Person Asks “What Piece Of Media Is Just Straight Up Propaganda?”, And 39 People Online Deliver

People love conspiracy theories. In fact, it is much easier to explain any phenomenon by the fact that someone is skillfully manipulating public opinion behind other people's backs than to try to investigate the intricacies of how the modern world works.

Indeed, there are a lot of pieces of media that can be considered propaganda - from government channels in countries with a totalitarian regime to outwardly harmless cartoons, in which one can always see a double meaning. Like, didn't you know that "Rick and Morty" is obviously propaganda... we don't know what it is yet, but it's definitely propaganda!

And there is a popular thread on Reddit where people answer just one question: "What piece of media is just straight up propaganda?" Almost 30K ups, 12.4K different comments, and a huge, simply incredible variety of options for what actually lies under this or that TV show or video game.

Bored Panda created a curated list of the most interesting, thought-provoking and just weird opinions about where propaganda is hiding. So feel free to scroll to the very bottom, leave your comments, and remember, perhaps the only place on the internet that is absolutely free from any propaganda is this post. No propaganda, just a good mood... at least if calls for a good mood aren't good mood propaganda!

More info: Reddit

#1 Fox News

Fox News

Image credits: Electronic_Scar_1172

#2 Feel Good Stories

feel good stories, like “8 year old kid saves up $3000 by working to help sister afford her surgery”

Image credits: mangpod

#3 Any Modern War Movie Featuring Real Military Equipment

Any modern war movie featuring real military equipment. To get access to the equipment, they need to work with the Department of Defense. For them to allow it, they need to approve the script. For them to approve the script, the movie needs to give a positive portrayal of the military.

EDIT: Everyone commenting can f**k off with the devil's advocate b******t. Of course there are exceptions to everything, but you all know what I'm saying is true overall. You all know there's a huge connection between Hollywood and the US military. You all know war movies (and video games, possibly to an even greater extent at this point) very frequently partner with the military for equipment, promotion, funding, etc. You all know that in those partnerships, the military has a ton of control over the movie/game to make sure it portrays them in a way that will entice 18 year olds to enlist. You all know that mentioning an exception doesn't change any of that.

Image credits: paraworldblue

#4 America’s Got Talent

America’s Got Talent. It promotes the idea that talent goes hand in hand with struggle, so much so that genuinely awful acts make it through on the strength of their sob story.

People have a hard enough time accepting the work that goes into being a creative without having to attach a tragic backstory to it.

Image credits: SaltySteveD87

#5 Business Articles On Linkedin

Business articles on LinkedIn that talk about how people should stop seeking work/life balance and start embracing work/life integration.

No thanks.

Image credits: MMA_Boiler_ChE

#6 Drug Ads

Drug ads tbh. You don’t realize that until you talk to people outside of America about commercials and ads. Our advertisements pushing drugs for every single ailment are just propaganda for big pharma. Disclaimer: not an anti vaxxer or anything, I trust the science, I just would rather take sativa edibles than get onto some anxiety medication named Amphaproxogarbageorenazine. I think it’s kinda sick how we market medications.

Image credits: sordidcandles

#7 Top Gun Maverick

I love Top Gun. It's a huge guilty pleasure of mine and I can't wait to see Maverick in theaters. That being said, it is 1000% propaganda for the Navy, to the point where the Navy had a lot of say in the script and they set up recruitment booths outside the theatre.

Image credits: The_Big_Daddy

#8 Anything Dealing With Forensics

Anything dealing with forensics. A job in forensics is boring. You know when they match a fiber sample and can exclude it from 5,000 other samples? Someone had to compare the fiber in question 5,000 times and say, “Nope, next.” Not to mention, the paperwork required is painful.

Source: Three years working in forensics. To this day my signature looks like a doctors from all the chain of custody documents I had to sign.

Image credits: beanomly

#9 US Blockbusters Showing Them As Peace-Keepers

A surprising number of big-budget US films get funding from various branches of the military to portray them as good guys and peacekeepers.

In exchange they get extensive creative control over the script and in some cases final cut privileges. The filmmakers get access to money, shooting locations, vehicles, advisors, logos and uniforms, and of course money.

You could argue that of course if you were offering this kind of support you wouldn’t want your image to be disparaged in any way. But we’re not talking about Captain America holding a can of Coke.

Imagine it as product placement, but the product they’re selling isn’t the military itself, but the thematic connection between the military and heroism, righteousness and moral good.

Image credits: barabreakfast

#10 Forced Recitations Of The Pledge Of Allegiance For Us Public School Kids

This is technically media: but forced recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance for US public school kids.

Image credits: PrizeAlternative3760

#11 Day Planners

Day planners. They always have an agenda.

Image credits: anon

#12 Every Single Bit Of Murdoch Media

Every single bit of Murdoch Media....

... from printed to digital media, newspapers, TV, and all forms of media. Particularly the wastes of space in Sky News.

Image credits: AJHear

#13 Undercover Boss

Undercover Boss

Image credits: mvrk3

#14 The Entire "Cop Show" Genre

The entire "cop show" genre. It goes back to the radio drama days and spans drama, comedy, infotainment, documentary, and multiple other genres, but it almost always presents the police as being the white-hatted Good Guys out to stop the Bad Guys.

Image credits: cleon42

#15 The Entire Concept Of "Spreading Democracy"

The entire concept of "spreading democracy" is propaganda from the Woodrow Wilson days. It was how he sold WW1 to the American people, via the PR genius Edward Bernays.

Mediocre source I know, but Bernays book *Propaganda* is a good read and goes into detail.

Image credits: I_FU*KED_A_TURTLE

#16 News And TV Shows

90% of media you are exposed to is owned by one of four or five companies, may even be three now. The same companies that make your movies and TV shows make your news.

News falls into three categories:"Clickbait" - we're selling advertisements, use the headline that generates the most outrage and keeps the most viewership. You'd think this would be the most harmless, but they're actively distorting the truth to whatever narrative is most profitable. This is especially harmful when covering mass shootings, terrorist attacks, etc. Making the body count the headline and providing 24/7 coverage of the shooters themselves inspires more shootings to occur. They may as well be advertisements to the unhinged- commit horrible atrocities! Your name and your beliefs will be remembered forever! People who were unhinged by the rage-bait news they pumped out in the first place. Depending on your news source you can live in an information bubble completely isolated from people who get their news elsewhere. This is one of the biggest sources of disruptive controversy and division in our nation and you're better off shutting it out than anything else.

"Narrative" - This is propaganda in support of the owners. Why wont fox ever criticize an oil company? Why does ABC always side with disney- and use disney fun facts to fill empty coverage? Why does the new york times write articles in defense of billionaires? Narrative is shaping the truth not to generate direct profit, but to support the goals and needs of it's ownership.

"Sponsorship" - this is propaganda in support of the contributors. Essentially, they'll run any propaganda piece you pay for so long as it doesn't conflict with their narrative. For the conventional propaganda, the DNC, GOP, and Federal Government are frequent customers.

Image credits: armwulf

#17 American Sniper

American Sniper. I’m still mad that I got tricked into thinking it was a movie about PTSD.

Image credits: LONGSWORD_ENJOYER

#18 Turning Point USA

Turning Point USA is complete propaganda garbage. Secondly, Caleb and Sophia. It’s a propaganda cartoon targeted toward Jehovahs witnesses and people they try to convert

Image credits: SlavicGrenades

#19 Atlas Shrugged By Ayn Rand

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.

Image credits: thomascameron

#20 Christian Movies

"God's Not Dead" and similar Christian movies.

Image credits: FSMFan_2pt0

#21 All The Falun Gong Media

Shen Yun dance

Epoch Times

New Tang Dynasty TV

They’re all propaganda from the same source

Image credits: Some-Basket-4299

#22 Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf. Author seemed very bias.

Image credits: BilboSmashings

#23 Basically Anything By Michael Bay

Basically anything by Michael Bay

Image credits: claytrainagain

#24 "The Angry American" Song By Toby Keith

Remember that Toby Keith song that played everywhere after 9/11?

Image credits: anon

#25 Anything Coming Out Of “Radio Free X”

Anything coming out of “Radio Free x” (ex: Radio Free Asia, Radio Free Europe, etc.), which were originally founded by the CIA and now funded by a different agency of the US government. If you believe that any media coming out of news organizations funded by the US government doesn’t feature propaganda in some way, then I’ve got beachside property to sell you in Idaho.

Image credits: mobpsychokiller

#26 Government TV Channels In Philippines

in my country philippine we got tv station" net 25" and "smni sunshine". pure government propaganda channels run by cults who have deep connections with Ferdinand marcos.

Image credits: betawings

#27 News Networks

Good luck finding an unbiased news network

Image credits: TheJewishViking1064

#28 Any News Targeting Stock Owners

Any news targeting stock owners. Not the big companies, but the private people who have a few thousand dollars worth or less.
The way it works is some scandal comes out and it's designed to make people panic and sell, swinging the price down by a lot, some times half the price. Then big companies buy up billions of dollars worth and this swings the price back up. Then they sell it again making a fortune.

Image credits: Janfredrikjohansen

#29 The Movie, Reefer Madness

The movie, Reefer Madness.

Terrible movie, but hilarious today.

Image credits: TheSmegger

#30 The Internship

The Internship (2013)… just Wedding Crashers but taken over by our Google overlords. Praise be.

Image credits: 215487

#31 "America's Army" Video Game

America's Army.

edit: To clarify, it's a video game made by the US military.

Image credits: snek-without-oreos

#32 Anything By Prager

Anything by Prager.

#33 Call Of Duty

Call of Duty.

#34 Rocky IV

Rocky IV

Image credits: yourgoodfriendgeoff

#35 The Punisher

They really took The Punisher and f****d up the message.

Image credits: KittyKenollie

#36 CNBC and the Motley Fool

CNBC and the Motley Fool. It's a tool to offload bags on retail investors.

#37 The Wizard

The Wizard (1989)

Image credits: PhilSpectorr

#38 Paw Patrol

Paw Patrol

#39 Reddit Itself

Reddit

Image credits: ab00

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