by Michael Barker from Counter Currents. (17.5 single-spaced pages)
The coverage of world events by ruling class media to shape the views of their citizens probably began in earnest with the influence of Edward Bernays, particularly after the publication of his book in 1928 entitled, Propaganda. His views also had a powerful influence on Joseph Goebbels, the famous Nazi propagandist.
Added to this propaganda toolbox was an insidious method of managing group behavior through a carefully planned mix of infiltration of trained agents into groups along with money and perks in order to shape group behavior in support of elites. This was used most effectively by Soviet indoctrination agencies under Stalin, and after WWII adopted by the CIA to counter Soviet activity. (Read The Mighty Wurlitzer by Hugh Wilford for the details.)
Next the development of psychological warfare techniques was refined by the CIA into what became known as "psyops", or psychological operations. These techniques were used against insurgent groups that posed a threat to regimes favored by US elites. They consisted of carefully crafted and planted information and misinformation into the dissident groups to cause confusion, dissension, and low morale. This method was first successfully used by a CIA agent in 1953 in the Philippines against a communist inspired insurgency; and it is still widely used, even within the US, to control dissent.
These methods have been modified to what exists today in the form of "democracy promotion": the use of benign sounding foundations and NGO's to insert themselves into countries where a government is highly unstable in order to contain and control activist organizations and revolutionary groups. Their objective is to effect liberal democratic regimes that support free market policies, also known as capitalist style "democracies". This operation is currently underway in Egypt, and Barker does an excellent job of describing exactly how it works. This is a must-read article.
As you can see, all societies that are dominated by ruling classes, whether capitalist "democracies" or fascist or bureaucratically (Stalinist) controlled regimes, all use such devious methods to control their citizens and to preserve their class rule.
