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[–] DukeofAnarchy 0 points 1 point 1 point (+1|-0) ago
Alright - let's apply some critical thinking to this piece of propaganda trash.
"There was a time when conspiracy theories were confined to the lunatic fringes of British politics. But like any form of erosion, they are making their way towards the centre – the grounded sanity of normal democratic politics is at increasing risk of subsidence."
What Wallace means by the term "conspiracy theory" (as is made very clear in the article) is any opinion that diverges from a narrow range set by the political and media establishment. It is true that distrust of politicians and the "mainstream" regime media mouthpieces is becoming more widespread. This is largely the result of the revolution in communication over the past 20 years. The old gatekeepers of information have lost much of their power. In the past, only a tiny fraction of people saw through the sophisticated and extensive propaganda apparatus created in World War 1 and its aftermath. They could easily be ridiculed as part of the "lunatic fringe". Now the heretics are becoming harder to dismiss so easily. The "grounded sanity of normal democratic politics" - that is, the liberal-democratic facade of the regime - is showing cracks.
"Pussy Riot – no CIA stooges or members of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy – recently spoke out to warn the British left against swallowing the “Kremlin propaganda” pumped out by Russia Today. Understandably, they’re concerned to see supposed progressives backing the tyrant whose gay-bashing, journalist-oppressing regime threw them in jail."
Russia Today certainly promotes the Russian government's preferred view, just as British state media (and the supposedly independent press) do for the British government. We should not thoughtlessly swallow the propaganda of either side. But that is not Wallace's message: he wants his audience to swallow anti-Russian propaganda, and he even offers some of his own. The members of "Pussy Riot" were jailed because they were guilty of a crime (in fact, of a series of crimes). They would have been treated similarly in most western countries. President Putin is no more (and no less) a "tyrant" than Barack Obama or David Cameron.
"Sadly, Putin apologism isn’t confined to the left. Not only did Nigel Farage admire the former KGB man as “an operator”, also his party is convinced that Moscow is the victim of an imperialist Brussels. Apparently unconcerned by Kremlin-backed rebels shooting down a plane carrying British citizens, it routinely alleges that it is the EU’s fault that Russian arms, tanks and men have been pouring into eastern Ukraine."
It is a fact that NATO has pursued a relentlessly aggressive, expansionist and anti-Russian policy in eastern Europe since the end of the Cold War. Russia for a long time made every effort to appease the west, making repeated ill-advised concessions. Now that NATO aggression has finally provoked determined resistance, the regime propaganda line is to denounce the Russians as the aggressors. In the past, with most people relying on the word of an easily controlled handful of information sources (Radio/TV stations and newspapers) this would have been easy to get away with. (The Nazis succeeded in convincing most Germans that Germany was being forced to fight a defensive war.) Today, a better-informed public makes the job of propagandists harder than ever. That is why Wallace is worried.
[–] flyawayhigh ago
The moment I see the term "conspiracy theories," I expect a really junky article. No surprise with this one.
Sure, sometimes relatively innocent articles use this propaganda term. When that happens, I send 'em an email or give them a call and ask them not to use that term.