preview

Orwellian Propaganda Analysis

Decent Essays

Information has the power to either unite or divide us. Some nations take advantage of this simple fact by controlling the flow of information, which allows them to weaken other countries by spreading controversial information that divides their population. For hundreds of years in the past, governments have manipulated the flow of information that other countries received through the use of propaganda. However, with the advent of modern innovations such as telephones, emails, and social media, many governments now use Orwellian policies on other countries in order to weaken them by taking away their autonomy, maturity, and history. Though the signs of Orwellian restriction and control are extremely subtle, they seem to have a much larger impact …show more content…

This fact is corroborated by Facebook’s chief security officer, Alex Stamos, who states, “Rather, the [Russian] ads and accounts appeared to focus on amplifying divisive social and political messages across the ideological spectrum -- touching on topics from LGBT matters to race issues to immigration to gun rights.” Using these ads, the Russian government hoped to incite civil unrest among American citizens in order to weaken America, which would weaken the American government’s resolve. By subtly buying and controlling influential ad space from Facebook, Russia has externally imposed oppression on the United States by causing even more division among American citizens on crucial social issues which were already extremely controversial. Russia’s subtle acquisition of these ads show how, contrary to belief, major governments such as the Russian government still use Orwellian strategies of controlling the media, even though they are extremely …show more content…

While trivial matters, such as the lives of the Kardashians, often blind people from the real issues that need to be addressed in the world, such as the lack of equal rights for women around the world, intentional meddling from other governments have a much larger impact when compared to the simple distractions that ordinary people face. As evidenced by the sophisticated Russian attack on American autonomy and maturity through the use of controversial advertisements designed to subdivide the American population, externally imposed oppression poses a greater risk to the right when compared to the simple ignorance of people who would rather watch useless reality TV

Get Access