Controlling the narrative & undermining freedom of speech

[Lance, Group Founder]

Controlling the narrative & undermining freedom of speech are in my opinion two of the biggest 21st Century problems facing Mankind. The two problems are integrally interlinked, hence my including them in the same discussion thread.

Controlling the narrative – i.e. telling it your way, before someone else gets to tell it, and possibly tell it better, their way – is a strategy governments, corporates, institutions, media platforms and spin merchants have been using since the first newspapers rolled off the press. Problem is it’s becoming all-pervasive as we see the likes of Google, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, not to mention mainstream media, controlling the messages we are allowed to read, see and hear on a daily basis. Thus we only get to read, see and hear what certain people in high places want us to read, see and hear; and alternative viewpoints are dismissed as misinformation.

Undermining of freedom of speech is equally alarming. Everyone seems to champion the idea of freedom of speech until others express viewpoints contrary to their own. Those who speak out against the widespread desecration of statues commemorating our forefathers, for example, are branded racists; those who express dismay at the indecent haste in which the first (experimental) Covid-19 vaccines have been approved for public use are branded as misinformed; those who question the logic of mass lockdowns for a flu-like pandemic are branded conspiracy theorists; and the list of examples goes on.

As a co-founder and moderator of the Underground Knowledge group I like to think we are championing freedom of speech and facilitating the expression of alternative views here on Goodreads. Not sure how long this state of affairs will continue, or be allowed to continue, but I guess that’s up to others…

Undergrounders, feel free to have your say, in this thread or in any thread that catches your eye. All viewpoints welcomed! No topic off-limits!

[Olga]

And what do you think about Parler - platform that touted itself as a free speech platform but evolved into a conspiracy fueled forum full of politically dubious narratives (mildly put) that ended in the Capitol siege?

[Lance, Group Founder]

Olga wrote: "And what do you think about Parler - platform that touted itself as a free speech platform but evolved into a conspiracy fueled forum full of politically dubious narratives (mildly put) that ended ..."

Personally I lean toward commonsensemedia.org's opinion that "Parler is a social media app that's built around far-right conservative beliefs and highlights a very distinct political agenda. While the platform doesn't prohibit people of other beliefs from joining, promoted people to follow include Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Tucker Carlson, and other conservative activists and politicians. The site also gives prominent placement to conspiracy theory proponents, including Infowars."

I know others in this group hold different views on that, and I respect their right to voice their opinions.

[James, Group Founder]

Lance wrote: "Personally I lean toward commonsensemedia.org's opinion that "Parler is a social media app that's built around far-right conservative beliefs and highlights a very distinct political agenda. While the platform doesn't prohibit people of other beliefs from joining, promoted people to follow include Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Tucker Carlson, and other conservative activists and politicians. The site also gives prominent placement to conspiracy theory proponents, including Infowars."..."

Anything to the Right of Marxism in this era is called "Far Right"...Even general Leftist politics is also often or usually being called "Far Right"...That's how insane this era is.

They (mainstream media owned by the Establishment) have got us focused on the Far Right...Constant reporting of anything like that, even very isolated examples of it...

And yet, when was the last time any of us came across anyone who we could genuinely call Far Right or Fascist?! Does it seem like a problem in our society?

Conversely, those on the Radical Left are EVERYWHERE...Many or most of these new Radical Leftists do not realize it...Naïve people in the West who haven't got a good enough understanding of history in terms of the destructiveness of socialism/communism, are being seduced by these ideologies again...And the Elites are loving it!

None of this has anything to do with the regular Left-Right political paradigm, but only the extremes...I am generally apolitical and am totally cool with regular/moderate Leftist or Right-wing politics...Only the extremes are worth worry about...And unfortunately the extremism is all on the Left in this era and this is an era of socialism. If we had extremism on the Right I would be equally worried, but we simply do not apart from very isolated examples...

Anyone still watching mainstream media (after the constant fake news and pure drivel of 2020 "news reporting", hopefully there is nobody in this group still watching that braindead propaganda!) has no chance of understanding this...Mainstream media is owned and managed by the same groups successfully taking away our freedoms and they therefore are naturally trying to get us to hate brave freedom fighters...

Malcolm X said it best... "If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing."

[Anni]

James wrote: "Lance wrote: "Personally I lean toward commonsensemedia.org's opinion that "Parler is a social media app that's built around far-right conservative beliefs and highlights a very distinct political ..."

Absolutely spot-on with this, James👍🏻
I wish my own two sons were as clued-up as you. Unfortunately their generation was taught by lefty- Marxist- leaning teachers in the public sector.

[James, Group Founder]

Thanks Anni.
And trust me, once we as a society come out the other side of this, nobody will be flirting with these Radical Leftist ideologies anymore!

[Anni]

James wrote: "Thanks Anni.
And trust me, once we as a society come out the other side of this, nobody will be flirting with these Radical Leftist ideologies anymore!"

👍🏻🙏