this post was submitted on 02 Apr 2025
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List of positive things that he's done:
Honestly: Being a massive, public spokesperson for electric vehicles that had a huge following with the well-off nerds brought us where we are today with electric cars, I'm still convinced about that. But yeah, that's about the only thing I can think of.
I don't care how positive the apparent outcome; I simply cannot agree with giving somebody credit for propaganda. Because essentially, that's what you're talking about.
We don't need confidence men like Musk or Trump. They have nothing but their own interests in mind. So he accidentally had a small positive influence? Big deal. If he hadn't spoken up, another would've taken his place.
He deserves no credit, just as he deserves no sympathy.
What's wrong with propaganda?
Well, in short, by definition it spreads misinformation. Even if a particular propaganda message is technically truthful, by design the message has been alerted to focus on certain things while obscuring others. In other words, it's not only inherently subjective, but it's designed to be misinterpreted as objective.
Finally, I do not support any of the common causes or ideas that propaganda is usually intended to reinforce (e.g. patriotism sounds harmless, even positive, but largely is used to encourage bigotry and xenophobia).
What's wrong with propaganda? Everything.
all media is propaganda. no org can tell you everything that's happening, every human interest piece, every corporate move, every government policy, etc.
by necessity, they choose stories they think matter or will get clicks. it is up to you to understand the bias inherent in all media and distinguish fact from opinion, and draw your own conclusions.
propaganda, media, whatever you call it, isn't The Truth even if it's true.
so there is nothing wrong inherently with propaganda, even self-aware propaganda.