What do these two things mean, and how are they utilized to manipulate us?
Lets use two examples to illustrate these concepts.
1. The imprisonment and persecution of Julian Assange:
If you are a Trump supporter - "Assange needs to be punished for publishing US military secrets, arguing that Trump is actually just trying to force Assange to give up his sources for the 2016 publications (as though a president coercing a journalist to give up a source with the threat of life in prison would be perfectly fine and constitutional), and claiming Assange’s persecution is coming exclusively from the UK and not the US (the US extradition request is the only reason for his continued imprisonment and US officials are openly giving instructions to British prosecutors in the courtroom)."
If you are a staunch liberal or member of the far left - "Because of the Russiagate psyop and its related mass media smear campaign, liberals who once celebrated Assange for his publications on Bush administration war crimes now celebrate a Trump administration agenda to imprison a journalist for publishing inconvenient t***hs. L*****ts targeted with other smears believe he’s a f*****t and a rapist. Paranoid types believe he’s a CIA asset and “controlled opposition“, even as he’s being tortured to death by the empire he supposedly serves."
2. The continued illegal US occupation of Syria:
If you are a Trump supporter or staunch liberal or member of the far left -
"US troops need to be in Syria because of humanitarian concerns. US troops need to be in Syria because of chemical weapons. US troops need to be in Syria to stop ISIS. US troops need to be in Syria to counter Iranian influence. US troops need to be in Syria to counter Russian influence. US troops need to be in Syria to protect the Kurds. US troops need to be in Syria because of oil. There’s a different reason for every ideological echo chamber.
But take away the narrative soundtrack and what do you have? US troops staying in Syria. That tells you what this is actually about."
"The whole propaganda matrix works this way: people are actively herded into conflicting ideological echo chambers, and the “us versus them” mentality which that conflict eng****rs creates strong identification with and loyalty to that tribe. From there it’s just a matter of giving people narratives which allow them to self-gaslight in a way that protects those identification structures."
"The difference between state media and western media is that in state media the government controls what information the public is given about what's going on in the world in order to prevent political dissent, whereas in western media this is instead done by billionaires."
Forgive me for doing an injustice to the work of Caitlin Johnson. If you find this helpful, please read her complete posts below:
https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/11/06/propaganda-narratives-are-custom-made-for-each-ideological-echo-chamber/Society Is Made Of Narrative - The oligarchs - master manipulators.
https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/society-is-made-of-narrative-realizing-this-is-awakening-from-the-matrix-787c7e2539ae