Participatory Propaganda in Seven Simple Steps

Propaganda
From Within.
79
We are often warned of the threat that is
external enemy propaganda: how Daesh is using
it to recruit; 136 or how Russians are influencing
popular opinions via disinformation 137 – to name
a few. Yet, propaganda targeting an audience
abroad is the most challenging form of systemic
persuasion. Given cognitive biases and entrenched
beliefs, to name just a few impediments, swaying
the minds of opponents is extremely difficult. 138 The
more likely chance of being mislead or swayed by
propaganda is at home – in the relaxed environment
of your own backyard where the worldviews you
adopt or shape seem natural, familiar and, thus,
less threatening. Never is this misconception more
dangerous than in highly politicised environments
when these viewpoints diverge into extreme
partisanship, breaking society down into groups,
which can no longer understand one another. Such
divisions make a society a much easier mark where
enemy propaganda is concerned.
This, unfortunately, appears to be the case in
the United States today. While some might call
the battle between Republicans and Democrats
simply politics, or even a form of democracy, the
party-based divisions are leading to competing
narratives among followers that are perilously
pitting American against American. Engaging in
aggressive and provocative behaviour online only
discourages rational discourse, intimidating people
from participating in politics online. 139 No amount
of enemy propaganda could have hoped to achieve