the sorry state of propaganda in the world right now in 2024

a brutally-honest RANT...  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ Unlike most of my emails, this one's gonna get political. (and maybe even nasty) Why? Because I'm sick & tired of good people falling for cheap propaganda from various strongmen, troll farms, and "news" outlets. Seriously, I've had enough of this sh*t! And even though -- deep down -- I KNOW I probably won't make much of a difference with this rant... (in fact, it'll just probably get more unsubscribes than usual) I'm doing it anyway. You know... the cool thing about having an email list is you can talk about whatever the hell you want in your emails 🙂 And when you talk about a sensitive topic, like this one, some people will DESPISE you for it... But most will just get to "Know, Like, and Trust" you that much better. This is one of those emails. ​ Because today, I'm gonna talk about: Propaganda Brainwashing And "psychological warfare" operations ​ Why? Because -- as I said before -- I'm sick & tired of people (including some of my closest relatives and friends!) falling for them so easily. So here's the thing, {NAME}: You might have noticed that -- nowadays, more than ever -- there's a war going on for your mind. Outside forces waaaaay bigger than us "little people" are trying to relentlessly shape your Thinking, Beliefs, and Identity... Feeding you ALL sorts of highly emotional, biased, and often flat-out false information. They're doing it on regular media... They're doing it on "alt media" They're doing it on social media... And they're also doing it through all sorts of so-called "guerilla marketing tactics". (heck, even AI is constantly lying and "hallucinating") And because of this... (especially when you combine it with lots of fear & dread coming from virtually everywhere nowadays) People are getting more radicalized, narrow-minded, and hateful/paranoid towards each other than ever. But the worst part? ​ Lots of people think this is "okay" because someone they look up to worship says so. ​ Take populist "strongman" leaders, for example. You know... Types like Trump, Putin, Xi Jinping, Erdogan, Bolsenaro... and -- of course -- our "beloved great leader" here in Hungary, Viktor Orban. The same guy who -- at the recent CPAC convention -- openly said things like: === ..."The globalists can all go to hell, I have come to Texas." --> FYI, the rise of global trade has been the #1 conduit for peace on this planet! ..."Hungary is the lone star state of Europe, one of the most successful countries" --> LOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!! If you actually lived in Hungary, you'd have to be blind, deaf, and stupid NOT to notice how everything (especially the quality of services) is going to sh*t. Hungary has become a mafia state. ...“We do not want to become peoples of mixed-race”. --> no comment ..."Accusing us of racism is fake news, and those who made this claim are simply idiots" --> oh the irony 😆 === And if you think rhetoric like this is "special" from him... think again... He does this regularly... And he does it at an alarmingly escalating pace! So much so, in fact, that even one of Orban's long-time advisors (who has been with him from the start) recently resigned and called his speech “worthy of Goebbels”. And you know what? I'm not surprised. Nowadays Orban's regime is often simply a mouthpiece for Kremlin propaganda. It's disgusting. ​ And although this might not seem like a big deal to most people... It's VERY alarming! ​ Not necessarily because I believe Orban would suddenly turn into Hitler 2.0 (as some media outlets on the other side claim)... But because this type of rhetoric -- repeated over and over again for more than a decade -- is doing VERY REAL psychological damage to Hungarian society. It promotes a false sense of constant victimhood and narcissism... (because we Hungarians are supposed to be this "chosen" group of people unfairly taken advantage of by the whole world)... It breaks down empathy and compassion at a societal level... (because people are angrier, more paranoid, and constantly blame others) And it successfully diverts people's attention from problems that TRULY need to be solved to have a brighter future (institutional corruption, dwindling free speech, crumbling infrastructure due to oligarchs stealing most things, 50%+ OFFICIAL food inflation, etc.) So make no mistake, {NAME}... As much as people like Orban / Putin / Erdogan / Trump are preaching things like: - Traditional family values - Religious values - Economic prosperity - Make {INSERT COUNTRY} great again - We protect the "little guy" (which are all normally great things to promote, btw) ​ It's all just one big "Smoke And Mirrors" ​ Especially when you look at it from a copywriting / messaging perspective. Because the reality is that... These types of people don't care about you, your family, and your freedom. All they care about is POWER. Absolute power. As Lord Acton famously said: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely." So it doesn't matter if you're "right-wing" or "left-wing"... Because both sides use very similar persuasion & copywriting strategies. The radical right is just nastier at the moment in my opinion. In fact, after COVID-19, these populist leaders have realized how to effectively channel the pre-existing pains, fears, and (false) beliefs of the masses to gain more power for themselves. They capitalize on the effects of the "Terrible Trio" -- disease (both biological as well as "idea viruses"), war, and scarcity -- to manipulate people who are already angry and fearful. ​ But at the end of the day, it's ALWAYS the regular "little guy" who pays the price ​ Either by losing their wealth due to betting on the wrong hyped-up things... Going to war to die on behalf of a despot... Or bailing out yet another corrupt and incompetent failed state. It's always the same. Same old, same old. HOWEVER... Since you're on an email list that's mostly about APPLIED INFLUENCE & PERSUASION PSYCHOLOGY... You're in a MUCH better position to identify and correctly label these propaganda techniques in advance... So you can not only protect YOUR own mind from its harmful effects... But maybe even make a difference in your own social circle! So the next time you read / watch / listen to something from someone most people idolize, pay close attention to what copywriting techniques they're using. (regardless if you like them or not!) ​ Pay particularly close attention to: ​ -- How much they use the "Us VS. Them" rhetoric -- How much they bring up various "enemies" we have to fight against -- How much they're tapping into psychological wounds on a societal level (Hitler used this particularly well with bitter people after Germany's humiliating WW1 defeat) -- How much they're antagonizing others who disagree with them -- What stories they're using in their persuasive arguments -- How much Proof they actually show to back up their claims -- How coherent their narrative structure is I know, I know... "But Csaba, that sounds complicated... I just wanna have a beer, not think about complex stuff, and have someone I trust tell me what to do." Well... If you think like that, I'd hate to break it to you... But the world IS complicated. And if nobody stands up to the deliberate dumbing down of people... and starts THINKING on a deeper level, nothing will change. In fact -- with the current geopolitical climate -- it's going to get much, MUCH worse. (especially with the rise of generative AI making everything fake) And ultimately, we'll be the ones who have to pay for it collectively. Either with blood, sweat, wealth... or all of them. Your choice. -Csaba ​ P.S. -- If you're looking for an ETHICAL way to shift people's beliefs and get them to take action without selling your soul to the devil... Then my "Neuroplastic Belief Shifting" framework is still the most effective non-sleazy way to do so. Plus, it will also greatly help you identify most types of propaganda... so almost nobody's gonna be able to fool you 🙂 ​[>> Learn more about it here]()​ (and make sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page to see all the real-life ethical people endorsing it!) Please add csaba@gameofconversions.com to your address book or whitelist us. Want to change how you receive my emails? You can easily [Update your profile]( or [Unsubscribe]( Our mailing address is: 113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205