In On Western Terrorism Noam Chomsky, world renowned dissident intellectual, discusses Western power and propaganda with filmmaker and investigative journalist Andre Vltchek. The discussion weaves together a historical narrative with the two men's personal experiences which led them to a life of activism. The discussion includes personal memories, such as the New York newsstand where Chomsky began his political education, and broadens out to look at the shifting forms of imperial control and the Western propaganda apparatus. Along the way the discussion touches on many countries of which the authors have personal experience, from Nicaragua and Cuba, to China, Chile, Turkey and many more. A blast of fresh air which blows away the cobwebs of propaganda and deception, On Western Terrorism is a powerful critique of the West's role in the world which will inspire all those who read it to think independently and critically.
Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media
A bold and eye-opening exposé on how power and propaganda distort the news, now more relevant than ever • With an updated introduction“[A] compelling indictment of the news media’s role in covering up errors and deceptions in American foreign policy.”—The New York Times Book Review Renowned scholars Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky reveal how U.S. news media, far from being independent watchdogs, often function as tools of elite influence. With probing analysis, they present their Propaganda Model, a framework that explains how systemic bias shapes the stories we’re told, the voices we hear, and the truths that remain hidden.Through deeply researched case studies, from the Vietnam War to coverage of “worthy” vs. “unworthy” victims, Manufacturing Consent exposes the structural forces that drive news organizations to reinforce power rather than question it. It’s a sobering portrait of a media system more interested in maintaining order than informing the public.This edition includes an introduction updating key examples and expanding the Propaganda Model’s relevance to issues like the coverage of NAFTA, the media’s treatment of global protests, and environmental regulation.Manufacturing Consent is a powerful assessment of how propagandistic the U.S. mass media are, how they systematically fail to live up to their self-image as providers of the kind of information that people need to make sense of the world, and how we can understand their function in a radically new way.Whether you’re a student, activist, or citizen looking to see beyond the headlines, this book will transform how you understand the media—and the world around you.
Poisoning for propaganda: rising authoritarianism makes LLMs more dangerous
Writing at the end of the world, from Hveragerði, Iceland
25 years after 9/11, our definition of terrorism continues to expand : Code Switch
In the 25 years since 9/11, we've seen the definition of terrorism expand. The Trump administration has called more and more groups “terrorists,” from “narco-terrorists” in Ecuador to people who protest ICE to the entire Democratic party. This week, our conversation with Saher Selod, an expert on the surveillance of Muslims, about the effects of the war on terror after 9/11, and historian Alex Lubin about how the word “terrorist” has been used to enact violence and surveillance.Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.
Situational awareness
I consider this article to be a form of American propaganda. There are a number of things in here I agree with, or believe may happen, but don't necessarily ...
Hypernormalisation | Full Documentary | Adam Curtis
CFP: Religion, Politics, and Cognitive Warfare | The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory | JCRT
This call for papers invites work on religion, politics, and cognitive warfare, exploring how belief, media, conspiracy, identity, and power shape struggles over reality, interpretation, and life in an age of disinformat
Art Spiegelman: ‘The US needs a counter-revolution’
More than four decades after his Holocaust story Maus transformed the graphic novel genre, Art Spiegelman discusses Trump, the shadow of 9/11 and the rise of fascism in America
Yasser Arafat: Biography
The man who lead the PLO for over 40 years and managed the uneasy balance between militancy and diplomacy in the Middle East.
Mistakes, mistrust and misdirection: 25 years after 9/11, its dark legacy continues to unfold
The world’s most powerful country responded to the worst terrorist attack in its history by inflicting terror of its own – around the world, and at home
NYT: Boycott, Divest, Unsubscribe — WRITERS AGAINST THE WAR ON GAZA
The New York Times is not unique among media outlets in manufacturing consent for war, for exploitation, for genocide. It is, rather, exemplary. The Times’ reputation for liberalism, for rigor, for non-partisan independence is precisely what makes it so dangerous, because it hides what it really is: a publication that exists to serve the interests of U.S. imperialism.
Masar Badil | Program on Extremism | The George Washington University
Authored by Jeff Parsons, Asher Stern, Samantha Wampold and Zeynep Ozharat
Revisiting Iran's Missile and Drone Campaign
An early reflection on my writing and thinking during the war
"Books differ from all other propaganda.., primarily because one book can significantly change the reader's attitude and action to an extent unmatched by the impact of any other medium... this make[s] books the most important weapon of strategic propaganda." -CIA Covert propaganda program, 1961
“Terrorism”
NSPM-7 and other expansions of “terrorist” designations, criminalizing protests and other nonviolent forms of political dissent, etc.
NLG Condemns OFAC Designation of Palestine Action and Autistici/Inventati, Calls for Challenges - National Lawyers Guild
Freedom oppressed: the journalists caught up in Trump’s ICE crackdown
Mass Arrests by Trump's ICE, CBP Repeatedly Fail Under Scrutiny — ProPublica
Rubio and Miller warn of the ‘mortal threat’ of ‘far-left terror’ in speech to 67 countries | CNN Politics
The War on Terror Turns Left - UNICORN RIOT
How the Administration Picks Its Targets, Then Picks the Crime
