Media censorship East and West are obstacles to peace

Haig Hovaness discusses two media crossfires that hinder a peaceful settlement of the current Ukraine War with Radio Active Magazine regular Spencer Graves. Hovaness is a co-chair of the US Green Party Peace Action Committee.  He suggests there is a crossfire between opposing state propagandists (those of NATO vs. Russia) and the crossfire of the mainstream media vs. independent media in the US. He outlines US media propaganda methods and changes in the media landscape within the US, while also proposing alternatives to counteract the prevailing war propaganda. 

Alliance for a healthy Kansas 

Before saying more about media censorship, it seems appropriate to mention that the Alliance for a Health Kansas and “ExpandKanCare.com” is organizing a rally in Topeka, March 15 (Wednesday), 1:15 PM, at the Kansas Statehouse, 2nd floor North wing. They have charted a free bus with stops in Wichita, North Newton & Emporia for anyone who might want to ride with them. You can see the full bus schedule and RSVP to ride here.

Media censorship

Hovaness describes how US war propaganda works by painting “us” (US, NATO, Ukraine) as “Good” and “them” (Russia and Putin) as “Evil”.  This requires magnifying anecdotes that demonize “them” while implying that “we” are “good”.  Information that may contradict this dominant narrative is often suppressed.  Descriptions of what the US and NATO have done to increase Russia’s legitimate security concerns are largely suppressed in the Western media while amplified in Russia.  This amplifies political polarization, tribal fears and hate.  It makes it difficult for people on all sides to better understand the actions of “evil others”.  

Hovaness gives examples of leading US propagandists and how the mass media are controlled.  He explains a few main propaganda pieces: 

• Marketing Zelensky.
• The Vanishing Ukrainian Nazis. 
• War Crimes (Actual and Alleged).
• Anecdotes vs. data.
• Wonder Weapons (past and present).

People East and West who try to provide honest information that contradicts the dominant propaganda are persecuted.  In the West this includes Assange and Kiriakou.  And actions are taken to make it harder to access outlets that sometimes contradict the dominant narrative. 

And, of course, atrocities that “they” commit prove to “us” that “they” are subhuman or at best criminally misled, while atrocities that “we” commit are unfortunate but necessary.  

Legacy and internet media are evolving as this war is progressing.  Broadly speaking, print and broadcast media are in a steep decline, while internet media are becoming dominant. Hovaness discusses why this is so and invites us to reflect on how this influences the information we receive and our understanding of events.  He concludes by offering news sources providing information he considers reliable about Ukraine: 

• The Duran (theduran.locals.com)
• Brian Berletic (t.me/brianlovethailand)
• Military Summary Channel (rumble.com/c/c-1613003)
• Slavangard (t.me/s/Slavyangrad)
• AntiWar.com (Antiwar.com; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiwar.com)

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