Not long ago a certain soccer player made a serious mistake - a very serious one - during a meeting. I was curious about the opinion about that fact, since he was a player recently added to the squad and still of dubious quality, and I went to the digital sports newspaper of that team. I found that there everything was supportive of the player and they were confident that he would learn from the slip and improve. And all the comments followed the same thread. However, in another newspaper they criticized him and went up the walls, expressing their few desires for the permanence of that kid in the team. And the readers who commented, curiously, were all from agreement.
This was one of the umpteenth times I had revealed an example of the importance of propaganda in society and in ourselves. The first information readers found in the news story they embraced and took as their own opinion. That information they had found about the event they had adopted, and it is likely that their opinion on the various soccer issues would be the same as the newspaper showed, if they did the same with the other articles they read.
"Rebellion on the Farm", by the British writer George Orwell, clearly warns us of the dangers of propaganda: if the reader has read it, he will know that the animals molded and reformed their own opinion according to the ideas that the pigs fed them. Through propaganda, the pigs managed to maintain their power and dominate the other animals, through repetitive slogans such as "all animals are equal but some more than others" and through distortion of the truth and manipulation of information. All this demonstrates how this tool can manipulate the masses and ensure control over others.
But the story does not remain in the author's inner fantasy: as many readers will know, Animal Farm is a great metaphor for Stalin's communist regime after the Russian revolution. Communism (a great book that explains this is Sergei Kourdakov's The Minion, a highly recommended read) functioned thanks to the ideological unity that society had from an early age (instilled by the state). However, this was not only due to the Education: through propaganda (its extensive use was one of the characteristics of Stalin's regime) he glorified his leadership and provoked the Russians to idolize him. It also demonized enemies and justified political purges, and opponents were portrayed as traitors. At final, propaganda was used to spread a distorted view of reality that served the interests of the regime itself.
However, there is no need to allude to historical facts, it is enough to use logic. If a newspaper put on its front page a photograph of a politician with a finger on his nose, it would only talk about the lack of professionalism among today's leaders. However, if they simply mention it in a column (even if it includes the photo) it would not cause such a stir.
And that's why journalism is so important. The bad reporter could do a lot of damage by telling a story in the wrong way. And I'm going to go all the way: I would say that the position of journalist is one of the most important professions in society (however, now its influence is less because of social networks). Its power is such that the presidents themselves can be endangered in their position. Not only the information, but the way in which the person receives it is vital. That is why the role of civil service examination is so fundamental in this society where power and propaganda seek to control information and public opinion.
In the end, however, our opinion is indeed our own. And for that reason, critical thinking is a must. It is that which allows me to decide whether the footballer boy should stay or not. It is what the tyrants are always trying to destroy in me and enhbo all. And it is what makes me be more me; that my character, my tastes, my thoughts, and everything intrinsic to my life is mine, and not that of an entire society, limited by the margins dictated, once again, by the power of propaganda.
