise With Us

- Suggested Reading

Make sure to read our "How To [Read/Tip Off] Zero Hedge Without Attracting The Interest Of [Human Resources/The Treasury/Black Helicopters]" Guide

It would be very wise of you to study our disclaimer, our privacy policy and our (non)policy on conflicts / full disclosure. Here's our Cookie Policy.

How to report offensive comments

Notice on Racial Discrimination.

- RanSquawk News
11-18 17:06: CFTC Commitments of Traders report (w/e 14/Nov): JPY shorts at the...
11-18 17:06: Switzerland affirmed by S&P at AAA/A-1+; outlook stable
11-18 17:06: AUDIO SERVICE HAS NOW CLOSED FOR THE WEEK. THE ASIA DESK WILL REOPEN...
11-18 17:06: Saudi Arabia have reportedly broadened their probe to now include the...
11-18 17:06: US MARKET WRAP: Risk appetite sours at the end of the week
11-18 17:06: Senate Republicans lobby President Trump to get behind a bipartisan...
11-18 17:06: WTI futures settle up USD 1.41 at USD 56.55 per barrel
11-18 17:06: Brent futures settle up USD 1.36 at USD 62.72 per barrel
- The Fly
11-18 17:06: Tesla new super car to cost $200,000, Recode says
11-18 17:06: Goodyear Tire, NASCAR extend relationship
11-18 17:06: Honda recalls 900,000 minivans on tip forward seats, Reuters says
11-18 17:06: Activist investors Nelson Peltz still in P&G picture, Barron...
11-18 17:06: Buy Baker Hughes, Barron's says
11-18 17:06: More needed for Cisco to have 'groove back,' Barron's...
11-18 17:06: IBM could be next to fetch higher valuation, Barron's says
11-18 17:06: Option play offer some help given GE dividend, depressed stock,...
- Street Insider
11-18 17:06: First Analysis Starts Callidus Software (CALD) at Equal Weight (Friday)
11-18 17:06: Anchor Bancorp (ANCB) Announces Share Repurchase Plan
11-18 17:06: First Midwest Bancorp (FMBI) Declares $0.10 Quarterly Dividend; 1.7% Yield
11-18 17:06: EPR Properties (EPR) Declares $0.34 Monthly Dividend; 6% Yield
11-18 17:06: Territorial Bancorp (TBNK) Declares $0.30 Special Dividend; 1% Yield
11-18 17:06: First Horizon National (FHN) to Sell 2 Branches to Apex Bank
11-18 17:06: Westlake Chemical (WLK) Declares $0.2100 Quarterly Dividend; 0.9% Yield
11-18 17:06: Bunge (BG) and Grupo Minsa to Terminate Agreement