[shuntress]

You seem to be conflating "propaganda" with "opinion". And also conflating "propaganda techniques" with "communication".

There is obviously some overlap. Propaganda is inherently opinionated and basic communication techniques used to convey any story of course also work with propaganda.

[TheOtherHobbes]

No, propaganda is weaponised rhetoric designed to obfuscate the truth while promoting compliant beliefs and expedient behaviours.

This is not about differences of opinion. It's about whether the population is allowed to have an independent opinion at all.

In the US it simply isn't. There's a gigantic shrieking fog-horn of pro-corporate anti-democratic extremism on one side, and a smaller but more shrill progressive air horn on the other.

Between those two it's very hard to debate anything on its merits. Most positions are tribally one-vs-the-other, wrapped in triggering rhetoric and imagery, and powered by stock cut-and-paste memes, opinions, and predigested talking points.

None of that is about communication.

There are reasons for all of this. Some are reasonable, some are toxic. But that's a different issues.

It doesn't change the fact that propaganda is the default media mode in the US - not just in the mainstream media and in advertising, but also in the form of the interactions and quality of relationship that are typically promoted on social media.

[shuntress]

I agree with you that propaganda is weaponized rhetoric designed to obfuscate the truth while promoting specific beliefs and behaviors.

My point (in response to the parent comment stating that 90% of all "mainstream media" is propaganda) is that the assertion "90% of mainstream media is propaganda" seems to be stretching the definition of propaganda from the reasonable one which you have brought up to something more like "propaganda is rhetoric to promote beliefs".

To me, that original comment seems to be more similar to weaponized rhetoric (in this case, designed to promote the belief that "mainstream" media is untrustworthy) than to earnest communication or expression of opinion.

[WalterBright]

Not at all. It's obvious in the "news" stories.