EOTO 2: Propaganda

 Propaganda is the dissemination of information, facts, rumors, half-truths, or even lies, through mass media to influence public opinion. The word “Propaganda” itself comes from the Roman Catholic Church’s Congregation of Propagation of the Faith which was founded in 1622. 

Today all governments use propaganda but the first people to introduce propaganda were the ancient Greeks who used art, theatre, and religious festivals to influence large groups of people. The invention of the printing press led to propaganda taking off after Martin Luther printed his negative feelings about the catholic church, helping start the protestant reformation. During the Mexican American war U.S. writers edited Mexican Newspapers in U.S. controlled areas to include propaganda persuading them to accept the U.S. terms for peace. 50 years later in 1898 the USS Maine which was stationed in Havana, Cuba mysteriously sank after an explosion on board. U.S. propaganda immediately began blaming Spain for the explosion and in turn gathering support to declare war against them. Two months later Congress officially declared war on Spain despite there being no evidence they had a part in what happened to the ship, “Remember the Maine” posters began circulating quickly.

By the start of WWI in 1914 propaganda’s popularity had grown once again as fascists and communists used propaganda to extend their power and control their subjects. In the U.S. we started using propaganda to pit our citizens against the German Government and boost nationalism within the country to garner support for the troops. American propaganda throughout WWI and WWII mainly contained incentives to buy ward bonds, stamps, work in the factories, conserve food, and join the armed forces. However, even the U.S. has released distasteful propaganda specifically in WWII propaganda posters meant to persuade citizens to hate and fear the Japanese following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Propaganda is not a thing of the past. In 2003 Secretary of State Colin Powell asserted that Iraq had access to “weapons of mass destruction” 17 times within his one-hour speech at the United Nations. This led to the U.S. invasion of Iraq where we toppled the government and began searching for said “weapons of mass destruction” however, these weapons were nowhere to be found. In 2008 an artist created the infamous “Go tell mama, I'm for Obama!” posters which quickly circulated in the media and on social media. Some have attributed Barack Obama’s landslide win against John McCain in 2008 to this propaganda poster.

A more current example of propaganda is Russia, a nation who has released propaganda calling NATO a “threat” despite NATO’s main goal being to protect the freedoms of its members. The Kremlin has also recently claimed that Ukraine is using chemical agents against Russia. However, the only validated reports of chemical agents being used in the war have claimed Russia used chemical agents against the Ukraine. Finally, Russia offered Summer Camps to Ukrainian children affected by the war, these were advertised as places kids could go in order to escape the active conflict. However, these are indoctrination camps that provide false history and propaganda to these children.  

Privacy

 The actions of police departments discussed in Catherine Crump's Ted Talk shocked me to my core. There is absolutely no reason local police departments should be storing pictures of myself and my car along with the location, time, and date the picture was captured. This is not using automated license plate readers for police work, this is treating average civilians like criminals. While I support the use of the technology for its intended use: to catch criminals and stolen vehicles, I do not agree with or condone the actions Crump discussed. This is an issue that affects every single American and we must do something about it now before we end up in a complete surveillance state like China has. The Government needs to step in and place heavy regulations on when this technology and similar technology can be used by departments, what they can do with the information they get, what information can be stored, and for how long said information can be stored. This concerns me more than usual because we've just found out that China has been selling citizens' data from its mass surveillance system. In the past, we've been able to protect ourselves from invasive technology by using VPNs, having private accounts, not allowing apps to access our data, etc. However, this specific technology can only be avoided by those who don't have cars, and even then, you could still be captured in someone else's car or nearby it. 

So where do we, as Americans, draw the line? That's the tricky part. Everyone will have a different opinion on how much surveillance is too much surveillance but for me, when the Government is storing pictures of you every time you drive somewhere despite being a law-abiding citizen, that's too much surveillance. In my opinion, citizens should be surveilled only when they have raised suspicion in the past.  Reach out to your Congressmen and make sure your feelings towards this type of technology are known before it's too late.

Age of AI

 In the video we watched they discussed a Chinese technology company called Megvii. Megvii is a facial recognition software that uses AI to be able to recognize a face within 0.1 second. The use of Megvii in China has expanded to allow individuals to pay for groceries and goods with just their faces. Megvii even takes pictures of those who jaywalk, identifies them, and fines them for the act. While this seems like a helpful tool all Megvii is doing is aiding in the the implementation of mass surveillance. While mass surveillance can have its upsides in criminal cases and in issues of national security, in every other aspect is it a violation of privacy. Imagine a world where you can't step foot out your front door without having pictures taken of you on every street, that's exactly what is like to live in China right now. Not only are they taking pictures of you but Megvii has allowed them to almost instantly learn your identity. 

This frightens me because this technology in the hands of the wrong person could have detrimental effects. For example, say someone testifies against a drug lord and is then placed in witness protection but, the drug lord's friends gain access to similar or the same technology. Now that person in witness protection is in grave danger. In order for situations like this to not arise I think there should be heavy stipulations placed on what AI technology is given to the public and what remains only in the hands of the government for national security measures. 

A statement within the video that shocked me was the assertion that most fields at risk of elimination thanks to AI are predominantly female fields like Human Resources and Marketing. I found this so interesting because in my mind the first jobs that AI would take over would have been factory jobs, technological positions, and clerical work. Marketing and Human Resources both require a human element to succeed, humans know how to market to humans and humans know how to deal with humans. I think a way to combat job loss from AI would be to force corporations to pay hefty taxes on AI technology and robots in order to encourage keeping humans in the workplace. 

EOTO Reactions 2: Group 2

Group two’s presentation stood out to me as I felt like there was a lot of information pertinent to my generation specifically. I found what Maggie brought up about online echo chambers to be shocking. I had never thought about it but every single social media platform I have has an algorithm that tailors the posts I see to my interests. These algorithms have unintentionally created these online echo chambers by only showing us content similar to what we’ve interacted with in the past making it nearly impossible to see other viewpoints on social media. Having an open mind can be hard when the only information you’re getting is filled with comments and likes agreeing with your shared point of view. I think this has, in part, led to how stubborn of a generation we are. I will now make more of a conscious effort to seek out other viewpoints on important policies to make sure I do not remain trapped within an echo chamber.

Sasha from the same group taught me that as humans we are hard-wired for oral storytelling. Hence why podcasts have become one of the top sources of information and entertainment in the last decade. Podcasts can focus on an infinite number of topics which is why they’re so captivating and have become so popular. However, podcasts can be dangerous as there aren’t any FCC protocols for online mediums like podcasts, meaning you could accidentally consume harmful content when listening to a podcast.  Michelle went on to teach me that today social media platforms can be considered a part of mainstream media, which I was not yet aware of but I'm also not shocked by. As Michelle mentioned in her presentation, a large portion of our generation only receives news from social media which is not as bad as it used to be because large news platforms have now joined social media and provide reporting on apps like TikTok, X, Instagram, and more.

The section on Alternative Media was also very informative. While mainstream and alternative media can discuss the same topics, alternative media often tries to cover more obscure issues that wouldn’t be broadcast by CNN or FOX which can be an advantage. However, Alternative media is hard to determine to be reliable which is what makes it so much less popular than the mainstream here in the U.S.  

 

EOTO Reactions

    Prior to Group 2's presentation, I had no idea that before radio was invented, the only way to communicate from long distances was via the telegraph, a device that required special knowledge to use effectively. Today, Morse Code is almost extinct, only a few know and can translate it. However, when the telegraph was popular, if you wanted to communicate with someone from a long distance you would have to send a Telegram in Morse Code, the receiver would then translate the coded message into English to understand the information being sent to them. After about 100 years of popularity, the radio was invented and was able to replace the telegraph for long-distance communication. I also honestly, had never thought about how important radio is for police officers, firefighters, and EMTs even in today's majorly digital world. I had no knowledge of what DVD stood for, but after Josh's presentation, I now know DVD stands for digital versatile disc. 

    These presentations have allowed us, individuals who grew up in the day and age of streaming services and social media, to learn more about how we got to the point where we can stream movies and instantly upload images to our followers. As someone who has grown up with Google at her fingertips, I found the presentation on search engines by Group 3 to be extremely informational. Now, I know that the idea of the search engine came to be at McGill University in 1990 when 3 computer science students came up with the idea. That idea later blossomed into Google. Google has been huge for global connectivity, allowing individuals to share documents, ideas, and discoveries across the globe. Following the invention of Google, Safari, Apple's search engine was embedded into all iPhones. I also found Group 4's presentation on the printing press and how that triggered the production of the world's first true newspaper, The Oxford Gazette, to be very interesting.