Years ago, I came across a music video that contained an outro clip from archival footage of an unidentified source. In what appears to have been one of the animated edutainment clips which were popular during the ‘50s and ‘60s, a cartoon figure speaks to an actual human man thusly:
Cartoon man: Stop! I’ve tried. I’ve listened to everybody on TV and radio. I’ve read the paper and magazines. I’ve tried, but I’m still confused. Who’s right? What’s right? What should I believe? What are the facts? How can I tell?
Human man: Well my friend, if it’s any consolation, you’re not alone.
Viewing the clip through the lens of rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), I recognize the use of a should, must, or ought-type narrative expressed by the cartoon figure. It’s the sort of assumption-based script I listen closely for when working with clients.
Often, this sort of terminology relates to one of four major irrational beliefs people use to disturb themselves. In particular, demandingness uses either absolutistic or conditional should-type narratives which are rigid in nature and produce unpleasant consequences (e.g., fear).
For instance, suppose the animated character didn’t pose a question and instead demanded, “People absolutely should rely on reputable media sources for information!” Even when removing the word “absolutely” from this narrative, it lacks balance of countervailing options.
Also, the character may demand, “If people want accurate information, then they should rely on reputable media sources!” This dichotomous if-then paradigm defines a specific condition that should be met in order for something else to occur. This, too, lacks balance.
Of course, the cartoon man wasn’t expressing a self-disturbing absolutistic or conditional should-type narrative when merely posing a question. Therefore, REBT literature addresses other should-type narratives that people often use and which may not cause unpleasant consequences.
Although still serving as a form of prescription rather than description, flexible use of recommendatory, preferential, ideal, empirical, moral and ethical, and legal should beliefs doesn’t necessarily lead to self-upset. Here, rigidity versus flexibility makes a difference.
In the video clip, the confused cartoon character is seeking a recommendation about which media sources he should believe. Ergo, he’s imploring the human man in the video to tell the animated figure which sources recommendatorily should be accessed.
One matter I appreciate in regard to the edutainment clip is that the cartoon figure makes use of critical thinking skills. In essence, he’s seeking to discover truth about reality. As suggested by the human man in the clip, the animated character isn’t alone on his quest.
Disappointingly, many people may over-identify with the cartoon man’s confusion in relation to the media which one source describes as:
[T]he outlets or tools used to store and deliver semantic information or contained subject matter, described as content. The term generally refers to components of the mass media communications industry, such as print media (publishing), news media, photography, cinema, broadcasting (radio and television), digital media, and advertising.
For those people who are familiar with the content posted within my blog, I’m no fan of the media. For context, consider what I stated in a blog entry entitled Mockingbird Media:
Recently, I’ve shifted to referring to these outlets by the term “Mockingbird media.” My reason for doing so relates to Operation Mockingbird.
According to one source, “Operation Mockingbird is an alleged large-scale program of the United States [U.S.] Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that began in the early years of the Cold War and attempted to manipulate domestic American news media organizations for propaganda purposes.”
Concerning propaganda peddled by the Mockingbird media, I’m generally referring to information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.
While in the Marine Corps, serving as a Marine Security Guard tasked with protecting U.S. consulates and embassies, I worked with members of the CIA. I know firsthand how they manipulate public opinion in order to achieve particular outcomes.
It was the CIA which stated in a 1996 memo that “countering and discrediting the claims of the conspiracy theorists” was an objective of the Agency. Yet, the entity responsible for Operation Mockingbird is one of the major sources of conspiracy theory content spread by the media.
Numerous former intelligence operatives and personnel now openly work hand in hand with corporate media outlets, per one source that adds, “This makes nearly every word that comes out of their mouths suspect.” This isn’t a mere “conspiracy theory.”
As confused as the cartoon figure referenced herein was, one imagines his access to media in the ‘50s and ‘60s wasn’t nearly as saturated with U.S. intelligence agency propaganda as is the case in modernity. For context, consider what I stated in a blogpost entitled Supply and Demand:
Perhaps more concerning is that it isn’t only the Agency that uses [psychological operations] to influence people, because other [intelligence] bureaus and agencies also tinker with supply and demand [of information]. And yes, this occurs in regard to propaganda used against the U.S. citizenry. Per one source:
The Committee on the Judiciary, its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence have revealed how, in the final weeks before the 2020 presidential election, 51 former intelligence officials coordinated with the Biden campaign to discredit serious allegations about Biden family influence peddling.
For context, one October 19, 2020 source reported, “More than 50 former intelligence officials signed a letter casting doubt on the provenance of a New York Post story on the former vice president’s son.” That supplied disinformation plausibly created a demand for Biden’s presidency.
Worth noting, corporate media, mainstream media, or legacy media sources such as CNN, FOX, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The New York Post, and others aren’t solely constrained to television, streaming, newspapers, magazines, or online content.
Some of these media sources are ostensibly merged with other sectors in society which are responsible for the cultivation of information. For instance, consider what I stated in a blogpost entitled Human Fallibility:
Blogger Curtis Yarvin coined the term “the cathedral” to describe centralized power of information. Some people, especially those using “sweet lemons” rationalization during lockdown, may offhandedly consider Yarvin’s term ridiculous.
Yarvin states, “The cathedral’ is just a short way to say ‘journalism plus academia’—in other words, the intellectual institutions at the center of modern society, just as the Church was the intellectual institution at the center of medieval society.”
Colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education seemingly parrot similar talking points to those from systems of power in the U.S., as was obvious in regard to absurd practices recommended by members of academia and disseminated via the media during the pandemic.
During 2020, I observed states across the U.S. began to lockdown as so-called experts advised that protesting racism was less risky than protesting lockdown measures. Absurd! Of course, I would be remiss to ignore the existence of the missing link media which one source describes as:
[T]he second tier of established, so-called “mainstream” media, only one rung below the corporatized “legacy” media. They are generally accepted by the mainstream as credible sources but they have considerably less financial power than the top rung legacy media.
This form of media includes sources such as Vox, The Atlantic, Politico, The Guardian, Axios, and the like. Perhaps with as quickly as some legacy and missing link media sources are hemorrhaging subscribers and employees, there’s little distinction between these types of media.
Personally, erosion of confidence in media outlets has been well-earned. Perhaps with more influence from social media sources – which I’ll address momentarily – trust in the media will continue to plummet. For instance, consider what one October 2024 source has to say:
Americans continue to register record-low trust in the mass media, with 31% expressing a “great deal” or “fair amount” of confidence in the media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly,” similar to last year’s 32%. Americans’ trust in the media – such as newspapers, television and radio – first fell to 32% in 2016 and did so again last year.
When intelligence agency propaganda is thrust upon the public, people are now seemingly better able to detect misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation when access to social media provides counterpoints to conventional narratives. Still, it’s difficult to determine what is true.
Although the explanations of why this may be are multifaceted, the case of Murthy v. Missouri may have something to do with confusion encountered on social media sources such as Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, X, Instagram, and others. Are you familiar with this case?
Ostensibly, the Supreme Court of the U.S. ruled that the government can pressure social media companies to editorialize, block, or remove content of users. For those who’ve paid attention to this matter, it’s been well-known that the CIA has influence over social media companies.
Given the information I’ve outlined thus far, do you trust the media? Now consider what The Associated Press offers on the matter of how or what people should think, in reference to hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski of Morning Joe, a morning news talk show:
Scarborough recounted that the then-president’s [Trump] supporters had told him: “They go, ‘Yeah you guys are going crazy. He’s doing — what are you so surprised about? He’s doing exactly what he said he’s going to do.’”
Brzezinski responded: “Well and I think that the dangerous, y’know, edges here are that he’s trying to undermine the media, trying to make up his own facts. And it could be that while unemployment and the economy worsens, he could have undermined the messaging so much that he can actually control exactly what people think. And that is our job.”
Brzezinski’s comments attracted attention at the time, and in a tweet later that day, she claimed they were misinterpreted, saying: “Today I said it’s the media’s job to keep President Trump from making up his own facts, NOT that it’s our job to control what people think.”
Every human being is fallible, as we all make mistakes. Perhaps when a member of the media stated that it’s the responsibility of her profession to control what people think, she merely misspoke. Given a less charitable assessment, the host’s assertion is on par with media operation.
Personally, The Associated Press running cover for another media actor is of no surprise. One imagines that systemic power structures which profess to serve as guardians of information would likely excuse snafus from its own field. Would they extend a similar courtesy to you?
Given the state of corporate, mainstream, legacy, missing link, and social ("alternative") media influence over what information is deemed appropriate for public consumption, it’s no wonder to me how so many of my fellow citizens were confused about the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
Like the cartoon figure discussed herein, and knowing how the media operates, one suspects that millions of people genuinely believed the nonsense they were told about Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. It wasn’t that these people were merely ignorant, they were outright deceived.
Bear in mind that practitioners of REBT tend not to use blame—holding others responsible for undesirable outcomes. Therefore, my castigation of the media isn’t in the interest of merely pointing a finger at who it is that I believe is responsible for one’s own reaction to deception.
After all, I value personal responsibility and accountability. Nevertheless, the purpose of this blogpost is to highlight the general fruitlessness of the media. That way, one can take personal ownership for unpleasant consequences of unhelpful beliefs in relation to media nonsense.
Perhaps you believe yourself to have been deceived by the media in regard to the 2024 U.S. presidential election. There’s a feasible chance that you actually were, especially if the CIA had its tendrils in the information you consumed.
All the same, you don’t have to self-disturb with unfavorable assumptions about the matter. Instead, you could pursue a logical and reasonable quest for truth – similar to the undertaking of the animated character referenced herein. That journey begins with recognizing lies.
In the current blogpost, I’ve pointed a finger at the media as a potential culprit in the art of deception. However, one’s own reaction to deception is a matter of personal ownership. Recognize who it is that’s been lying to you for years and then take ownership of your attention.
You don’t have to pay attention to sources of disinformation which masquerade as benevolent or authoritative arbiters of truth. You don’t have to allow such entities to control what or how you think. Thinking for yourself and asking questions may be of great benefit to you.
Besides, if children in the ‘50s and ‘60s could grasp this lesson through use of a cartoon character, I suspect you’ll also be able to comprehend what I’m advocating herein. It’s not that hard!
While I don’t maintain a monopoly on truth, I may be able to help you stop disturbing yourself with beliefs about those whose hubris is unparalleled by anyone other than a fantastical all-knowing being. If you’d like to know more about how to think critically, I’m here to help.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
Photo credit (edited), photo credit (edited), fair use
References:
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