| Just because it is propaganda doesn't mean it won't have actionable information within it. It just means that you cannot shut off your brain and consume any of it - ever. Every last creator has an angle, even your good guys. I'll use the Postman questions, because they apply to every piece of media, which is always at its base a technology: 1. “What is the problem to which this technology is the solution?” 2. “Whose problem is it?” 3. “Which people and what institutions might be most seriously harmed by a technological solution?” 4. “What new problems might be created because we have solved this problem?” 5. “What sort of people and institutions might acquire special economic and political power because of technological change?” 6. “What changes in language are being enforced by new technologies, and what is being gained and lost by such changes?” You can ask these questions about every Wall Street Journal or New York Times article or opinion piece - or Vox or The Verge, wherever. It's not always a clean answer to each question, but the consideration itself is important. What is this person's argument, and how may this person or institution sponsoring this argument benefit from presenting this information this way? And it's not a "wing" thing - these questions need to be asked about your favorite writers and thinkers as well. |