Basil Jarrett | He who controls the media, controls the mind

WHEN I enrolled as an undergraduate history major at The UWI, way back in the days of post and telegram (the service, not the app), it was supposed to be a first step towards a career in law. The law faculty gatekeepers at the time didn’t think my A-level results were impressive enough to warrant direct entry into their programme, so they sent me to get a degree in something else and ‘wheel and come again’ three years later.

I didn’t mind history, to be honest. It was always one of my favourite subjects, possibly because I had excellent teachers who knew how to stimulate, in my mind, an appreciation for the past, and its impact on the present and the future. But I was also drawn to history because of an early affinity for everything World War 2 related. From the after-school GI Joe cartoons to the M16 rifles in Johnny Quest and WW2 in Color marathons on the History channel, I was fascinated by the good war. So the opportunity to kill some time by studying war appealed to me, possibly even more so than a career in law, if I’m to be honest.

HITLER’S WILLING EXECUTIONERS

Now, aside from the guns and the bombs and the tanks and the fighter planes and the characters, there was one aspect of the war that intrigued me no end: Hitler’s propaganda machine. Just prior to the outbreak of war in September 1939, Germany was the epicentre of scientific, philosophical and intellectual thought in Europe. This was the country that gave us Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and James Franck, after all. It captivated my imagination as to how such a country with such smart, educated and intellectually advanced minds could create such a monster as Adolf Hitler, blitzkrieg and the gas chambers of Auschwitz. While some revisionist historians have tried to deny that ordinary Germans knew of and participated in the holocaust, the evidence is overwhelming that the conditions were already in place for Hitler’s extreme anti-Semitism and the ‘Final Solution’ to take root.

But how could such seemingly advanced people subscribe to such a reprehensible philosophy? Two words: Joseph Goebbels – the godfather of modern propaganda. One of Hitler’s first acts upon seizing power in 1933, was to immediately take control of Germany’s media. Hitler knew the awesome power of the mass media to control and manipulate society and to bend it to his will. And he knew that in the man selected for the task of overseeing his Propaganda Ministry – yes, that was the actual name – he had found the perfect person for the job.

MIND CONTROL

Goebbels skilfully exploited all available communication channels to manipulate and control the minds of Germans by relentlessly disseminating messages that blended nationalist pride, racial superiority, anti-Semitism and a sense of unity under Hitler’s regime. “The national education of the German people,” he famously wrote, “will be placed in my hands.”

Goebbels created a pervasive atmosphere of fear, loyalty, and obedience to the Führer, utilising newspapers, film, radio broadcasts, and massive public rallies. If Twitter existed then, he would jump right out of his little jackboots in glee. Goebbels instilled a carefully crafted narrative that demonised perceived enemies of the Third Reich, glorified the Aryan race, and downplayed the horrors of Nazi actions. His relentless and careful exploitation of the media effectively manipulated public perception, suppressed dissent, and fostered unwavering support for the Nazi agenda. Without Goebbels, one may argue that the regime may not have been able to exert the control it did over the German people.

German propaganda

For anyone doubting the awesomely persuasive powers of German propaganda in the 1940s, I challenge you to watch 1935’s Triumph of the Will, and not be moved by the astounding imagery and powerful subliminal messaging. Check it out. It’s on YouTube. The larger-than-life scale of Nazi architecture, the resplendent all-black uniforms of Hitler’s SS goose-stepping down the steps of the Reichstag, the transfixed gaze of Germany’s young people as the drumbeat of war pounded in their chests. Powerful. Riveting. Captivating.

Goebbels’ Propaganda Ministry was able to convince ordinary and extraordinary Germans of Hitler’s omnipotence; the physical, racial and intellectual superiority of its people; and the righteousness of the war to end all wars. Fast-forward 88 years later, and Goebbels’ dangerous claim, that “if you tell a lie and tell it often, eventually people will believe you”, is still potent and relevant. Perhaps even more so today.

Since WW2, numerous other conflicts have demonstrated how important it is to first secure the hearts and minds of both your own and your adversary’s population before victory can be achieved. The US learnt this in Vietnam as Americans lost their appetite for a morally questionable war, as more and more images of American GIs coming home in body bags flooded the media. More recently, there was the Arab Spring of the early 2010s, where uprisings, armed rebellions anti-government protests against corruption, human-rights abuses and economic stagnation spread across much of the Arab world. Social media played a pivotal role in catalysing and amplifying the protests across the Middle East and North Africa, as platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube provided individuals with unprecedented avenues for organising, mobilising, and sharing information beyond government censorship and traditional media control.

The rapid dissemination of information through these social media platforms enabled the swift spread of revolutionary ideas, challenges to authoritarian regimes and demands for political change, leading eventually to significant political upheaval in several Arab countries.

But these lessons are not applicable only in the context of military conflict. The awesome power of the media to control, manipulate and alter the minds of an unsuspecting population is well documented outside of a wartime setting. Anyone remember Cambridge Analytica and the allegations about misinformation and disinformation during the 2016 Trump campaign? Exactly. We are no less immune to the clever manipulation of the media now than we were in 1935.

SOCIAL MEDIA IMPACT

Unfortunately, however, the media landscape and its influence are so ubiquitous that this perception control and manipulation often goes unnoticed, until it is way too late. Big corporations, media conglomerates, technology platforms, and yes, governments wield considerable influence over public perception and thought processes. And we haven’t yet started to talk about the phenomenon of social media and the new era of media influence via the digital dimension. Social media platforms, with their global reach and instantaneous communication, have introduced new, more complicated dynamics that not only reshape the terrain of cognitive control, but also put that power into new hands.

The big question then is, how do we guard against this. Or rather, can we guard against this? This is a complex question, one that certainly cannot be answered adequately within the 900-word limit that my editors have imposed on me. But I’ll still try. Read my follow-up article next week as I delve a bit deeper into the possible avenues open to individuals, societies, and institutions to counteract undue influence from the media and those who control it.

Major Basil Jarrett is a communications strategist and CEO of Artemis Consulting, a communications consulting firm specialising in crisis communications and reputation management. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Threads@IamBasilJarrett and linkedin.com/in/basiljarrett. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com