Friday, October 2, 2015

“Shaping The Narrative”- Propaganda in Disguise

Euphemistic Names For Propaganda

On June 30, 2015 Friends of the Earth released a report entitled “Spinning Food: How Food Industry Front Groups and Covert Communications Are Shaping The Story of Food. 

The organization, Friends of the earth, has done an incredible service identifying and highlighting front groups spreading propaganda in the food industry. Yes, this is propaganda and it can’t be covered over by sweet sounding modern euphemistic phrases like “shaping the story”, “defining the narrative”, “creative messaging”, “having a conversation” and “shaping public opinion”.

The use of front groups to spread these messages coincides with growing opposition on the net to decry food industry practices and standards. The food industry must find a way to counteract this competition before it has time to erode industry profits and reputation.

Just What Are Front Groups?

groucho-marx-309396_640Front groups are simply organizations funded by industry giants set up to look like natural, organic organizations that are dispensing truth. They have deceptive sounding names that create an impression of neutrality and independence while hiding their ties to big industry. They can be used to target and attack the message of opposition groups allowing industry giants to stay above the fray and keep their hands clean.

Industry giants have been in the thrall of the propaganda spell ever since Big Tobacco’s smashing success misleading the public on the dangers of smoking.

100 Year Old Propaganda Trick

This hundred-year old tactic started by Edward Bernays, the father of modern day public relations (yet another euphemistic name for propaganda), is still little known and understood.

Around 1915, Bernays launched the Celiac Project, touting the benefits of bananas for celiac sufferers -without revealing that its sole funder was the United Fruit Company, the biggest banana producer and importer in the country.

The Celiac Project is the front group that is used to promote banana consumption in a way that seems neutral and very natural.

It takes a lot of money to erect what amounts to elaborate façades of support for industry sentiments.

As the report says, “A particular segment of the food industry-we refer to it here as the industrial food and agriculture sector, including biotech, agrochemical, pharmaceutical, and agribusiness companies, as well as industrial livestock producers- is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to manipulate the public conversation about our food. “

If you have a million dollar budget today in America, you can easily confuse, mislead and misdirect the public by creating multiple front groups.

Top Front Groups In The Food Industry

Here is a chart of top front groups in the food industry as identified by Friends of Earth

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By the way, the food industry is just one of many big players doing the exact same thing, extinguishing truth wherever they find it and creating alternative realities instead. No wonder they prefer to call it “shaping the narrative”. CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE

The post “Shaping The Narrative”- Propaganda in Disguise appeared first on PropagandaGuard.

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