Anne Applebaum highlights the dangers of disinformation and propaganda in the modern world, warning that autocratic forces like Donald Trump are waging sophisticated information wars to discredit liberalism and freedom. She believes that propaganda deployed by authoritarians is undermining the very foundation of democracy by creating a shared perception of the world among people. The tactic of lying constantly and repetitively to make people doubt the truth has been pioneered by Vladimir Putin’s Russia and subsequently used by Trump and other leaders to seize and maintain power.
In the United States, the situation differs from other countries as disinformation is not flowing from state-controlled media. Instead, Trump has an army of willing collaborators who spread dishonest ideas and conspiracy theories to serve as propaganda vessels. This broken information economy incentivizes and rewards spreading lies, empowering right-wing media figures like Rupert Murdoch, Tucker Carlson, and Sean Hannity. Despite the clear toll that Trump’s lies are taking on American society, legacy news media largely ignores the story, failing to understand the propaganda pipeline poisoning the information well.
It is essential to understand the role of propaganda in shaping public perception and influencing political decisions. The lies promoted by Trump and his allies have made it difficult for Congress to pass necessary legislation, and have eroded trust in traditional sources of information like doctors and newspapers. The voluntary network supporting Trump’s goals aims to undermine the credibility of established institutions, creating a vacuum that figures like Steve Bannon can exploit to reach and influence the public. This voluntary network benefits at the cost of society at large.
Despite the significance of the propaganda war in shaping modern society, the establishment press has failed to aggressively cover the story. Major news outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post decline to identify right-wing networks like Fox News in their reporting, missing a crucial aspect of understanding the biggest issues of our time. Without acknowledging the role of propaganda in spreading disinformation, it is impossible to comprehend the challenges faced by Congress, the disbelief in election results, or Trump’s continued influence over the Republican Party. Anne Applebaum believes that the propaganda war is a central issue of modern society that urgently requires more attention and scrutiny.
