Stories Are Weapons
Psychological Warfare and the American Mind
Weapons used abroad always come home, and weapons of the mind are no different. Here, Annalee Newitz outlines the ways that psychological warfare evolved from a tool of the military to a tool for anyone with a microphone or an algorithm on their side. They draw clear and cogent connections between propaganda and authoritarianism, especially with respect to the ways that the various mediums of propaganda (TV, radio, social media) serve to create an anesthetized and compliant audience, susceptible to fascist conditioning. But all is not lost: stories, like swords, have more than one edge. A story can be a tool for liberation as much as it is a tool for imprisonment, and in the right hands, storytelling is a powerful weapon in the fight for a living, thriving, sustainable future.
