It's possible that "Commentator-2" is Tim Pool, as Commentator-2 is described as having "1.3 million YouTube subscribers" on page 2 of the indictment (Tim currently has 1.37 million). Commentator-1 is described as having 2.4 million, suggesting that they are possibly Dave Rubin (2.45 million).
When Tim Pool first came on the scene there was hope of him becoming a new voice in independent media, but he became less objective and more willing to say outlandish things as time went by. This just seals the deal, and like you said a fraction of $10M is a surprisingly small amount of money to betray your country for.
This definitely needs to be covered. Though I don't think it's in Ryan's wheelhouse. Sun and Hu are accused of working as CCP agents interfering with Gov. Kathy Hochul's schedule to benefit China, among other things. They both need to be fined and put in jail for years but it doesn't seem they did a lot of misinformation stuff which is what Ryan covers. And Hochul and whoever else these two "worked for" should be taking a hard, very public, look at where they stand.
Not sure if I would go far as to say that it's not in Ryan's wheelhouse, as he goes from short on bicycling to cooking to people dying in war (that's quite a spectrum :-) ). I think the problem is a lot bigger than NY, and that Russia ( or other actors, both foreign and domestic ) has all the incentive in the world to fund both sides (the ones in power and the ones that aren't) so long as the sides are roughly in parity - you want to influence thing that the people in power are doing, and you want access to the people who might get into power. I agree with Vlad Vexler on this - the Russians do not necessarily want to overtly favor a side. They want to maximize discord.
From what I understand, the Tenet Media seems less of an issue of "been given orders", but more under "positive re-enforcement". This is less worrisome ( I am NOT saying that this is NOT a worry ), than things like the term "weird" that you can see being rolled out on the MSM as a talking point - while I am not saying that there is foreign influence on that, the fact that they were all tied together by some undocumented string is highly worrisome.
This whole thing is a rather tricky subject, as there is ample evidence that things that were labeled "misinformation" turned out to be either true or very possible. When "fact checkers" have to be corrected, there is something fundamentally wrong. So been thinking of the angles that this could be approached - maybe have a "foreign influence" story where all the avenues are discussed - using Russia as an example, RT (direct propaganda), this Tenet thing ( elevation of like-minded voices ) and agents in gov't (like Hansen, Ames) - oh look, there is a wiki page on this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_espionage_in_the_United_States (not that wiki is a 1st source, but it does have references ).
A secondary story might be on "misinformation" in general. Way too often that opposing /opinions/ are labeled misinformation or even worse that opinions are represented as facts. I'm not sure if X's community notes is the best way to go (but it seems to be a good start), so long as the people who are putting the notes on are fair. The whole misinformation thing is quite a quagmire, but Ryan does have a talent to explain in an easy to understand way.
True, it could get coverage here. And I’d certainly be interested in what Ryan has to say about it. I can’t help but wonder where else the CCP might be paying people like this. New York (both state and city) is an obvious choice. Less obvious but maybe more important would be ranches and farms that Gates isn’t already buying up. Factory towns would be another.
Spies are probably part of the whole? To tie your comment to Ryan's- "While some details remain unconfirmed, it is understood that China organizes its resources as follows:
“Specialized military network warfare forces” (Chinese: 军队专业网络战力量) - Military units specialized in network attack and defense.
"PLA-authorized forces” (授权力量) - network warfare specialists in the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS)....
In 2017, Foreign Policy provided an estimated range for China's "hacker army" personnel, anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 individuals.[2]"
Hochul is the Governor of New York. Her aid Sun’s highest office was Deputy Chief of Staff. Glad they busted her. Hope she is used to further examine CCP illegal influence efforts.
But comparison to podcasters, who on a daily basis reach 100’s of thousands with direct commentary on major nation wide issue, is not near equivalent. These compromised casters seek to influence nation voting outcomes thru the use of Russian propaganda. They do this thru addressing thousands directly with messages meant to support Putin and his desires to control US foreign policy.
Like having someone overcharging at a convenience store versus someone fraudulently stealing cash from millions of bank accounts.
Yes, but it's is highly unlikely that Tim Pool's listeners are great fans of foreign intervention, so any effect would be what I would call a 2nd order effect. Plus, I seriously doubt that this effect /directly/ impacts those of the opposing view, unlike when the state gets infiltrated. I haven't seen any reports of the what policies were affected, but for sure, it would have effects on those of the opposing view as state laws would affect everyone within the state, whether you agree with it or not. This is why I think the NY case is more serious.
US Army War College Publications says "Russia will dominate information warfare if the United States does not treat disinformation as central to Russian strategy. This article ("Understanding Russian Disinformation and How the Joint Force Can Address It") examines the vital role disinformation played in post–Cold War Russian strategy, including its strategy in the current Russia-Ukraine War, and in a departure from previous scholarship, this article observes that US defense leaders are aware of Russian disinformation but have failed to assess its impact or sufficiently negate Russian influence. The article also reviews current US efforts and suggests proactive ways to counter Russia’s disinformation strategy."
I despise disinformation as much as any sane person but Ryan McBeth dismissing Chen, Rubin, Poole, etc of being grifters is BS and he knows it. While they did take Russian money and put out Russian talking point and disinformation, they existed long before Tenant media. Their positions on Russia is a small portion of their political views and subject matter. Ryan saying they are grifters is just as bad disinformation as they put out for Russia. They cover far more than Ukraine/Russia. Ryan is just as much a grifter, using his criteria, with his broad-brush “grifter” attack. He tries to portray himself as some unbiased source of info while pounding conservatives and rarely pointing out the mountain of leftwing disinformation and their actual grifters. I fully support exposing the disinformation being pumped out by all those that do without regard to their political affiliation. Those personalities at Tenant are far more than their Russia coverage. FYI, I fully disagree with their positions on Russia. The majority of their other positions fully conform with their advertised political affiliations. However, the personalities at Tenant do need to disassociate themselves from the Russians. But, Ryan - do better than broad-brush attacks. Those are disinformation.
Thanks for this turgid and courageous expose of Ryan's nefarious activities in duping a confused and vulnerable American population. It is patriots like you who allow me to sleep well at night. Stand firm and tall on the ramparts of freedom, you nitwit.
Which part of calling for Ryan to be truthful and fair do you not like, idiot? For Ryan to dismiss everything those content providers comment on because part of their funding came from a source they were not, at first, cognizant of is wrong. I have followed Chen, Rubin and Poole for years. Their opinions on Russia/Ukraine is a small part of their opinions and I don’t agree with them. They are as much grifters as Ryan is, which is to say neither they nor Ryan are. I have followed and contributed to Ryan since his first videos. I appreciate his aim to be fair and non-political but he misses the mark, not all the time, due to his own biases. He needs to be straight up and admit he was wrong by flippantly and baselessly labeling them grifters. He diminishes his own credibility by his flippant and false labeling of well-known commentators.
The fact that you go to insult and fiction proves you are not a serious individual. Pretty cool trick, reading my mind. Do you levitate, too? You are probably a troll living in your mom’s basement posting talking points for the Democrats for $20/hour. BTW, can ya check to see if whoever you work for is hiring? With the Bidenomics inflation wrecking the economy you should pass that info the local unemployment office.
I'm afraid the very fact that you are a fan of these guys, a regular listener, means you live in a universe pretty much devoid of fact. You exist in that nether-world of conspiracies and nut-case science, false history and garbage information. Why do you think the Russians sought out these guys? Because of their reputation for clarity and integrity and depth of research. One of them even wears a backward hat. I rest my case...
This isn't one of his (Ryan) better ones - though I don't blame him too much since he's looking at this from an 'outsider' (though he really should have looked a little deeper into it). Listening to Actual Justice Warrior's take on this, and since he has inside knowledge, not implicated, and he's up front about this biases, I don't immediately reject what he is saying - he lays out what's actually is in the DOJ's indictment and what is just inuendo.
Re @Timcast and the recent @watchTENETnow indictment by @dojphofficial …
FIRST - I read all 32-pages. Not as damning of Tim Pool et al as people are claiming, as it does describe due diligence, know you customer/supplier/biz-partner activity occurring, with descriptions of how such was thwarted by the RT alumni/employees.
SECOND - this is an opportunity for you to describe how you perform(ed) due diligence on your business associates.
THIRD - the allusion to prison rape was uncool. Being sentenced to prison is the punishment. Judges don’t sentence those convicted to be either physically tortured or to be sexually raped. UnAmerican dude
This is continuation of the same old active measures (активные мероприятия) saga, simply adjusted for the social media age. These broadcasters were indeed Karl Radek's "Useful Idiots." (Radek was the guy who actually coined the phrase, not Lenin or Stalin). And they are the ones who normally get thrown under the bus when sh*t kicks the fan. Just read Suvorov's "Inside the Soviet Military Intelligence", "Inside the Spetsnaz", "The Aquarium", or Oleg Kalugin's "The First Directorate". Also, very instructive would be the books based on the Mitrokhin Archive. They provide a plethora of examples of how KGB and GRU used the western media to attain their pol-mil objectives.
The time is ripe for Ryan to appear on Tim's show - but that probably won't happen. The big questions are: Does Tim extend an invite? And if he does, does Ryan accept?
Very good piece, Ryan, (though that hotel room makes it look like a hostage video). In a world of talking head Youtube videos, yours really stand out for the depth of information and your own depth of feeling. Keep up the good work.
... that the administration and media have taken notice of mis/dis being promulgated by Russia and others to influence the outcome of our elections.
Now then ...
It is imperative...
... the we now convince these people that our foreign adversaries have, for at least the last 15 years, been very active in their continuous use of social media to gradually warp the social and political zeitgeist of America to one that is much more favorable to their being able to achieve their goals.
Now then…
In an amazing coincidence, President Biden included a comment in a recent Oval Office speech that echos what I have said many times…
‘Here in America, we need to get out of our silos, where we only listen to those with whom we agree, where misinformation is rampant, where foreign actors fan the flames of our division to shape the outcomes consistent with their interests, not ours.’ - Joe Biden
I am glad that Joe has acknowledged this threat to our national well being…
… and pray that people like military journalist Ryan McBeth (Substack, Youtube) will continue to step up and fight the proliferation of mis/dis on social media in order to preserve America’s ideals…
… and its’s zeitgeist!
It’s not over …
Stay Well
~Gary
‘Zeitgeist’ - the general intellectual, moral and cultural spirit of an era.
Recent usage in a sentence…
‘Legally, passing a fishing ban in America’s anti-regulatory zeitgeist seems unlikely.’
- Laura Trethewey, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 September 2023
Being contrary for money isn't new. But Youtube et al have monitized it and made it easy to confirm a bias. That's all this is. Candice Owens, Tim Poole, Tucker Carlson, and politicians like MTG, AOC, DJT... all of these have cracked the formula. Stake out a controversial position, play to that audience, profit. Just look like you are "speaking truth to power" and you will be fine.
I can guess at this point I have such a hard time believing, but I don't think I'm alone in this, that Russian disinformation is as big of a problem as they are making it out to be. After having news outlets constantly blasting Russian disinformation really ever since 2016 and having none of it be factually true, again I am just hesitant to believe anything at this point.
I like your hesitance. But the evidence is overwhelming that Russia is constantly attacking the US with Dis/Misinformation campaigns. It seeps its way into what we consider legit debate and becomes accepted "canon" for future debate.
So it begins then. I believe it was in reference to AI but this is certainly now the case also. There will come a time where we will not be able to distinguish fact from fiction and may God have mercy on all of us when that happens
"I am just hesitant to believe anything at this point"
That is the point. It is what Putin has achieved throughout Russia and it is what certain parts of the media are trying to do to us now. Politicians who lie as strategy do not aim to be believed - they aim to have you believe nothing and to respond based only on gut emotion - loyalty to tribe and leader.
“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. ... Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow. The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.”
It's possible that "Commentator-2" is Tim Pool, as Commentator-2 is described as having "1.3 million YouTube subscribers" on page 2 of the indictment (Tim currently has 1.37 million). Commentator-1 is described as having 2.4 million, suggesting that they are possibly Dave Rubin (2.45 million).
When Tim Pool first came on the scene there was hope of him becoming a new voice in independent media, but he became less objective and more willing to say outlandish things as time went by. This just seals the deal, and like you said a fraction of $10M is a surprisingly small amount of money to betray your country for.
To be balanced, you should also do a piece of https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-top-hochul-aide-linda-sun-arrested-by-fbi/5758592/ I'm not exactly sure which one is worse - but leaning towards the the latter since subversion within the government itself means that gov't power was directly affected.
This definitely needs to be covered. Though I don't think it's in Ryan's wheelhouse. Sun and Hu are accused of working as CCP agents interfering with Gov. Kathy Hochul's schedule to benefit China, among other things. They both need to be fined and put in jail for years but it doesn't seem they did a lot of misinformation stuff which is what Ryan covers. And Hochul and whoever else these two "worked for" should be taking a hard, very public, look at where they stand.
Not sure if I would go far as to say that it's not in Ryan's wheelhouse, as he goes from short on bicycling to cooking to people dying in war (that's quite a spectrum :-) ). I think the problem is a lot bigger than NY, and that Russia ( or other actors, both foreign and domestic ) has all the incentive in the world to fund both sides (the ones in power and the ones that aren't) so long as the sides are roughly in parity - you want to influence thing that the people in power are doing, and you want access to the people who might get into power. I agree with Vlad Vexler on this - the Russians do not necessarily want to overtly favor a side. They want to maximize discord.
From what I understand, the Tenet Media seems less of an issue of "been given orders", but more under "positive re-enforcement". This is less worrisome ( I am NOT saying that this is NOT a worry ), than things like the term "weird" that you can see being rolled out on the MSM as a talking point - while I am not saying that there is foreign influence on that, the fact that they were all tied together by some undocumented string is highly worrisome.
This whole thing is a rather tricky subject, as there is ample evidence that things that were labeled "misinformation" turned out to be either true or very possible. When "fact checkers" have to be corrected, there is something fundamentally wrong. So been thinking of the angles that this could be approached - maybe have a "foreign influence" story where all the avenues are discussed - using Russia as an example, RT (direct propaganda), this Tenet thing ( elevation of like-minded voices ) and agents in gov't (like Hansen, Ames) - oh look, there is a wiki page on this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_espionage_in_the_United_States (not that wiki is a 1st source, but it does have references ).
A secondary story might be on "misinformation" in general. Way too often that opposing /opinions/ are labeled misinformation or even worse that opinions are represented as facts. I'm not sure if X's community notes is the best way to go (but it seems to be a good start), so long as the people who are putting the notes on are fair. The whole misinformation thing is quite a quagmire, but Ryan does have a talent to explain in an easy to understand way.
lol at biking and cooking.
True, it could get coverage here. And I’d certainly be interested in what Ryan has to say about it. I can’t help but wonder where else the CCP might be paying people like this. New York (both state and city) is an obvious choice. Less obvious but maybe more important would be ranches and farms that Gates isn’t already buying up. Factory towns would be another.
Spies are probably part of the whole? To tie your comment to Ryan's- "While some details remain unconfirmed, it is understood that China organizes its resources as follows:
“Specialized military network warfare forces” (Chinese: 军队专业网络战力量) - Military units specialized in network attack and defense.
"PLA-authorized forces” (授权力量) - network warfare specialists in the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS)....
In 2017, Foreign Policy provided an estimated range for China's "hacker army" personnel, anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 individuals.[2]"
Hochul is the Governor of New York. Her aid Sun’s highest office was Deputy Chief of Staff. Glad they busted her. Hope she is used to further examine CCP illegal influence efforts.
But comparison to podcasters, who on a daily basis reach 100’s of thousands with direct commentary on major nation wide issue, is not near equivalent. These compromised casters seek to influence nation voting outcomes thru the use of Russian propaganda. They do this thru addressing thousands directly with messages meant to support Putin and his desires to control US foreign policy.
Like having someone overcharging at a convenience store versus someone fraudulently stealing cash from millions of bank accounts.
Yes, but it's is highly unlikely that Tim Pool's listeners are great fans of foreign intervention, so any effect would be what I would call a 2nd order effect. Plus, I seriously doubt that this effect /directly/ impacts those of the opposing view, unlike when the state gets infiltrated. I haven't seen any reports of the what policies were affected, but for sure, it would have effects on those of the opposing view as state laws would affect everyone within the state, whether you agree with it or not. This is why I think the NY case is more serious.
Anger as a service, or ASS. 😅 Grifter central.
I like this term. I'm stealing it.
Grifter and traitor are not mutually exclusive. See all things MAGA and Orange Caligula for proof.
US Army War College Publications says "Russia will dominate information warfare if the United States does not treat disinformation as central to Russian strategy. This article ("Understanding Russian Disinformation and How the Joint Force Can Address It") examines the vital role disinformation played in post–Cold War Russian strategy, including its strategy in the current Russia-Ukraine War, and in a departure from previous scholarship, this article observes that US defense leaders are aware of Russian disinformation but have failed to assess its impact or sufficiently negate Russian influence. The article also reviews current US efforts and suggests proactive ways to counter Russia’s disinformation strategy."
Another masterpiece! I was stunned into silence when I witnessed your Tim Pool review.
Unbelievable!!*?
Fist pump! F#*(k you putin, you slime! Thanks Ryan for another great take-down. Love what you do.
I despise disinformation as much as any sane person but Ryan McBeth dismissing Chen, Rubin, Poole, etc of being grifters is BS and he knows it. While they did take Russian money and put out Russian talking point and disinformation, they existed long before Tenant media. Their positions on Russia is a small portion of their political views and subject matter. Ryan saying they are grifters is just as bad disinformation as they put out for Russia. They cover far more than Ukraine/Russia. Ryan is just as much a grifter, using his criteria, with his broad-brush “grifter” attack. He tries to portray himself as some unbiased source of info while pounding conservatives and rarely pointing out the mountain of leftwing disinformation and their actual grifters. I fully support exposing the disinformation being pumped out by all those that do without regard to their political affiliation. Those personalities at Tenant are far more than their Russia coverage. FYI, I fully disagree with their positions on Russia. The majority of their other positions fully conform with their advertised political affiliations. However, the personalities at Tenant do need to disassociate themselves from the Russians. But, Ryan - do better than broad-brush attacks. Those are disinformation.
Thanks for this turgid and courageous expose of Ryan's nefarious activities in duping a confused and vulnerable American population. It is patriots like you who allow me to sleep well at night. Stand firm and tall on the ramparts of freedom, you nitwit.
Name-calling always wins.
Which part of calling for Ryan to be truthful and fair do you not like, idiot? For Ryan to dismiss everything those content providers comment on because part of their funding came from a source they were not, at first, cognizant of is wrong. I have followed Chen, Rubin and Poole for years. Their opinions on Russia/Ukraine is a small part of their opinions and I don’t agree with them. They are as much grifters as Ryan is, which is to say neither they nor Ryan are. I have followed and contributed to Ryan since his first videos. I appreciate his aim to be fair and non-political but he misses the mark, not all the time, due to his own biases. He needs to be straight up and admit he was wrong by flippantly and baselessly labeling them grifters. He diminishes his own credibility by his flippant and false labeling of well-known commentators.
The fact that you go to insult and fiction proves you are not a serious individual. Pretty cool trick, reading my mind. Do you levitate, too? You are probably a troll living in your mom’s basement posting talking points for the Democrats for $20/hour. BTW, can ya check to see if whoever you work for is hiring? With the Bidenomics inflation wrecking the economy you should pass that info the local unemployment office.
I'm afraid the very fact that you are a fan of these guys, a regular listener, means you live in a universe pretty much devoid of fact. You exist in that nether-world of conspiracies and nut-case science, false history and garbage information. Why do you think the Russians sought out these guys? Because of their reputation for clarity and integrity and depth of research. One of them even wears a backward hat. I rest my case...
This isn't one of his (Ryan) better ones - though I don't blame him too much since he's looking at this from an 'outsider' (though he really should have looked a little deeper into it). Listening to Actual Justice Warrior's take on this, and since he has inside knowledge, not implicated, and he's up front about this biases, I don't immediately reject what he is saying - he lays out what's actually is in the DOJ's indictment and what is just inuendo.
Re @Timcast and the recent @watchTENETnow indictment by @dojphofficial …
FIRST - I read all 32-pages. Not as damning of Tim Pool et al as people are claiming, as it does describe due diligence, know you customer/supplier/biz-partner activity occurring, with descriptions of how such was thwarted by the RT alumni/employees.
SECOND - this is an opportunity for you to describe how you perform(ed) due diligence on your business associates.
THIRD - the allusion to prison rape was uncool. Being sentenced to prison is the punishment. Judges don’t sentence those convicted to be either physically tortured or to be sexually raped. UnAmerican dude
Kindest Regards,
Luke
Infiltrated? These fucking clowns INVITED THEM IN…. Wrong choice of words Ryan
This is continuation of the same old active measures (активные мероприятия) saga, simply adjusted for the social media age. These broadcasters were indeed Karl Radek's "Useful Idiots." (Radek was the guy who actually coined the phrase, not Lenin or Stalin). And they are the ones who normally get thrown under the bus when sh*t kicks the fan. Just read Suvorov's "Inside the Soviet Military Intelligence", "Inside the Spetsnaz", "The Aquarium", or Oleg Kalugin's "The First Directorate". Also, very instructive would be the books based on the Mitrokhin Archive. They provide a plethora of examples of how KGB and GRU used the western media to attain their pol-mil objectives.
The time is ripe for Ryan to appear on Tim's show - but that probably won't happen. The big questions are: Does Tim extend an invite? And if he does, does Ryan accept?
Very good piece, Ryan, (though that hotel room makes it look like a hostage video). In a world of talking head Youtube videos, yours really stand out for the depth of information and your own depth of feeling. Keep up the good work.
About time...
... that the administration and media have taken notice of mis/dis being promulgated by Russia and others to influence the outcome of our elections.
Now then ...
It is imperative...
... the we now convince these people that our foreign adversaries have, for at least the last 15 years, been very active in their continuous use of social media to gradually warp the social and political zeitgeist of America to one that is much more favorable to their being able to achieve their goals.
Now then…
In an amazing coincidence, President Biden included a comment in a recent Oval Office speech that echos what I have said many times…
‘Here in America, we need to get out of our silos, where we only listen to those with whom we agree, where misinformation is rampant, where foreign actors fan the flames of our division to shape the outcomes consistent with their interests, not ours.’ - Joe Biden
I am glad that Joe has acknowledged this threat to our national well being…
… and pray that people like military journalist Ryan McBeth (Substack, Youtube) will continue to step up and fight the proliferation of mis/dis on social media in order to preserve America’s ideals…
… and its’s zeitgeist!
It’s not over …
Stay Well
~Gary
‘Zeitgeist’ - the general intellectual, moral and cultural spirit of an era.
Recent usage in a sentence…
‘Legally, passing a fishing ban in America’s anti-regulatory zeitgeist seems unlikely.’
- Laura Trethewey, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 September 2023
Being contrary for money isn't new. But Youtube et al have monitized it and made it easy to confirm a bias. That's all this is. Candice Owens, Tim Poole, Tucker Carlson, and politicians like MTG, AOC, DJT... all of these have cracked the formula. Stake out a controversial position, play to that audience, profit. Just look like you are "speaking truth to power" and you will be fine.
It's not rocket surgery.
I can guess at this point I have such a hard time believing, but I don't think I'm alone in this, that Russian disinformation is as big of a problem as they are making it out to be. After having news outlets constantly blasting Russian disinformation really ever since 2016 and having none of it be factually true, again I am just hesitant to believe anything at this point.
I like your hesitance. But the evidence is overwhelming that Russia is constantly attacking the US with Dis/Misinformation campaigns. It seeps its way into what we consider legit debate and becomes accepted "canon" for future debate.
So it begins then. I believe it was in reference to AI but this is certainly now the case also. There will come a time where we will not be able to distinguish fact from fiction and may God have mercy on all of us when that happens
"I am just hesitant to believe anything at this point"
That is the point. It is what Putin has achieved throughout Russia and it is what certain parts of the media are trying to do to us now. Politicians who lie as strategy do not aim to be believed - they aim to have you believe nothing and to respond based only on gut emotion - loyalty to tribe and leader.
“In an ever-changing, incomprehensible world the masses had reached the point where they would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true. ... Mass propaganda discovered that its audience was ready at all times to believe the worst, no matter how absurd, and did not particularly object to being deceived because it held every statement to be a lie anyhow. The totalitarian mass leaders based their propaganda on the correct psychological assumption that, under such conditions, one could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.”
― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
And it's tearing us apart - Well said Sean.
I agree, that’s the point. Thanks Sean.