Let’s Talk About Propaganda

Over the past several weeks, protests in Los Angeles, and now in cities across the country, have grown under the banner of the “No Kings” movement. Rooted in opposition to authoritarianism, extreme economic inequality, and the symbolic power hoarded by elite figures, the protests have taken aim at both systemic power and cultural idolization. But the reaction from specific sources of media and political figures have followed a now-familiar pattern: spin the narrative to instill fear, de-legitimize protestors, and reinforce an authoritarian worldview.

Step 1: Re-framing Protest as a Threat

One of the most common tactics in political propaganda is to take grassroots protest and reframe it as chaos or insurrection. Fox News segments, viral posts from MAGA influencers, and talking points echoed by far-right politicians have painted the LA protestors as “anti-American,” “domestic terrorists,” or “paid agitators.” The goal here is to reassign meaning away from protest as a democratic right and toward protest as a threat to the existing order.

This tactic also intentionally evokes racial and class-coded fear. Video clips are selectively edited to highlight moments of tension, property damage, or loud confrontation, even when these are rare or out of context. It’s propaganda by curation.

Step 2: Claiming the Protest is a False Flag

Another propaganda technique being deployed is false attribution. Some voices have gone further by claiming the protests are staged or manipulated. These claims are baseless, but effective. They provide psychological cover for viewers who might otherwise sympathize with protestors’ concerns by introducing doubt, suspicion, and fear.

This plays directly into conspiratorial thinking, a hallmark of recent MAGA-era propaganda. It transforms real political frustration into something sinister and alien, thereby disqualifying it from public empathy or serious debate.

Step 3: Flipping the Script

Perhaps the most dangerous tactic is narrative inversion. By labeling the protestors as “authoritarian” or “tyrannical,” commentators flip the script entirely. This rhetorical move reframes protests against elite control as a demand for it, obscuring the protestors’ calls for shared power, social equity, and systemic reform.

In this narrative inversion, those who challenge systems of injustice are portrayed as the villains, a reversal designed to protect existing hierarchies and embolden reactionary power.

Why This Matters

The danger of this kind of propaganda isn’t just misinterpretation, it’s dehumanization. When protests are stripped of their purpose, distorted through fear-based framing, and linked to imagined threats, real people behind them are erased. And the broader public is pushed further from dialogue, empathy, and critical thought.

Propaganda works best when we stop asking questions. That’s why it’s so crucial to look closely at how these narratives are shaped, and who benefits from their spread.

What You Can Do

Disrupting propaganda starts with awareness, but it doesn’t end there. Here’s how you can take action:

1. Share responsibly. Before re-posting clips or takes about protests, especially from politically charged accounts, fact-check the source. Who benefits from this framing?
2. Amplify real voices. Follow and share posts from protest organizers, community journalists, and on-the-ground observers who are documenting events with nuance and authenticity.
3. Engage in conversation. When friends or family repeat distorted narratives, don’t dismiss. Ask questions. Challenge propaganda with facts and context, not just opposition.
4. Support movement goals. Whether it’s through donations, volunteering, or attending peaceful demonstrations, show solidarity with those working toward equity, dignity, and real democracy.
5. Demand media accountability. Call out platforms and networks that spread misleading content or amplify bad-faith actors. Pressure works, especially when it’s collective.
   

The fight against authoritarianism isn’t just on the streets. It’s in the feeds, the dinner tables, and the inboxes. Stay informed. Stay critical. Stay loud.

Reading Material

• Propaganda by Edward Bernays – Bernays, often called the father of public relations, explains how propaganda is used to manipulate public opinion.

• Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky – A powerful breakdown of how mass media functions as a propaganda system in democratic societies, especially through “worthy” and “unworthy” victims.

• Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman – Examines how media trivializes important discourse, paving the way for propaganda to thrive in the form of entertainment.

• This is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality by Peter Pomerantsev – A journalist’s global journey into the heart of information warfare, covering Russia, the Philippines, the U.S., and more.

• The Psychology of Propaganda by Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson – Focuses on the psychological tactics that make propaganda persuasive, especially in modern advertising, politics, and cults.

• 1984 by George Orwell – The classic dystopian novel about surveillance, doublespeak, and the terrifying power of a regime that controls truth itself.

• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood – A chilling look at how religious and political propaganda enforces control over bodies, minds, and memories, especially for women.

• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury – Explores state censorship, anti-intellectualism, and the seductive numbness of mass entertainment as tools of social control.

• It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis – A 1930’s novel imagining an authoritarian U.S. takeover through populist rhetoric and propaganda.

• Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler – Set in a climate-ravaged, socially collapsed America, where a young Black woman creates a new belief system based on the idea that “God is Change.”

• On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder – A guide that warns how democracies can fall to authoritarianism through small, incremental shifts.

• Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen – Examines how U.S. history textbooks misrepresent, omit, or distort key facts about race, class, and politics to promote a sanitized national narrative.

• Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur – A powerful memoir recounting her experiences as a Black revolutionary, her activism with the Black Panther Part and Black Liberation Army, and her fight against systemic racism and wrongful imprisonment.

• Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson – Explores how an unspoken caste system shapes American society, entrenching racial hierarchies and social inequality beyond just racism.