Investigative Journalist approach
The New York Post article discusses the Biden administration’s halt of its controversial plans to create a disinformation board. This board was set to be led by Nina Jankowicz a “disinformation expert”. The creation of this board has been a topic of conflict as many republicans, libertarians, and some liberals have compared the board to the ministry to the Ministry of Truth in Orwell’s novel “1984”.
In “1984”, the ministry of truth serves as an agency of falsification and propaganda. Winston Smith, the main character in the novel is manipulated into loving Big Brother (essentially the government) and repeats phrases such as “2 + 2 = 5”. Winston is beaten and psychologically tormented until he complies with the government’s ideology and by the end of the novel loves Big Brother. He rejects the independent thinking that he once had and no longer loves the girl he once wanted to marry. The ministry of truth manipulates the media, the arts, and books in order to construct a false history that matches Party doctrine.
The comparison of the disinformation board to the Ministry of Truth indicates that many members of society see this board as a structure for manipulation. Having one outlet control what is let in by other countries draws a few parallels to Orwell’s “1984”. In Orwell’s novel, war was used to prevent members of society from rebelling against their own government. The constant state of war pins Oceania against the other two superstates (interchangeably) and creates an environment of fear. This fear causes citizens to blindly submit to the control of the Party. War also prevented citizens of Oceania from communicating/ understanding how life was different from the other superstates. Citizens became so accustomed to the Party’s rules and procedures that they believed it was the proper/ only way of government. Comparatively, the disinformation board could prevent real communication of government and practices between the US and other countries and create a similar sense of fear causing internal issues with the government to be dropped.
Critics of the board call this halt a “huge win for free speech” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). Many critics believe that this pause should be forever. One agency having control over the content that is released into the US raises concerns for many and parallels can be seen within the novel.
The article “NewGuard Misinfo Watchdog: Contracts with DOD, WHO, Pfizer, Microsoft, and AFT” discusses NewGuard. NewsGuard is a self-appointed misinformation watchdog. The CEOs of this system claim that it is a librarian for the internet that is specifically set up to rate journalistic integrity. Many companies have created contracts with NewsGuard including the Department of Defense, Pfizer, Microsoft, and the American Federation of Teachers. However, critics have begun to raise concerns about potential conflicts of interest and censorship, suggesting that NewsGuard’s ratings may be influenced by its financial ties to these organizations. Furthermore, NewsGuard has faced criticism in the past for its methodology and for unfairly targeting conservative media outlets. NewsGaurd has been seen to hold companies accountable for specific reportings that are contrary to particular narratives. One example discussed was NewsGaurd challenging Covid-19 narratives that centered around death rates of children aged 0-18. NewsGaurd challenged this narrative on the premise of inexact wording rather than the spirit of the claims. Critics see this to be a misuse of power as NewGaurd has labeled the PragerU site as dangerous after the “misinformation watchdog” disagreed with .001% of the site’s content. Another incident occurred when PragurU released content of doctors that had opinions contrary to those of mass media regarding Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin. The institution ended up removing this content because of NewsGaurd. The information was never verified to be incorrect but PragrU “removed it rather than face the penalties of censorship.” as shown in an email from CEO Marissa Streit.
NewsGuards ratings and supposed censorships are similar to some of the censorship within Orwell’s novel “1984”. In “1984,” the government of Oceania controls all information and propaganda to maintain its power over the citizens. Similarly, critics claim that corporations and the government contract with NewsGuard to monitor and control the spread of misinformation to propel certain narratives.
From the viewpoint of NewsGuard and some of the corporations that they partner with, NewsGuard is looking out for the general population by combating misinformation while the Party in 1984 is knowingly spreading it.
The Truthstreammedia.co article discusses the quote “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” supposedly said by former CIA director William Casey. The article references a declassified CIA document from the 1980s that outlines the agency’s tactics for disinformation campaigns. The document states that the goal of these campaigns is to “discredit, confuse, or frustrate” the public, and that success is achieved when “everything the American public believes is false.” This admission, suggests that the CIA actively seeks to manipulate and deceive the public in order to achieve its goals.
In Orwell’s novel “1984”, the government “Party” has achieved this goal as most citizens blindly succumb to Big Brother. The Ministry of truth in this novel essentially rewrites history in order to fit it into the government’s narratives. By doing this, the government is able to fortify the idea that they are always correct and make it seem like there is no reason for citizens’ distrust. If the CIA is truly working to create an illusion of America, the US could end up as a dystopia much like the society of Oceania.
The declassified CIA document raises questions about the role of government agencies in shaping public opinion and the potential harm that can result from such activities. The article highlights the danger of government agencies using their power to control the narrative and manipulate public perception, potentially leading to the spread of false information and the erosion of public trust.
Furthermore, the article points out that the techniques described in the CIA document are not limited to the government, but are also used by corporations and other organizations to shape public opinion and influence consumer behavior. There are parallels between the far-reaching implementation within companies and the various ministries in Orwells 1984.
Personal Standpoint
Orwell’s “1984” drew many parallels to the US government and its censorship of Covid-19. The censorship of doctors and treatment methods is similar to the false teachings within Big Brother. Since Big Brother always wants to seem right, it only pushes its narrative and its narrative is always “correct”. The US government wants the most profitable narrative so that is what they push, this is their “correct” narrative. Furthermore, the government censors other narratives by suppressing them in the media, threatening those who disagree, and using emotion to manipulate American citizens.
Surveillance capitalism is in many ways similar to the telescreens in Orwell’s “1984”. Surveillance capitalism has created a new form of power, which Zuboff terms “instrumentarian power.” This form of power is based on the constant monitoring and manipulation of individuals by collecting personal data, which is then used to shape their behavior and decisions. Zuboff emphasizes the idea that our behaviors are not our own but rather manipulated projections of what corporations want us to do. The telescreens in Orwell’s novel work similarly by ensuring “correct” behaviors of the citizens of Ociania. Like surveillance capitalism, these devices monitor individuals by collecting personal data. This data can then be used in the case that you oppose Big Brother as a form of psychological torture.
Furthermore, there have been concerns over Psyop’s abilities to manipulate public opinion and suppress dissent specifically through the spreading of fake news. This manipulation is similar to the Ministry of Truth and how it spreads fake news/ redacts previous sentiments to encourage compliance with Big Brother. PsyOps have also been used in emotional manipulation, especially with army recruitment. The deliberate extortion of people’s emotions within the US government and large corporations/ agencies is similar to the torturing of those that did not comply with Big Brother. In “1984”, if one did not comply with the Party, they were sent off and tortured both mentally and physically until they not only obeyed but loved Big Brother. Emotionally manipulating people to want to join the army is essentially causing them to revoke any discontentments with the current state of affairs; then telling them to align their viewpoints with the government and go and put their life on the line for the government. Meanwhile, the government does not seem to care too much about individuals so full commitment to the government and its decisions is not a choice that many cognizant individuals would make. Rather, people should join the army for their own personal reasons that have to do with a sense of duty and protection.
The reading for this week further exacerbates the concerns for a censored society. The disinformation board is an extremely concerning proposition as it could so easily manipulate what the entire American public believes. If there is no free communication between countries the truth will never be known. This misalignment is seen in “1984” as there is a constant state of war causing citizens to always be in fear and in turn submit to the government. If American people are led to believe certain things about other countries that invoke fear. It is likely that we will become a more submissive society and allow the government to slowly maintain more and more power and surveillance over us. Newsgaurd is also concerning as it appears to have biases and works in favor of certain companies. This system will always cause those who can pay more to have their narrative projected. The government and large companies will always have this money and can then use Newsgaurd to spread false narratives/ discount counternarrative in order to profit off of and manipulate others. Finally, the quote “We’ll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false.” essentially sums up all of these topics as so many false narratives are being displayed and accepted currently. No matter if this disinformation program is the CIAs true objective, it is definitely happening as biases cloud almost everything online and have time and time again shown to be aspects of mass manipulation.