I keep away from misusing the phrase “propaganda” as a result of it’s thrown round too flippantly.
Fox Information isn’t propaganda, neither is MSNBC. You may name them partisan retailers, however they typically persist with actuality. Sure, they cherry-pick tales and spin headlines to swimsuit their audiences however they hardly ever fabricate occasions wholesale.
Propaganda intentionally manipulates. It makes use of emotional triggers, half-truths, and outright lies to form opinion. And there’s no higher instance of it than the most recent cowl of New York Journal.
Their hit piece on younger Trump supporters revealed extra concerning the journal than its targets, and it’s not a great look.
Their story “The Cruel Kids’ Table” painted these twenty-somethings as privileged white monsters gleefully celebrating America’s downfall. However the actual monster right here was the journal’s deliberate manipulation of actuality to suit their narrative.
Let’s begin with their cowl picture. The journal surgically cropped out each black particular person on the occasion, then wrote about how “the entire room is white.” Humorous how that works.
One other trick was the whole erasure of CJ Pearson, a black conservative who inconveniently co-hosted the occasion. Additionally they ignored black celebrities, together with a rapper who’d been acknowledged for his philanthropy by President Trump, in addition to an undefeated boxing phenom from Baltimore.
Think about being so dedicated to your “MAGA is racist” narrative that you simply deliberately ignore black folks. Hmm, treating somebody poorly due to their pores and skin shade … I’m wondering if there’s a phrase for that.
In fact, the journal selected the story angle earlier than the occasion even began. Their manipulation follows a drained sample of figuring out the crime, then weaponing “journalism.” You need racists? Take any gathering, crop out the variety, concentrate on the whitest faces you’ll find, and voilà – instantaneous racism story.
It’s not journalism. It’s propaganda dressed up in designer garments.
Ken LaCorte writes about censorship, media malfeasance, uncomfortable questions, and trustworthy perception for folks curious how the world actually works. Observe Ken on Substack
