NR | 37m | TV Series, Technology, Sociology | 2024
“The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” This quote from Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War” opens “Are You Being Manipulated?” (“Manipulated”), the first episode in the EpochTV “Fallout” series, co-hosted by physician, biochemist, and writer Dr. Robert W. Malone and Epoch Times senior editor Jan Jekielek.
In “Manipulated,” Dr. Malone and Mr. Jekielek discuss the many tentacles that make up what has been coined “fifth-generation information warfare.”
For someone who considers himself a technologically challenged news junkie, I found Dr. Malone’s detailed but easy-to-understand explanations of many ubiquitous, yet often misunderstood, modern communication terms fascinating and eye-opening.
As a critic who favors documentaries, I was pleased that the interaction between Dr. Malone and Mr. Jekielek was, for lack of a better term, so natural and unaffected. Neither man came off as dry, nor did their combined ability to lead the viewer through the thicket of information feel rushed, canned, or staged. It was refreshing.
Advertising as Propaganda
Anticipating an immediate dive into 21st-century internet- and social media-psyops workings, I was pleased that the episode started with something from the mid-20th century.A connection between print advertising and propaganda is made, and the conclusion is that they’re one and the same. If company X wants me to buy its widget and not the other guy’s widget, it needs to give me a good reason to do so.
Whether it’s social upgrading, popularity, improved relations with the opposite sex, or anything else, advertising not only propagandizes consumer decision-making, it, through user algorithms, provides positive, end-user reinforcement. People are programmed to feel good about their choices, which will lead to similar—and often, uninformed and ill-chosen—future decisions. Whether you’re buying laundry soap or subscribing to a particular socio-economic mindset, there’s no discernible difference between advertising and propaganda.
The application of advertising versus propaganda in the 21st century is exactly the same. As Dr. Malone astutely points out, agents operating on behalf of government entities, news outlets, and social media sites are essentially propagating the same flavor-of-the-week pro or con messaging.
Dr. Malone points out early on that prior to the internet, enemies on all sides were instantly identifiable, both physically and ideologically. Physical evidence (photography, voice ID, printed and early electronic media) was black and white; there was no gray area. In modern times, these rules don’t—and can’t—apply. Thanks to the covert and cloaked nature of the internet, the combatants are never seen or identified. A posting on the internet could originate in the basement of a female teen in Omaha or a male boiler room flunky in Nigeria.
‘Mal-’ Versus ‘Dis-’
Dr. Malone’s clarification of malinformation and disinformation is particularly illuminating. The prefix “mal-” (meaning wrong), and the prefix “dis-” (meaning against) might sound similar, and in the great scheme of things, they could be, but in the big picture framework, they exist in different universes.To take it a step further, “mal-” is half of the word “malice,” a word defined partly as a “means to do harm.” “Dis-” means opposing, as in “I don’t agree with your opinion.” That’s a huge, almost canyon-sized difference.
Other terms, such as “gang-stalking,” “deep fakes,” and “Operation Mockingbird,” are introduced in the episode and are appropriately addressed and defined with everyman-level clarity.
Unseen Enemies
AI has thrown a monkey wrench into the gears of logic and basic common thought. The ability to manipulate images and audio has become so easy that the teen basement dweller in Omaha or the stooge in Nigeria can pull it off without getting close to breaking a sweat.
Coming in a close second on the squirm scale is Dr. Malone’s explanation of the existence of a U.S. Department of Defense program called “PSYWAR.” Boiled down, this easy-to-find document, compiled in large part by current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, states in plain English that weaponizing the internet in general, and social media in particular, against any enemy, foreign or domestic, real or imagined, is not only acceptable but encouraged.
In the last seven or so minutes of the episode, Dr. Malone offers the sage advice to viewers to regularly unplug, decompress, commune with nature, get some sun, and take some vitamin D.
Leading by example, Dr. Malone invites Mr. Jekielek to join him at the Madison, Virginia, horse farm he owns with Jill, his wife of more than 40 years. It’s clear that Dr. Malone has a strong connection with his steeds and considers the quality time he spends with them as a metaphoric emotional and spiritual salve.
My sole complaint regarding “Manipulated” is that it didn’t last longer, and I can’t wait to see the next installment in the “Fallout” series.
