TL; DR Summary Part 1: Denmark is the world’s happiest nation because of the following reasons (Not true) Part 2: Denmark has a $20/hour minimum wage (No, it does not). Part 3: Denmark has a 33 hour work week (No, it does not) Part 4: Denmark has Free University ? Yes but read why – it’s not why you think) Part 5: Denmark has Free Childcare? No, it does not – this claim is a lie). Part 6: Denmark has…
Be careful about what you post online. Up to 76% of hiring managers review the social media posts of job applicants: Hiring managers in information technology and sales are the most likely to use social networks to screen candidates; professional and business services were least likely. IT: 76 percent Sales: 65 percent Financial services: 61 percent Health care: 59 percent Retail: 59 percent Manufacturing: 56 percent Professional and business services: 55 percent Source: Number of Employers Using Social Media to…
TL;DR Summary This is an example of a poorly designed social media propaganda poster In terms of design, it is complex and no one is making eye contact with the viewer. It takes too much time to understand what it is about and what it is trying to say. .There are enough details that it likely engages (Kahneman’s) System 2 thinking rather than the quick, intuitive, gut-level response of System 1. Propaganda works best when quickly invoking a System 1…
Goal: Dr. Ben Carson is an idiot Method: Assertion, Strawman Argument: Fabricate a statement about your opponent and then use that fabrication to argue your opponent is an idiot. Scorecard: Over 36,000 shares within a month of this propaganda item posted online. Snopes.com notes the headline is fiction; Dr. Carson never said what is claimed. Here is the original headline: A political report claimed Dr. Ben Carson said he had no idea how gravity works but asserted climate change is a hoax….
There have been leaks of emails whose content is embarrassing. In response, U.S. intelligence agencies issued the following statement alleging that Russia is behind the hacking and release of the emails in order to influence the U.S. election: “The U.S. Intelligence Community (USIC) is confident that the Russian Government directed the recent compromises of e-mails from US persons and institutions, including from US political organizations. The recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails on sites like DCLeaks.com and WikiLeaks and by the Guccifer…
In politics, “grass roots” supporters refers to an organically developed group that supports an initiative, a party or a politician. The idea is the group has arisen “from the people”. Counter to that, lobbying organizations create fake “grass roots” support groups, with fake names such as “Citizens for Jobs”. These fake organizations are known as “astro turf” – literally fake grass roots support organizations funded and managed by lobbying groups working to present the false impression that this is a…
So it goes with propaganda. For propaganda to be effective, it requires submissive subjects. As Professor Nicholas O’Shaughnessy wrote, propaganda is a “co-production in which we are willing participants.” Source: Why Does Propaganda Work? Some People Want It | Zero Hedge The answer is an absolute yes! Millions of people voluntarily belong to Facebook groups whose sole purpose is the dissemination of propaganda. Whether it be left or right leaning political groups, environmental and other activist groups, many people read…
The news that big insurance companies are dropping out of the exchanges doesn’t mean Obamacare is broken, writes Tim Mullaney. The problem is easily fixable once we realize it’s really about a few specialty drugs. Source: How Gilead ‘broke’ Obamacare This article, from a Marketwatch.com reporter says insurance companies are dropping out of ObamaCare due to expensive “specialty drugs”. This assertion does not pass the giggle test. This article, and its sharing on social media, demonstrates how social media amplifies…
Political polls are often a form of propaganda messaging. However, the propaganda connection is not the purpose of this post. UPDATE Nov 10 2016: The campaign polls were severely wrong, so wrong that they might have been part of propaganda messaging – or their failure may result from the pollsters and media being off in their own worlds, out-of-touch with real people. In essence, the pollsters and media may have become the “elite” that view the rest of the country as the…
TL;DR Summary This photo is spreading today (August 7, 2016) on Twitter and Facebook and purportedly is a contemporary photo of Hillary Clinton requiring assistance to go up a flight of stairs. Reality: The photo is from February 2016 when she slipped on the stairs and was grabbed by aides to prevent a fall. Once posted on social media, this was shared, liked and re-tweeted, with no one asking the obvious questions about time frame, location or verification of the subject. This…