15 Highly-Effective Strategies for Mass Manipulation
How does one avoid propaganda? It’s probably not as easy as you think.
One of the social media acquaintances I’ve made over the years is Benjamin Carlson, a former editor at The Atlantic who now works in strategic communications.
Carlson left journalism for reasons he’s explained publicly, but he posts regularly on Substack and Twitter. Much of his content is focused on mass media and propaganda.
One post he shared a couple of years ago explored strategies of mass manipulation. Here is the formula:
1. Appeal to emotions. Avoid reason.
2. Reduce idea to slogan. Repeat constantly.
3. Recruit true believers.
4. Disrupt & hijack existing belief structures
5. Take power. Use to spread ideology.
6. Criticize & attack enemies of the state
7. Identify one special enemy for extreme vilification
8. Never show the other side of the argument
9. Use intimidation & fear to accelerate ideological adoption
10. Gain control of media & entertainment channels
11. Subvert educational system
12. Use public spectacle for social pressure
13. Create symbols of loyalty
14. Channel discontent into hatred of specific targets
15. Demand submission, not belief
Through these methods—coercion, propaganda, and mass communication—modern states have shown they can effectively make entire societies believe a lie.
French philosopher and sociologist Jacques Ellul (1912-1994) maintained that propaganda goes hand-in-glove with a technological society, particularly those that are heavily centralized. My friend and former colleague Daniel Lattier, a priest and theologian, argued that such a society “seeks to centralize and standardize human activities so as to achieve predictable results,” and it is aided by the rise in Emotivism and the failure of modern education systems.
Theories about propaganda and mass subversion might sound kooky to readers, but it’s worth noting that this idea has been widely explored in science fiction literature, both classic (1984, Brave New World, Minority Report) and modern works (The Running Man, The Hunger Games).
We’ve also seen these methods used to great effect during the twentieth century, particularly in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and Communist China.
As my former colleague Peter Jacobsen has observed, propaganda and mass media have also been used to great effect here in the United States. He highlighted the work of Hugh Moore (1887–1972), an advertising expert who became obsessed with population control.
“Moore was inspired by William Vogt’s book Road to Survival which convinced him population growth would lead to the spread of wars and communism, among other calamities.
So Moore got to work using his money and power to influence population discourse and policy.”
As Jacobsen shows, Moore’s propaganda campaign was highly effective, and his 1954 pamphlet “The Population Bomb” would go on to inspire the title of Paul Ehrlich’s 1968 book. You’ll also see that Moore’s work leveraged many of the strategies outlined by Carlson.
How does one avoid mass manipulation and propaganda?
It’s probably not as easy as one would think, but I think it begins with six steps: 1) avoid or tune out mass media, when possible; 2) learn to spot propaganda; 3) shun tribal politics; 4) learn to think critically (and for yourself); 5) know your principles; 6) be a non-conformist.
May I suggest read stuff written from different perspectives including ones you disagree with. It helps keep you sharp. ( You know how boring it is to talk “ policy “ or politics or “ culture “ with someone who actually has no idea of what the other side thinks or why and doesn’t see any point in knowing).
Good, the strategies at the end are very good, I employ all of them and I feel I am largely an independent thinker. I HAVE been the victim of propaganda at previous times in my life and I think I have better learned to spot it.