Re: [Salon] Ukraine and Western media: The death of free thought

[Helena Cobban <hcobban@gmail.com>]

Maintaining support for a war in a Western-style democracy always involves strict information control//twisting/suppression. As I noted here in January:

The history of World War 1 continues to be eerily relevant today. In 1928, the leftwing British war resister Arthur Ponsonby published a book titled Falsehood in War-Time, Containing an Assortment of Lies Circulated Throughout the Nations During the Great War. Its lessons have massive relevance, that continues until today. In 2001, a leftwing Belgian philosopher called Ann Morelli codified the main themes of the pro-war propaganda Ponsonby had identified into a 10-point list as follows:

1. We do not want war.
2. The enemy alone is to be blamed for the war.
3. The enemy is inherently evil, resembling the devil.
4. We defend a noble cause, not our own interest.
5. The enemy commits atrocities on purpose; our mishaps are involuntary.
6. The enemy uses illegal weapons.
7. We suffer small losses, those of the enemy are enormous.
8. Artists and intellectuals back our cause.
9. Our cause is holy, it has a sacred character.
10. Whoever doubts our propaganda, is a traitor.

How startlingly timely is this today?

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Helena Cobban

She/her/they | Honoring the lives & legacies of the Piscataways in whose lands I live

Follow my writings here or here

CEO, Just World Books | President and CEO, Just World Educational

On Wed, Mar 8, 2023 at 2:10 PM Chas Freeman via Salon <salon@listserve.com> wrote:

https://johnmenadue.com/ukraine-and-the-death-of-free-thought/

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