Subject: REPORT: Truth and Propaganda Date: Tue, 26 Sep 1995 09:18:45 TRUTH AND PROPAGANDA by Kim Baker Copyright 1995 [May be distributed for non-commercial purposes] Propaganda is the "unscrupulous manipulation of opinion by symbols carried through the mass media." (Qualter: p. 3). The difference between propaganda and "public relations" is simply that propaganda is employed in a time of war - both are designed to influence public opinion into acceptance of a viewpoint. Read on, this report is of interest to every Internet user. The key element of propaganda is the ability to reach multitudes of people via the various technologies known as the mass media - printed, radio and television. The flow of information is one-way, beamed AT the masses. Any discussion of information is reduced to among small groups of people, but the masses are essentially disempowered in that they are unable to beam back a mass response. Any corporation, company, government or hierarchical organisation has relied on this fact in their "public relations" or propaganda campaigns - both internally, and externally. They CONTROL the information, and who sees what. The Church of Scientology is an example of a hierarchical, multi- national corporation. It serves as a fascinating example to political scholars, providing an excellent model for a case study. The Church of Scientology holds the viewpoint that Scientology gives people spiritual freedom. Now, whether that is true or not, the Church will oppose any attempt by individuals or groups to counter this viewpoint in the mass media. (Hubbard: HCOPL 21 Nov 1972). The fact that an individual may have had personal experience that belies this viewpoint is simply over-ridden. Like any major corporation or conglomerate, they use propaganda techniques with the intention of ensuring acceptance of their viewpoint (in this case, that Scientology leads to spiritual freedom). There are two directions in which information is controlled: internally, and externally. INTERNAL INFORMATION CONTROL: A fascinating case study of internal information control comes from a read of one of the Church's internal publications, "Scientology Today", published by the Office of Special Affairs, the Public Relations division of the organisation. In these publications, members of the Church recieve news of constant, total victories over enemies, gain the impression that Scientology is massive and ever- expanding, and never loses. News of defeats are NEVER published. In one edition, and article is headed : "Psychiatry giving up". The article describes how psychiatry "like all practices that only do harm - continues to self-destruct." In the article, the goal of CCHR (Citizen's Commission on Human Rights) - an umbrella organisation of the Church of Scientology - is stated as: to oppose psychiatry as long as it "contimues to peddle its pseudo-science, coersion and brutality" (OSA, p. 11). Interesting words. Many critics of Scientology have accused it of the VERY same things. So, who is telling the truth? For the members of the Church of Scientology, generally, there is no question that it is the Church who is telling the truth. Psychiatrists are evil, the Church is good. Remember, these people very seldom have access to information that contradicts this, as it is mostly kept out of the mass media. To the people in the Church, the Church is always right, and the Church always wins. If an individual experiences something negative, and the usual "ethics" handling fails to convince them that their experience was 1) Their own fault 2) a result of incorrectly applied Scientology, then, they are considered to be displaying "Suppressive" characteristics, and if they continue to do so, they will be expelled from the community. (Declared Suppressive). Scientologists will be REQUIRED to "disconnect" from them. The emotional implications and effect aside, Disconnection is simply a mechanism of information control. EXTERNAL INFORMATION CONTROL: Using the same example of psychiatry, it is interesting to note how frequently Church spokespeople USE psychiatrists to counter opposition. Dr Albert Rossi, head psychiatrist at Elgin Air Base, where Steve Fishman was incarcerated is cited by the Church as a credible witness against Fishman. In the external environment, people outside the Church generally have access to a wider variety of information sources, and are less likely to just accept the Church's version. It therefore becomes necessary to "dead agent" or discredit the critics in the eyes of the public. (Hubbard: HCOPL 21 Nov 1972). THE INTERNET One occurrence that L. Ron Hubbard did not predict, when he created his organisation, was the emergence of the Internet. Traditional public relations and propaganda campaigns simply do not work on the Internet, in the same way that they do through the mass media. Governments, multi-national corporations and conglomerates everywhere are beginning to realise this. The CRUCIAL distinction here is that information presented in a controlled and filtered form can be easily dissected and analysed, publically, in a way that the masses can all see, within half an hour. The transmission, analysis and dissemination of information is now in the hands of the masses. Information can be relayed and forwarded to countless interested parties, some visible, some hidden. It can be distributed by people on the net, to people off the net, and there is simply no way of knowing who transmits what, to whom. The war for truth is now being fought by the people, rather than by the conglomerates. Hubbard, and many, many others who created hierarchical organisations which traditionally own and control the information, simply did not anticipate the appearance of the Virtual Community. However, each and every netizen currently enjoying this freedom should be aware that big power and big money WILL be looking for ways to control the net - "to seize it, censor it, meter it, and then sell it back to us". (Rheingold, P. 5) How exactly they will achieve this is not clear yet, but we need to be aware that the intention is there, and wise up to this. The free flow of information is now back in the hands of the people. To the degree that the netizens respect these virtual communities, to the degree that they care for each other, and stand united when any threat to this new freedom appears, in ANY form, to ANY virtual community, this freedom will prevail. It was this motivation that led to the creation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (in John Barlow's kitchen!!). The history of one of the earliest virtual communities, the WELL, and the creation of the EFF, is fascinating reading, and is covered in Rheingold's book, cited at the end of this report. A highly recommended read for newbies to the culture of cyberspace. The current battle being waged between the Church of Scientology, and FACTNET, is just one of the many that are, and will be taking place. We, the people, are now responsible for being vigilent, alert and ready to counter these threats to our freedom - the freedom to once again, CONTROL and OWN the information, to decide for ourselves. References: Qualter, Terence H. "Propaganda and psychological warfare". Random House, New York, 1962. Hubbard, L. Ron. "How to handle black propaganda", HCOPL 21 November, 1972 Office of Special Affairs International. "Scientology Today" CSI, Fall Issue, 1994 Rheingold, Howard. "The Virtual community : finding connection in a computerised world". London, Secker & Warburg, 1994