Basil Jarrett | Jamaica’s war on the propaganda pandemic

As someone with more than a passing interest in the impact of communications on Jamaica’s socio-political landscape, I am always vigilant of any imminent threat on the media horizon. Take, for instance, the spectre of manipulation, misinformation, and the distortion of truth which has plagued nations even larger, wealthier and savvier than our little Jamaica, land we love. If the big boys can’t stop it, how can we? After all, wars have been fought, won, and lost over misinformation, disinformation and propaganda.

With social media and media proliferation at historic highs, the advice to “remain vigilant” can sometimes feel a bit useless. Except that it’s not. Remaining vigilant remains the single best piece of advice anyone can give, on how to avoid becoming a victim or tool of deception and misinformation. Although social media did not exist in the ‘60s and ‘70s, there are still some enduring lessons that we can take from that particular era.

PROPAGANDA WARS

One such example is the Vietnam war – one of the most misunderstood and polarising wars of the last century. Without going too deep into a history lesson on that conflict, the war was triggered by the 1955 invasion of South Vietnam by the communist North Vietnamese National Liberation Front (Viet Cong), in an attempt to overthrow leader Ngo Dinh Diem and reunite the country by force. The United States eventually became involved and found themselves embroiled in the conflict until 1975. What does any of this have to do with misinformation and propaganda in 2024, you may ask?

In two words, a lot. You see, the story of the United States’ defeat and ultimate withdrawal from Saigon in 1975 isn’t simply one of a small force getting one over on a superior enemy. Rather, it is a story of clever military tactics, exemplified by the effectiveness of jungle guerilla warfare – and the persistent, psychological trauma meted out to US soldiers by Hanoi Hannah, a lowly radio announcer.

If the name Hanoi Hannah doesn’t ring a bell, it’s fine. You won’t be the only one who’s never heard of her. And no, Hanoi Hannah wasn’t a tropical storm that hit Jamaica in the 1970s, but her impact on the American soldiers during the Vietnam War was just as destructive. The silky voice radio broadcaster, real name Trinh Thi Ngo, spun tales so convincing, that it slowly chipped away at the morale of many US GIs, who were far from home and far from convinced of the righteousness of this war. Her broadcasts, laden with misinformation and psychological tactics, sought to sow seeds of doubt and discontent among the troops, especially black soldiers.

Hanoi Hannah was not meant to frighten or terrify soldiers. Rather, she was meant to soothe and console them, degrade their will to fight and convince them that their cause was unjust.

AN INFORMATION BATTLEFIELD

I use the example of Hanoi Hannah because in today’s Jamaica, it often feels as if we are in the midst of an information battlefield where the war of words has shifted from radio waves to the digital realm. The threat of disinformation and misinformation, however, is no less real, and perhaps even more so. While you’d be hard-pressed to find a transistor radio in any home today, social media platforms and media proliferation have amplified voices and messages to an almost unfathomable degree. And with this amplification comes the heightened risk of propaganda – messages designed to influence public opinion, not with facts, but with appeals to emotion and bias.

Which reminds me of Brandolini’s law, also known as the BS Asymmetry Principle. Brandolini’s law posits that the energy needed to refute misinformation and propaganda is an order of magnitude bigger than is needed to produce it. In other words, it is far easier to spread nonsense than it is to debunk it.

Now, apply that to our sunny shores where the speed of a tweet or the like or share of a Facebook post outpaces the rigorous vetting of a newsroom. Suddenly, everyone’s an expert and the truth becomes a needle in a haystack in a stack of haystacks.

Misinformation, disinformation and propaganda is a real and calculated manipulation of public opinion, where fiction can overrun fact if we’re not careful. A falsehood about a public figure, a twisted narrative about a current event, or a conspiracy theory about a life-saving vaccine (remember that?) can take hold in the public conscience much faster than an ackee can fall from a tree. And once it takes root, uprooting it is a Herculean task.

QUESTION EVERYTHING

This danger is compounded by the fact that lies and sensationalism often make for more attractive stories. Let’s face it; we’re drawn to the dramatic, the scandalous – the things that make us click, share, and comment. We want to know who has been arrested, who has been fired and who is pregnant for whom. But in that quest for instant gratification, are we unknowingly contributing to the spread of propaganda, as well as to the difficult process of erasing it?

And so, as clichéd as it may sound, we must be vigilant. We must approach the information we consume with a critical eye, question sources, and cross-reference facts. We must strive to understand how to identify credible sources and fact-check information before we hit like, share, or subscribe. Just as we learned to read and write, so too must we learn to navigate the digital landscape with discernment. When we blog or tweet, are we adding to the noise or to the enlightenment of our audience?

As Brandolini told us, disproving nonsense requires far more energy than to produce. It is this imbalance that the propagandists bank on. It’s what they exploit to undermine democracy, sow discord, and erode trust in institutions. We need to therefore pivot away from a culture that reacts to propaganda, to one that pre-empts it. Open your eyes, listen with judgement, question everything, promote transparency in your dealings, and hold each other to account.

And so, as we venture further into the information jungle warfare, let’s be guided not by the chatter of the masses but by the quiet voice of reason. Let’s be as critical of the news we consume as we are of the food we eat. After all, in an age where propaganda can spread as fast as Bolt can run, staying informed is not just a choice – it’s a duty.

Major Basil Jarrett is a communications strategist and CEO of Artemis Consulting, a communications consulting firm specialising in crisis communications and reputation management. Follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Threads @IamBasilJarrett and linkedin.com/in/basiljarrett. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com