Pushing Agendas
Back in grade school, we were taught the definition of propaganda along with numerous historical examples of countries using it. Usually these exercises included passages where the propaganda was blatant and easy to spot. We had to explain what made the messaging so detrimental and not only identify the underlying motives, but connect them to what was happening historically on the global political stage.
The older we get, the more equipped we think we are to spot certain propaganda since we passed our schooling with flying colors. Unfortunately for us, it's false confidence more than anything. With the rise of social media, expensive political campaigns, and major news outlets vying for viewership, our ability to identify and call out propaganda has diminished.
Although it’s not the blatant, in your face propaganda like we were taught in history class, it seems as time goes on, we are fed information to fit certain narratives. Companies, politicians, and other individuals absolutely produce marketing and advertising to push certain agendas to the masses. Sometimes the agendas are harmless and focus more on promoting certain products, but most of the time they are more sinister to try and uproot your way of life or undermine a certain group in America.
Most of the information we see isn’t partial and just at the core. Society is fueled by money and keeping the masses in the rat race to fund the upper elite. It’s very difficult to find the information you need to stay out of debt, make smart decisions, and truly prosper, and it’s intentionally crafted that way. If everyone knew the secrets to not getting ripped off when buying a house or a car, companies would lose a lot of money. Similarly, if everyone understood that almost everything on TV, YouTube, and social media is created with a purpose to sell, the idea of influencers wouldn’t exist.
Let’s take Instagram for an example. No matter how hard we try to control our timelines by auditing who we follow and interact with, we’re still bound to see half naked IG models. The Explore Page has a wide range of content that’s allegedly supposed to be curated for you, but sometimes it’s so incredibly far from your palette and taste. Despite Instagram having a policy against nudity, some of the content questionably blurs the line between indecent and acceptable. Unfortunately, there’s no way to adjust what you see on an individual basis outside of basically never using the platform.
It’s true even outside of social media. While there are numerous traditional news outlets, each of them align with a particular political party to skew narratives. You’re bound to hear different angles on the same issue solely based on the network you choose to turn on. MSNBC, Fox, ABC, NBC,CNN,CBS, and the rest have analysts that are paid to speak in a way that sways the public into thinking one way or another. Furthermore, the split screen design for debates reinforces negative perceptions people have about the candidate they oppose, further swaying the minds of potential voters.
We’re even pushed agendas about how we should live and what’s acceptable in society. There’s a big push to keep women single and working and for them to delay childbirth until later in life. Now, I’m not saying everyone should be pregnant and barefoot at 18, but women shouldn’t delay finding a suitable mate and creating their nuclear families all for a job that will ultimately kick them to the curb for a younger, cheaper replacement.
Society and the media wants women to spend thousands of dollars on fertility treatments later in life as a means to corrupt the institution of marriage and family. Add to that the debate over “real women” and you have a brewing storm of single women with only their kids to take care of them as they age in life. It’s reinforced by the ads ran on YouTube and TV, the pushed posts on social media, and the overall praise for women blowing up their families just to be independent.
Now that I understand that agendas are being pushed every single moment of every single day, it’s hard not to question every piece of content I run across. Long gone are the days of stereotypically “safe” content that you could watch without a hearty side of social programming.
Like the old adage says, “There are three sides to every story, your side, my side, and the truth.”
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Signed,
Jessica Marie
