Like many of you, I was sick and tired of the world getting overwhelmed by authoritarian propaganda, so I decided to DO something to prevent it from getting worse.
Visit the Info in Context™ website
Screaming into a void
For years, I’ve seen the indicators of authoritarian propaganda rising around the world, while frustratingly realizing that the majority of the people seem apathic to this growing emergency. I keep hearing people “TALKING about it” – but not really many people actually DOING something about how to stop the momentum. Spoiler alert, once authoritarians galvanize power it is exponentially harder to reverse their grip.
That is why I developed Info in Context™ as a free educational resource open for all! There is an increasing geopolitical instability and that is the catalyst to this rise in authoritarian propaganda in the USA and abroad. This is not new in world history, and many people – especially in the West – take for granted the relative peace in their immediate surroundings. But many are sheltered from the realities outside their bubble.
Whenever an authoritarian wanna-be starts to expand their influence, there are several indicators. We’ve seen this through history going back to millennia. It might be new to the USA with the growing number of polarizing figures percolating in the national discourse. Well, the fact is that you’re seeing a more evolved version of authoritarianism that was concealed in plain sight for many decades.
What does that mean? I can give you a few examples for the USA, but to drive the point home let’s cite the Jim Crow era. This is the time in American History from 1877 to the mid-1960s when African Americans were not only openly discriminated upon, segregated, and treated like lesser humans, but they were also lynched until 1968. Note that these crimes against humanity continued even after the Jim Crow laws were disbanded.
The Jim Crow laws were actually legal, perpetrated and sustained by racists in offices of exulted gubernatorial power. Of course, a lot of the same rancor and discrimination continues to this day in certain communities who erroneously think that one race is superior to others. A tidbit that many might have not realized is that the Jim Crow discrimination was actually an argument used by the Nazis to justify their discrimination against Jewish people and any other groups of humans they deeded inferior. Atrocities against groups of people start with dehumanization.
In every segment of world history when authoritarianism was starting to creep up there were attentive people raising alarm. Sadly, back then, just like today – these heeds for attention are downplayed or downright ignored. Authoritarianism is like an uncontrolled fire; it will keep consuming anything around it unless someone DOES something about it. The best way to contain wildfire is by carving a fire line to prevent this fire from growing. The fire line is CONTEXT!
I’ve been writing books, and articles and spoken up on any platform I can find about it. Although the message resonates, the audience is still too small, and most importantly, just talking about it does not do much to stop the spread of the fire. Also, independent, and mainstream media outlets often get distracted by click-bait and a fast-moving news cycle. Hence, a lot of these incendiary indicators get buried or forgotten relatively quickly.
Using the forest fire analogy, just screaming at the flames won’t do us much good; but carving a fire line ahead of the expanding fire will do something to contain the damage. That is why I created Info in Context™ - but carving this fire line is a team effort. Yet I’ll keep doing all I can until more people come to join us and help us spread this message. There are some who are helping, but even their voices are also buried under this incessant authoritarian noise.
Info in Context - Learn How to Defeat Authoritarian Propaganda
Info in Context - Learn How to Defeat Authoritarian Propaganda (youtube.com)
The rise of authoritarian propaganda in the USA
If you’ve been following Half Life Crisis ™ and reading my articles for the past few years, then you would have noticed that I’ve been compelled to speak more and more about how to identify and defeat authoritarian propaganda. The reason why I am so adamant about it is because this problem, much like an unattended fire has been getting exponentially worse because it was not addressed thusly by those who have a prominent platform.
I’ve been reaching out to anybody with a platform, and yet some either just subscribe to me and span me with their newsletter and don’t answer. Others keep talking in circles on their podcasts and reports. It’s extremely frustrating to see sometimes months after I’ve reached them finally speaking about something I’ve been trying to tell them months in advance. Look it up, my articles are in chronological order. The problem is that by that time people with these large platforms remain reactive instead of proactive – they remain behind the fire line – engulfed by this growing fire.
The problem is that many people – even influencer-type programs are more interested in some clip bait than actually addressing the solution. They might not realize they are doing so and might even find that premise offensive. But I’m here to tell you that I hear you all speak in circles and meanwhile I’m pulling my hair when I see you miss the forest for a tree. That is how authoritarians win.
There are some conversations that are not meant for public consumption because the bad guys are always watching. In other words, you don’t play poker by showing your cards. This level of naïve arrogance on many prominent platforms is what is keeping us in regression, and it will continue to get worse. A small win can also be a catastrophic loss. However, it seems that the only way to get attention is if you have a large following. But newsflash, there is wisdom from smaller platforms too. I’ll keep trying to grow more, hopefully then they will listen. Until then I’ll continue posting my words for anyone who wants to read them.
The oversaturation of the media of course makes it very hard to move forward with a sensible message. The algorithms are programed to get the most sensational content out there. Because people tend to comment when they are enraged or get distracted with easier-to-remember topics. The tradeoff is that we lose our critical thinking and complex-level comprehension. In other words, people slowly become less adept at seeing the details because they are just reacting through headlines. In fact, a 3-line meme is too much for some people to read nowadays. That level of diminished cognizance is phenomenal for an authoritarian propagandist.
That is another reason I created Half Life Crisis, because then I was able to speak factual information in exuberant detail, even if it does not have the same level of a click-bait audience. At least I’m not subject to censor myself for trying to pander to an audience’s algorithm. We do get several thousands of visits to our site, but when you compare the millions of views some incendiary topics get, it is an uphill battle. I’m still writing articles because it is the right thing to do at this point in our history.
I realized that this authoritarian propaganda topic in itself was gaining a life of its own on my blog. Therefore, I found pertinent to develop Info in Context™ as a free resource to educate about the perils of authoritarian propaganda and providing solutions. I launched the website and related social media accounts on June 10, 2024.
Most importantly I created this project because authoritarians’ prey on our biases. Therefore, by understanding their tactics, you are able to stop them on their tracks. And yes, I said YOU, because it starts with each individual person in order to make a difference. It’s worth repeating that I often feel like I’m screaming into a void, but that does not mean that I will let authoritarian propagandists win without a fight and with impunity.
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PLEASE Help me spread this message
I made Info in Context™ as a free resource, without ads or any other distraction because I did not want any special interests trying to hold me down or curtail my words. I do not lean to the left nor to the right – I hold both sides (and every gradient in between) in the political spectrum equally accountable.
The website has links to official resources meant to hold elected leaders accountable. It also has guides to understand wedge issues – what I call “flash points,” which are topics that tend to be incendiary and can be a catalyst to exploit biases. I also included a list of red flags to help people identify if their candidate or prominent figure of choice poses an authoritarian risk.
And of course, I’ve added some additional voices of reason for people to expand the conversations. I’m not personally affiliated with most of those I’ve listed but I do find their content useful – even if I do not agree with everything they say. But the goal is to afford people more points of view, and help their algorithms bring them more related content that will help them escape their echo chambers. Disagreeing with other people is ok. A productive debate will help both sides uncover blind spots and come up with better solutions.
I’ve also created social media accounts to continue the conversation and help us unite as Americans, and as people – even if you’re not an American. Why? Because authoritarians want to divide us. When we are divided, they win. However, when we are able to call them out on their lies, then we can stop their authoritarian plan on its tracks before they can galvanize.
Authoritarians are only as powerful as their followers. If their followers fall out of love with the authoritarian, they lose power. Paradoxically, it is that simple. Simple concept, but it is a lot harder in execution. Hence, I write so much about this topic.
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I’ll finish by inviting you once again to visit Info in Context™ and spend some time there, share with all your friends. Everything I’ve predicted has come to pass, and it will get worse – even though right now people are excited with the new Democratic ticket – yes, it is good to see people getting united… but that is only one of the many factors (because they are multipliers) that need to be addressed in order to defeat authoritarianism.
Authoritarians redact the truth because they know that when a topic is articulated in full context, then their arguments are weak sauce – they simply cannot hold to scrutiny. That is why the authoritarian propagandist issue easy to remember talking points and divisive tropes to their base and use them as wedge issues to create division. Yes, they also factor and exploit the rage from their base’s opposition. Those are strong catalysts to exploit biases from BOTH sides.
But remember, we are more similar than different, we all can fall for a trap. Traps are designed to snare you with ease. Info in Context™ teaches you how to identify these traps and turn it against the oppressor wanna-be. An authoritarian only cares about himself or herself. To them – even the most fervent and loyal supporter is disposable the very second that they become inconvenient. Visit Info in Contextt™ to see more about this topic. HLC