Participatory Propaganda in Seven Simple Steps

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wildfire among the liberals. If you are not absolutely
certain about a news story, Snopes 174 it – if it can’t
be verified as fact, don’t share it, lest you become
an unwitting propagandist too.
Memes might give you a good laugh, but sharing
yourself sharing the information pumped through
these channels, you might be a propagandist too.
Consider removing some of the filters that channel
content to you or read news and conduct searches
while logged out of all online accounts – start
reading some alternative sources from the other
to apply a list of thinking distortions, assessed
through a series of questions that people ask
themselves in a given situation to help retrain one’s
mind to perceive things differently. In the context
of engaging with the information space, this might
be applied every time you encounter a post or
The information space is a lot like the physical
environment. While individuals might not be
behind a lot of the pollution, it will come down to
average citizens to push for and work towards
cleaning it up.
them has wider implications for democracies.
Before sharing memes online, give some thought
to where they might have come from, and whether
or not you want to participate in the spread of
possible propaganda.
When faced with news of a hack or leak, take
pause to consider the wider situation behind it
before jumping on the sharing bandwagon. After
all, every time you engage, you risk becoming part
of a participatory propaganda model.
Take a look at your network and information
sources. If everyone seems to be sharing your
perspective, with little dissent or variety in sources,
you might be in an echo chamber. If you find
side. If nothing else, it might help foster empathy
with which you might engage with the opposition
later.
Just because a topic trends, doesn’t make it truly
talked about by real people. You will need to dig
deeper to find more accurate information online,
particularly during an election cycle.
Developing your own internal cognitive security
measure, a sort of firewall for your mind, can
help. One approach might be taken from the field
of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a branch
of psychotherapy that aims to change patterns
of behaviour and thinking. One tactic in CBT is
article that provokes you into wanting to share.
Instead, stop and ask yourself:
• What is my motive for sharing this?
• Who produced this content? Can the author
be clearly identified?
• What do I know about the source where I
found this content? What is their motive?
• Is this content factual? How do I know?
What have I done to fact check it?
If your answers indicate that you are sharing
to persuade others, and the content cannot be
verified, don’t share it. Quite quickly we can help
control the quality of content spreading online.
In a Digital Age, perhaps ironically, when
technology has made so many things that much
easier, it will come down to a much older tool
– our minds – to ensure we are not manipulated
by propaganda, or much worse, co-opted into
becoming propagandists for a cause or politician
through this participatory model.
Be mindful and remember, you are what you read.