TO
time that We are going through a storm of seismic proportions, which is leaving nothing in its place and threatens life on the planet, we can see more clearly how the major media have become machines for installing lies and false truths, hiding the main facts and distorting reality according to the interests of the ruling class.
Minimally objective information tends to disappear and is replaced by propaganda. Ideas and prejudices are shamelessly hammered into the media, with the aim of nullifying the population’s capacity for reasoning. The big media are part of the capitalist, colonial-patriarchal system: they depend on corporate advertising and, like them, aim to turn human beings into mere consumers.
The worst thing is when media that define themselves as left-wing, or linked to movements, repeat the arguments of the mainstream media without stopping to critically reflect on what they are reporting. Because those media have greater credibility for people organized in movements.
This week the media reported
about the elections in two eastern German states (Saxony and Thuringia), in such a one-sided way that they manage to distort reality to the point of making it incomprehensible. Perhaps it is good to put the spotlight on the coverage, because it allows us to see the extent of the information manipulation.
In both states the far right
Alternative for Germany (AfD) won in Thuringia and came second in Saxony, very close to the winner of the, let’s say, traditional right. The three parties in government (Greens, Social Democrats and Liberals) collapsed and took a third of the votes won by the far right
.
European media highlight that it is the first electoral victory of the far right
in the country since World War II, that the AfD is already the second largest party in Germany behind the right and that it is the majority force among young people. The media characterize the AfD as his criticism of immigration and the European project
(https://goo.su/n98Ss81).
These two characteristics are true, although it is worth considering why criticism of the European Union would be a negative thing, given that it is leading the war in Ukraine and supporting the genocide of the Palestinian people.
Left-wing newspapers say more or less the same thing, emphasizing the need for the far right
does not reach the government, calling it many times fascist. By the way, remember that the propaganda against the populism
and the far right
were born in the think tanks of the genocidal US Democratic Party, including The New York Times.
But the serious thing is that the analysis focused on the rise of the far right
It omits the central point: 80 percent of the population of these states voted against the war, a figure obtained by adding together the AfD, the CDU and Sara Wagenknecht’s party, which split from the Left (Die Linke), which agrees with the right in its criticism of immigration policy and rejection of the war.
Young people voted massively for anti-war parties, which does not mean that they are not sexist and racist. In Saxony, the CDU prime minister campaigned strongly against further arms shipments to Ukraine and called for peace talks to end the war.
can be read in Asia Times , medium that usually presents different readings from Westerners (https://goo.su/B2UT).
The mainstream media says nothing about the anti-war vote, and when they do make any reference at all, they describe the party or candidate as pro-russian
.
The same manipulation occurs in relation to Israel and Gaza. While Russia is described as an aggressor country (which it is), Israel, or any other aggressor country that is a friend of the West, such as Saudi Arabia, to give just one example, is not analysed in the same way.
Information manipulation wants to convince us that there are right-wing and corrupt politicians who are antifascists
because they oppose the far right
a category into which (of course) the Netanyahu cabinet does not fall, considering the Palestinians as animals.
Is Donald Trump so different from Joe Biden or Kamala Harris?
It depends on where you look at it. If it were a progressive, middle-class urban professional, the difference is abysmal. But the children of Gaza will laugh at the stupid question, while running to avoid the last missile. Democrat-Republican
Geography and class are decisive in understanding this world and taking a position.
For the movements from below and for the oppressed peoples, it is essential not to get caught up in the system’s agenda, nor allow its media to confuse us with its propaganda and lies. We still have a long way to go to be autonomous in our ideas, but we have no other option than to advance in this aspect, which is part of the integral autonomy we seek.
