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Noam Chomsky is one of the most highly respected intellectuals in the world.The New York Timessaid hes the most important thinker of our current era. One of the major things hes done is calling out and analyzing the different strategies of media control being used today in the world.

Noam Chomsky first got attention for his work as a linguist, but hes also a philosopher and political scientist.Hes also become a majorvoice in the world of political activism.People share his writing all over the globe, and hes always gaining new readers.

How it is we havesomuch information, butknow so little?

-Noam Chomsky-

Chomsky wrote an educational piece summarizing the strategies of media control.While his thoughts on it are deep and complex, he summed it up in simple, accessible terms with the aim of educating people.

According to Chomsky, the most common of all the strategies of media control is distraction.It basically involves shifting public attention to meaningless or irrelevant things. Thats how they keep our minds occupied.

They also overload people with information oremphasize sporting events, celebrities, and trivia. The aim is to make people lose sight of the real problems.

Sometimes the powers that be purposefully neglect, or at least dont really address, certain realities.They make their citizens think its a problem that needs an outside solution.And they themselves put forth the solution.

This is one strategy of media control used with unpopular decisions.For example, they might intentionally portray a public industry to be worse than it is because they want to privatize it. The idea is to justify selling it off.

The goal here is to get the public to allow things that they wouldnt normally accept. How?By introducing them very gradually so the people wont even notice.

For example, its what has happened with the reduction in workers rights.In some societies theyve implemented rules, or kinds of work, that make people eventually think its normal for a worker not to have any guarantees of social security.

This strategymakes citizens think that theyre taking steps that might be bad in the short-term,but could pay off for the whole society in the future. The ends justify the means.

The goal is for people to get used to the bad things and not reject them. How? To get them to think about how good it will be later on.When the time comes, the normalization effect has already done its job. The people dont protest not getting what they were promised.

A lot of televised messages, especially in advertisements,talk to people like theyre children.They use very strategic expressions, words, and attitudes topped with a halo of innocence.

The point is to get through peoples defenses.Its a form of media control that tries to kills peoples critical thinking abilities.Politicians use these tactics too, impersonating fatherly figures.

The puppet-masters dont want to activate peoples thoughtful sides.They want to stir up emotions and reach peoples unconscious.Thats why so many of these messages are full of emotional content.

The point is to cause a kind of short circuit in rational thinking processes.They use emotions to capture the overall meaning of the message, but not the specifics. This is another way they kill peoples critical thinking abilities.

Keeping people ignorant is one of the main goals of those in charge.Ignorance means not giving people the tools they need to analyze things themselves. It means telling them the interesting parts, but never revealing the behind-the-scenes of what goes on.

Keeping people ignorant also means taking the focus away from education. It results in a huge gap between the quality of private and public education.They put quiet peoples thirst for knowledge and make intelligence unimportant.

Most trends and fashions dont just come out of nowhere.There is almost always someone setting them in motion and promoting them. They do it to create homogenized tastes, interests, and opinions.

The media constantlypromotes certain fashions and trends. Most of them have to do with frivolous,unnecessary, even ridiculous lifestyles. They convince people that acting this way is just whats in style.

Another strategy of media control is making people think its them, and only them, to blame for their problems. Any bad thing that happens is entirely because of them. Thats how they get people to think their environment is perfect and if theres anything wrong its their own fault.

Thus, people end up trying to fit into their environment and then feel guilty for not pulling it off perfectly.They misplace all the anger the system causes, endlessly blaming themselves instead.

Over the last few decades, science has given us access to such knowledge about human biology and psychology.But this information still isnt available to most people.

Only a tiny bit of information ever reaches the public.Meanwhile the elites have all this information and use it as they please. Once again we can see how ignorance makes it easier for the powers that be to control society.

The goal of these strategies of media control is to make the world into whatever the most powerful people want it to be.They block everyones critical thinking abilities and freedom. But its our responsibility to stop passively letting them control us. We must put up as much of a fight as we can.

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10 Strategies of Media Control According to Noam Chomsky ...

President Trump wants to create a panel that would look into complaints of bias against conservatives on social media and other online platforms, The Wall Street Journal reported.

What authority the panel would have, and under what department it would be based were not clear. But the Journals sources said the plans may include establishing a White House-created commission that would work in conjunction with agencies like the Federal Elections Commission and Federal Communications Commission to examine bias and censorship online. A White House official told the WSJ that left wing bias in the tech world is a concern that definitely needs to be addressed.

Trump and other Republicans have repeatedly alleged anti-conservative bias on social media platforms, with some Congressional committees holding hearings last year to question officials from tech firms. The president has accused Twitter of playing political games, and Trump complained to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey in a White House meeting last April that he was losing followers on his most-used social platform.

Last May, the White House launched a tool for Americans to share their stories of suspected political bias with the president (as of this writing, the tool was no longer accepting new entries). That was followed in July by a social media summit with several conservative figures who complained that they were being censored online and subjected to shadow-banning.

A Twitter spokesperson said in an email to The Verge on Saturday that the company enforces the Twitter Rules impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation, adding that it is in regular communication with elected officials in efforts to improve the platform.

Requests for comment to the White House, Facebook, and Google were not immediately returned Saturday morning.

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President Trump reportedly considering a panel to examine bias on social media - The Verge

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As coronavirus lockdowns enter their third month, social media giants are tightening censorship against people who protest lockdowns and raise evidence the virus may be less risky than initially thought.

YouTube has pulled videos from scientists and physicians, even those with top-tier credentials. Meanwhile, Facebook has blocked efforts to organize protests against lockdowns.

Facebooks stance is particularly problematic because as the largest social media network, it may gain from lockdowns, which force friends or community groups to rely on virtual gatherings instead of real-life meetings.

ALEX BERENSON: CORONAVIRUS TRUTH AND WHY THE MEDIA ESTABLISHMENT HATES ME SO MUCH

Investors certainly seem to believe the lockdowns have not hurt Facebook. Its stock rose 5 percent to an all-time high on Wednesday. Shares in Googles parent company, which also owns YouTube, also are near an all-time high.

Twitter, the third major social media company, is taking a more open and pro-free speech stance.Twitter allows debate about whether the societal risks of lockdowns might be worse than the dangers of coronavirus. (My own Twitter following @alexberenson has grown 15-fold since March, and Twitter does not appear to be censoring me.)

As private corporations, social media outlets are not bound by the First Amendment and can remove speech that violates their guidelines. However, given their reach and the growing political battle over lockdowns amid questions about their efficacy, their censorship actions leave them at risk of backlash.

Further, combined with the conventional medias reluctance to question lockdowns and the failure of predictive models from public health experts, social media censorship may actually backfire, leading many people to believe they cannot trust the media at all and encouraging them to consider outright conspiracy theories.

Facebook, which more than half of all Americans use, has repeatedly censored groups trying to organize anti-lockdown protests. Events that defy governments guidance on social distancing arent allowed on Facebook, a Facebook spokesman said on April 20.

Coronavirus censorship first became an issue when Susan Wojcicki, the chief executive of YouTube, told CNN on April 19 that YouTube would ban videos contradicting World Health Organization guidelines about coronavirus. Instead, YouTube had focused on the stay at home messages and would be raising authoritative information, Wojcicki said.

Of course, the WHO has repeatedly changed its own statements on coronavirus for example, tweeting that antibodies to coronavirus do not confer immunity to the virus, then hours later deleting that message and reporting antibodies likely provide some level of protection. Wojcicki didnt mention how YouTube might treat changes in WHO messaging.

On April 27, YouTube followed through on Wojcickis threats, removing video of a press conference from two California physicians. The physicians argued COVID fatality rates were lower than commonly reported and that forcing people to stay inside for prolonged periods of time might actually damage their immune systems.

At the time YouTube removed it, the press conference had been viewed more than 5 million times.

In a statement, YouTube said it censored content that explicitly disputes the efficacy of local health authority recommended guidance on social distancing a stance that if repeated on other issues could lead YouTube to block content that disputes any government statement.

Since then, YouTubes censorship has continued. Less than a week ago, the site removed a video from Knut Wittkowski, the former head of epidemiology at Rockefeller Universitys Center for Clinical and Translational Science, criticizing lockdowns.

Wittkowskis video had been viewed about 1.5 million times before YouTube removed it.

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Meanwhile, Facebook, which more than half of all Americans use, has repeatedly censored groups trying to organize anti-lockdown protests. Events that defy governments guidance on social distancing arent allowed on Facebook, a Facebook spokesman said on April 20.

On May 13, Facebook took its most aggressive action yet, removing the 380,000-member group Michiganders Against Excessive Quarantine, one of the original anti-lockdown groups. It then quickly removed a replacement group called Stand Up Michigan.

Ironically, the censorship efforts may be backfiring, by leading people to conclude that they cannot trust media outlets to give them honest information about the coronavirus and driving them to conspiracy theorists such as Judy Mikovits whose short film Plandemic contains several bizarre theories, including that a flu vaccine may be responsible for the high death toll in Italy. Though YouTube and Facebook have removed Plandemic repeatedly, it has been viewed millions of times.

In contrast, Twitter is avoiding outright bans on content. We are trying to nuanced approach to this that recognizes there is a huge amount of emotion and vitriol and all sides of the issue, a Twitter executive wrote me last week. Were trying to make sure that factual debate finds a way through.

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Twitter prefers to label posts that it views as potentially problematic rather than remove them, he wrote. We think it (labeling) will allow the conversation to continue.

Unfortunately, YouTube and Facebook seem to prefer to stop the conversation.

This op-ed first appeared on the author's websitehttp://www.alexberenson.com/.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM ALEX BERENSON

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Alex Berenson: Coronavirus crisis -- How Facebook and YouTube are trying to control information about COVID - Fox News

A customer at a Costco in Colorado filmed an employee asking him to leave for not wearing a mask. Wochit

If you don't wear a mask while shopping, Tison from Costco will ask you to leave.

That was the case for one customer in in Arvada, Colorado, when a Costco employee with a badge name "Tison" asked the man who refused to wear a face covering to leave the establishment.

The confrontation, which Twitter user @OnlyInLVNV posted online Monday, went viral Wednesday.

"I'll just put you on my 3,000-follower Instagram feed, mostly loved ones," the customer says to the Costco employee as he starts recording the interaction.

To which Tison replies, "Hi, everyone. I work for Costco and I'm asking this member to put on a mask 'cause that is our company policy."

Costco employee who asked customer to leave for not wearing a mask.(Photo: Screenshot)

Last month,Costcoannounced that, beginning May 4, it would return to regular hours and customers and employees alike would be required to wear face coverings ormasks. At the time of the announcement, some on social media voiced their opposition to wearing masks while shopping.

Nevertheless, as BuzzFeed News reported, safety guidelines from Costco have been loosened since May 1.

The customer retorted that he's not putting on a mask"because I woke up in a free country."

Costco customer who was asked to leave the establishment for not wearing a mask.(Photo: Screeshot)

Tison, the Costco employee, proceeded to take the customer's cart away, politely wishedhim a great day several times and informed him that he was "not welcome here in our warehouse" and that he needed to leave.

The customer then offered up insults to the Costco employee as he walked away and culminated the video saying, "there he goes, 'cause I'm not a (expletive) sheep."

Costco employee took the customer's cart away after asking him to leave the establishment.(Photo: Screenshot)

The Centers for Disease Control has recommended "wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies)especiallyin areas of significant community-based transmission."

After some social media backlash, the customer posted another video saying, "I've got every (expletive) right to not wear a mask anywhere because this isn't about the mask this is about control." He added, "I was one of the only people in that store not wearing a mask, which means you're protected from me and I'm protected from you."

This perspective doesn't align with what the CDC has said.

In its recommendation, the agency notes: "We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms ('asymptomatic') and that even those who eventually develop symptoms ('pre-symptomatic') can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms. This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity."

Though the CDC's guidelines refer to wearing a cloth face covering as a "voluntary public health measure," Costco has adopted face coverings as mandatory for entrance to the store.

In unrelated posts on the Costco (Arvada, CO) Facebook page, users were praising the requirement of masks for customers and employees. Support for Tison has also been pouring from Twitter, including from Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., who tweeted the video adding: "Costco has the right to require that customers wear a mask. Businesses have the right to prevent people from spewing saliva droplets in their stores. Because we live in a free country."

Costco said that management had no comment at this time when USA TODAY reached out.

In a previous statement, the retailer said: "We know some members may find this inconvenient or objectionable, but under the circumstances we believe the added safety is worth any inconvenience. This is not simply a matter of personal choice; a face covering protects not just the wearer, but others too."

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'This isn't about the mask, it's about control': Costco customer asked to leave after refusing to wear a face covering - USA TODAY

A forest fire in Barnaby, N.B. is still out of control Monday afternoon.

But, Kelly Cormier, aspokesperson for theDepartment of Natural Resources and Energy Development said the crews were making gains to contain it.

"The fire has been difficult to contain as the results of windy conditions yesterday causing numerous spot fires." she said.

Some residents in the community prepared for evacuation Sunday afternoon as air tankersand fire crews tried to bring a forest fire under control.

The community is about 40 kilometres south of Miramichi.

Gerrit Bosma said hisfamily was packed and prepared to evacuate if needed,but he hoped the fire would becontained with the help of air tankersfromForest Protection Limited.

"It's going away from us but I think they have it contained," Bosma said in a Facebook message.

Three homes in the area were threatened at one point, said Cormier.

By Sunday night no homes were in danger.

"Air tanker and ground attack was effective ineliminating that threat," Cormiersaid in an email.

But the fire is still out of control andsix air tankers areworking to keep it contained.

The fire isburning on the North and South Barnaby Roads. It covers 20 hectares.

The Miramichi Fire Departmenthad crews at the site helping crews from the Department of Natural Resources.

The province has been under a complete fire ban for a week.

TheUpper Kingsclear and Nashwaak Valley fire departments issued warnings on social media urging people to respect the ban. They warned of the possibility of a fine from the Department of Natural Resources and Energy Development if it is determined a wildfireis the resultof human carelessness.

"They will not be issuing warnings. Again, please be careful," theNashwaak Valley Fire Department post read.

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Forest fire in Barnaby still out of control, but crews making gains - CBC.ca