this post was submitted on 03 May 2025
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No Stupid Questions

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I don't know about y'all, but if I grew up in a country that never has the news criticizing its leaders, I'd be very skepical and deduce that there is censorshop going on and the offical news could be exaggerated or entirely falsified. Do people in authoritarian countries actually just eat the propaganda? To what extent do they believe the propaganda?

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[–] steeznson@lemmy.world 2 points 17 hours ago

Social media is designed to override your critical thinking faculties.

Human beings aren't evolved to get news/information from such a wide variety of sources at such a fast rate. Your critical thinking faculties just get overrun.

Everyone has experienced this and accidentally shared an article from The Onion or whatever without noticing in the short term that they are responding to some kind of bias being confirmed.

[–] FelixCress@lemmy.world 2 points 23 hours ago
[–] cmhe@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

Propaganda doesn't necessarily need to convince people, but can instead attack the peoples ability to differentiate truth and lie by sowing mistrust about the most mundane and conventional things. When people stop believing their own eyes or following logic, they become easier to manipulate. A bit like gas-lighting, where you sort of turn the critical thinking against them, but on a large scale.

[–] dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Do you believe that your media isn’t propaganda? Just because it seems less extreme doesn’t mean you’ve not been duped too.

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[–] someacnt@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 hour ago

Well, here is me, who fell into nuclear propaganda.

[–] Yermaw@lemm.ee 1 points 5 hours ago

I was idly thinking about this the other day, how absolutely lonely it must be in say North Korea, where if you're caught by the regime to be thinking the wrong thing you'll get killed. I'd know its bullshit, but I'd be terrified of speaking out or asking questions, incase the person I'm speaking to is an agent of the state, or will suspect me of being an agent and inform the authorities incase I'm testing them.

It must be awful not knowing who's a secret police, who's a gullible rube for buying the propaganda and who's just hiding behind forced conformity.

I don't think many of them will believe the propaganda, but I bet the ones who do will be the happiest. Or least miserable I guess.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 1 points 2 hours ago

"Think twice? I don't even thinks once."

[–] Horsey@lemmy.world 0 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Considering that critical thinking has to be thought to you, I think most people who skipped college may not have a good grasp on it.

[–] pulsewidth@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

Most school curriculums nowadays have critical thinking interwoven as important parts of the STEM classes, in both primary and high school. Its not exclusive to college graduates, however if you do a philosophy course then you will have learned the highest level of it - and I'm sure many school systems around the world have varying degrees of quality of education.

But agreed it is absolutely something that people are not born with and must (and should) be taught.

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