The Age of Post-Truth Politics

As a media critic, I have always been skeptical about the workings of mainstream media in the contemporary world. Media especially 'New Media' is a very powerful tool for Post-Truth Politics or ideological Propaganda. Media controls which idea has to be exaggerated and which has to be suppressed as compared to its real relevant existence. It decides which party's political legislative agenda has to triumph and who has to succumb. Most of the major world power including the US, UK, Russia, and India are living in the era of Post-Truth Politics, this is the era where Goebbels perilous experiment of 'Repeating the Lies Till it becomes the Truth' to make concerted Propaganda a success is very much evident. Lies are being presented in such a way that it appears very much realistic to masses, to make them easily gullible to behave in a certain way. To drive propaganda, first, an Irrational fear is fostered among masses to constantly make them disturbed about something that they feel shall be abrogated. Then it is asserted that the fear is rational by alternation or exaggeration of Facts. The person affected with the Propaganda starts to feel what is currently happening around him is unjust and the war against his interest. He suddenly starts to feel oppressed and suppressed about something that is currently in existence. The fear is then used to control the mind and actions of masses and form an allegiance towards the ideology of propagandists. And, with the rise of 'New Media', the propaganda has become very expeditious and robust. In this article, I have analyzed two different ideological propaganda material that I found on New Media - Internet in the Age of Post-Truth Politics. Image Source: From a Facebook Group Conservatives Threatening Us with a Good Time Again I took this image from a US-based Conservative group. And I will be analyzing Conservative Right-Wing Propaganda through it. The context of this image is with the current abortion debate going on in the US. So, last year in the US a very controversial and polarizing bill was passed in one of the Right Wing Republicans controlled senate of a federal state of the US - Alabama that curtailed abortion rights of women at any stage of their pregnancy even if their pregnancy has resulted from Rape and Incest, with the only exception in the cases where there is a risk of death from delivery. After which many other federal states proposed this bill and few passed them with consideration of the abortion of babies as a crime bearing murder charges. The law proposes to punish both the mother as well as the medical practitioner if the mother has an abortion done. The people and legislators mainly associated with Right-Wing Ideology supported the bill as a Pro-life stance. While those who opposed this bill declared themselves to be Pro-choice. Due to widespread backlash from Pro-choice activists against the bill which was later passed into law was send to the Court for the ultimate decision on its legitimacy whose final verdict will come this year only. Though, many subject experts say that the court will give its judgment in support of the bill or the law, as the appointed judge is Right-leaning and had himself been an advocate for Pro-life stance. The above image is a Propaganda material of Pro-life activists. It gives the message that abortion does not affect the choice of the pregnant woman because it has no bearing on her bodily autonomy but that of her baby whose choice to live or not live is not considered. And, so there claim to be Pro-choice is hogwash. To many, this argument will emotionally appeal and appear to be logical. But this argument is in actual very much irrational and illogical. The law even bans the right of victims of Rape for abortion. The consequences of such a ban through law on abortion rights of women will be very much negative. A victim of rape can go to jail for termination of pregnancy which was not even her choice but was perpetuated by her rapist. It will make victims of rape crime more vulnerable to psychological health hazards and they will not be able to raise their children with a healthy and prepared mind. It will affect so many lives because of it. Economically, it will also perpetuate a cycle of poverty in poor families in the US. A poor woman will have to bear the financial responsibility for a child which might be beyond her capacity as she might not have planned to give birth to a baby and had conceived it accidentally or forcefully, for instance, take victims of human trafficking or marital rape. Here propaganda conceals all this consideration in the disguise of having an emphatic stance. Moving on, here's the next image: Image Source: From FB Page Philosophical 'Rona Dhona' in Desi Cinema I took this image from a communist page. And I will be analyzing the Communist Propaganda through this. I don't need to mention the context of this image. It explicitly talks about Kashmir. The image makes Kashmir look like a victim of Hindu-Muslim Aggression for its possession and it takes the stance for Free Kashmir or Azad Kashmir. It makes Kashmiri look like victims of India and Pakistan Nationalist Politics. This message can make the Kashmiri youngsters easily gullible to believe that they are victims of violence sponsored by their nation or state, so they start hating their state and so, communist agenda of Separating Kashmir from India could be achieved. I have been in close contact with AISA - Left-Wing Student Political Party of mine college during my days as a fresher and I learned their propaganda technique through this connection. Communists in India are Anti-nationals and it's not a stereotype. They will continuously inject the idea of state and army oppression like I was told about Indian soldiers' presence in Kashmir in a very exceedingly exaggerated bad light. Though I was not affected by their propaganda many would. The person affected by their propaganda constantly starts to feel he is a victim and everything around him is unjust and justice could only be served through radical means like leading a revolution and subverting the democratically elected government to set up their own. And the reason behind supporting the Self-determination of Kashmiri is to overthrow the Indian government from there, so they can create a power vacuum that could later be occupied by them. Reality is Self Determination For Kashmiri is a Euphemism for creating a Power vacuum which could later be occupied by communists. Empirical evidence says whenever there is a power vacuum in a Muslim majority land, it first leads to deadly violence due to fight between different factions who want to occupy for establishing their territorial control and then subsequently Islamic Fundamentalists won either by establishing itself as a state government or a Terrorist Group or both continuing the violent rivalry in the territory. It happened in the case of Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, etc. Chezoslovikia was also made into a separate state from Germany based on the idea of this self-determination and after it was formed as an independent nation, it started to perpetuate violence against its minority. Azad Kashmir is a very Perilous Idea and believing it will end violence in Kashmir is complete hogwash and playing into the hands of propagandists. Conditions in Kashmir will deteriorate and more violence and bloodshed will follow, there will be complete anarchy and no rule of law to protect people from crime which will be committed against them and especially against children, women, marginalized, atheists and LGBTQ as there will be no fundamental rights available to them under Indian Constitution for their protection. Extreme Right and Left, both are cariogenic and their propaganda is equally harmful to state and society. Ideological Propagandists exploit the Gullibility of Masses to run their respective agenda and New Media poses threat and vulnerability of more people becoming more extreme, radical and polarised as it makes it easy to share and spread political rhetoric, fake news, doctored videos, false information, etc. Thus, the need for time in this Post-Truth Politics Era is to bring stringent laws for New Media regulation to stop its current widespread misuse as a propaganda tool. Image Source: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.outlookindia.com/magazine/amp/india-news-delhi-riots-2020-where-were-the-leaders-when-goons-killed-burned-and-looted/302874

The Age of Post-Truth Politics

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