DUing Rove's job - how disinformation campaigns work

[ConsAreLiars]

The point of propaganda is to define the terms of the discussion and thus frame the issues in the public arena in a way favorable to one side.

The Reich-wing talking points about how the type on the CBS memos were "proof" of forgery are not intended to sway any but the most gullible faith-based "same white chair" type of true believers, since the "arguments" put forward are easily proven false.

Mike Malloy (get the archive - mostly about media pointed out how Jennings on ABC talked mainly about the "dispute" over the reality of the documents, rather than the content. We see the same diversion occurring on DU, with 10 threads about the "forgery" displacing reality-based discussion of the facts about the grounding, the AWOL, the coverup conspiracy, and the evidence.

This is how spin works. It's not just the lies, but the shaping of the debate. There is value in exposing the lies, but the challenge is define the terrain to our advantage, not confine our fight to theirs.

[fearnobush]

1. This all reminds me of how Rove palnted a bug in his own office to get

the media to blame it on his opponant.

[LisaLynne]

2. Excellent point.

That's exactly what it is. Get it so everybody's talking about the authenticity of the documents. Not to discredit National Guard service, but to me the point has always been that Bush used his family's influence to get into the National Guard instead of serving in Vietnam. He has never tried to say he did so out of any sort of moral objection to the war, so I have to assume he was just glad to let others fight and die in his place. That's bad enough for me, no matter if he was AWOL or not. Members of my family didn't have that option because they were poor and have the scars, mental and physical, to prove it.

I know Rove (Geez, I typed Rover first ... maybe I should start calling him that, but I wouldn't want to insult dogs) is behind this spin. I know he's not all-powerfully smart (i.e. the stupid things he said comparing the situation in N. Ireland to Al Qaeda), but I have to admit that man is fast. Real fast. And real evil, but that goes without saying.

[ConsAreLiars]

3. There is a whole infrastructure for "meme control"

The development of techniques for deception and diversion has been well funded and the mechanisms for implementation are well-established. It's easy to see the maneuvers, if you pay attention to what goes on (see http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Propaganda_techniques for a short list) and expose them. Having our voice and views heard means building our own infrastructure, which we are doing, and defining our own terms for the conflict.

(And welcome to DU, a part of the solution.)