Tuesday, January 14, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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AI-generated images of Trump being arrested spread on social media

Disinformation in the media

Published 22 March 2023
– By Editorial Staff
The dramatic images are generated with the AI engine "Midjourney v5".

Donald Trump has previously warned that he would be arrested soon. Now, however, fabricated images have been circulating on social media showing scenes of an arrest that has not yet taken place.

The fake images show what looks like New York Police Department officers holding Trump as he resists, and one image even shows Trump running away from the officers. A closer look at the images shows distorted text on the officers’ uniforms, along with distorted faces and hands. One image shows Trump wearing a police belt.

The fake posts include several images created by Eliot Higgins, founder and creative director of the Bellingcat research collective. Higgins shared the images on Twitter, but noted in a thread that they were created using Midjourney, a tool that uses generative AI to create images from a simple text instruction.

 

For several of the images, Higgins said he submitted the text instruction “Donald Trump falls over when he is arrested. Fibonacci spiral. News footage” to generate the images.

Some social media users then spread the images on other platforms without explaining that they were fabricated. At the same time the creation of the images receives criticism in social media.

“Why is someone creating such fake images when he might actually be arrested at this point in time? Is this a distraction from the actual danger the ex president is facing?”, a user writes.

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Mass formation – psychological warfare against the own population

Disinformation in the media

By injecting the perception of "existential crises" into people's already strained psyches via the mass media, so-called "mass formations" - collective psychoses - are induced.

Published 23 March 2024
– By Dan Ahlmark
Photo: cottonbro studio/Pexels
This is an opinion piece. The author is responsible for the views expressed in the article.

People in the West today are exposed to claims about global dangers that are manufactured and enforced for political reasons by international organisations in collaboration with member state governments. On the surface, these issues may seem credible. Climate alarmism is a case in point, but the most recent and perhaps most striking example is covid-19, where a disease that primarily affects the elderly was declared a pandemic that threatens everyone. Fittingly, the medical threshold for defining a pandemic had previously been lowered.

The general impact of covid was medically no greater than that of a more serious seasonal flu, but for its sake politicians in various countries completely changed life, closing schools and commercial activities, stopping some professional activities, which – despite public support – caused the destruction of many individual businesses, and so on. It simply changed the daily lives of virtually all age groups and severely damaged the economies of states for a disease that was generally not nearly as serious as claimed. And coercive measures were applied to populations, violating their personal integrity by demanding compulsory vaccination.

Opponents of this behaviour were subjected to severe harassment and persecution in the media, including social media; to contempt and action by frightened citizens (see below); and people in certain public service professions – or otherwise working for the public – could suffer severe consequences. This was much the same treatment that members of the Sweden Democrats faced when protesting against mass immigration less than a decade ago. The effects of the vaccines then turned out to be less important than natural immunity for many people. However, they also caused significant side effects and many deaths, the full significance of which is not yet clear.

A common feeling in the modern society is the apparent lack a meaningful existence

The underlying psychological conditions that were used to implement measures against covid are those that are the basis for the creation of collective psychosis. These are described in the theory of “mass formation” or “mass formation psychology”, which is ultimately based on emotions that a significant part of the population has or has been instilled with1. One of these is a widespread fear that can be whipped up, for example, by the mass media. But this reaction is linked to persistent underlying emotions that are said to have grown in importance and are now very important to many people. One is the consequence of too few social contacts, which for many leads to a feeling of loneliness. The other is another common feeling in modern society: the apparent lack a meaningful existence. For many people, life simply seems too empty, too meaningless. Media of all kinds also often have a negative bias and support this by preparing people to believe the worst. This contributes to a latent attitude of dissatisfaction and frustration, creating a tendency towards aggression that can easily flare up when an event occurs that really affects and frightens people. A virus that threatens humanity with mass death then fulfils this requirement.

However, in order for the above components to cause a mass psychosis and then maintain its power for a sufficiently long time, the government of the country (here in conjunction with the relevant international organisation) must use mass formation, i.e. mass formation psychology. This involves psychological operations (psy-ops) of the kind used in war against enemy populations. Such methods are now being used against their own people. They involve indoctrination by any means possible, using all the resources of the public sector, combined with media of all kinds and civil organisations, all channels delivering a narrow, powerful and consistent message. This consists of a description of a dangerous social crisis of the utmost importance, with major personal consequences for citizens. The description of the consequences of the crisis should be designed to immediately reinforce the fears of the population that have already been created by the media. Most importantly, the government had to present a solution to the crisis.

Covid-19 fit the bill. It was a (supposedly) brand-new virus that could infect at lightning speed and often appeared to cause death. All of this was playing out in China, where the outbreak began and dramatic countermeasures were taken. Whole cities were shut down, and healthy people seemed to suddenly just die, with no previous signs of illness.

The reaction to the perception of a rapid and widespread spread of a dangerous infection created a considerable amount of fear, which led people to be prepared to give the government even more power than the country’s constitution allowed. There was enormous peer pressure, and people wanted only effective countermeasures to prevent or stop the outbreak, event or process. And it was generally accepted that the measures taken by the state were coercive. No attention was paid to issues and considerations other than those related to the crisis. Harmful consequences of the measures taken were ignored. A long-term form of collective hypnosis had emerged2. And like all hypnosis, it means that people can be led in dangerous directions. People can become highly radicalised, and their private morality no longer plays the role it once did. So much depends on the management of the psychological operation. But in democracies, such tasks cannot be entrusted to politicians or anyone else.

To ensure the credibility of the threat and its effect on people’s psychology, mass formation requires supporting measures that can maintain the strength of this fear and peer pressure. This means that indoctrination must not be challenged by effective and credible sources of alternative information. Alternative explanations and views should not be allowed to emerge and disrupt the government’s message. While constitutions prevent many governments from taking effective censorship measures, the fact that the world’s media now appear so unified – and are controlled by a group of like-minded decision-makers – allows them to support the authorities without being constrained by laws. The media have pushed the message while, with few exceptions, maintaining censorship of alternative information.

Dissenting writers and oppositional views were not allowed to appear or were not published. In the past, the diversity of the media and the professional ethics of the sector made such behaviour impossible, but with the elimination of so many independent voices in the media landscape in favour of concentrated ownership with an international flavour, propaganda could now be pushed without the counter-arguments being widely disseminated.

So, for all the boasting about the multiplicity of channels and outlets for people’s opinions, public opinion has never been so silenced by those in power as it is today. This highlights something that needs to change in society, namely the danger of opinion formation being paralysed or monopolised in this way. When all the established parties in Sweden rallied behind the covid policy, there was no significant opposition in the media.

It is frightening that journalists are so beholden to politicians. There is only a small group of alternative media with limited reach. By using all possible channels, including those with high credibility such as medical ones, the fear was amplified and people’s anxiety and fear was directed towards supporting all measures prescribed by the authorities. This also created a new sense of social connectedness between people and gave many a common meaning to life (for a while). It also meant that people’s frustration was powerfully directed at those who opposed the measures or doubted parts of the authorities’ narrative. And for a long time, peer pressure did not allow for explicit changes in the majority’s thinking.

So what politicians and authorities have done with regard to covid is to apply a theory that allows the creation and maintenance of mass psychosis.

Very radical and objectively life-destroying measures can then be supported by the masses, even though they themselves will be severely affected. The current energy policy, which is a consequence of the theory of carbon-based global warming, is another similar example. Views on freedom and human rights are partly ignored. Mass formation is in fact a deliberate, government-induced distortion of people’s perception of reality. It is unacceptable that such methods are being used against Swedes in Sweden today.

The sequence of events is likely to be repeated in the future, and each time it is likely to be based on some perhaps misleading, but in any case probably completely exaggerated reason. Among other things, international bodies have suggested that pandemics will return – perhaps soon – and are now trying to take over the power to decide what action should be taken. The World Health Organisation (WHO) wants to decide when such a crisis is deemed to have occurred and what measures, such as the lockdown of countries, are required.

The current proposal could give the head of the WHO – a former minister in the Ethiopian dictatorship – the power to decide. The targets devised by the UN and the World Economic Forum can be achieved through various threats designed to induce mass psychosis. Carbon-based global warming was an early example. And much of this is done with the aim of forcing global decision-making in general and creating a world state.

 

Dan Ahlmark

 


 

Sources and References:

(1) Medium – What is Mass Formation?

(2) The Epoch Times – Mass Formation and the Danger of Technocracy

Danes largely unaware of US role in Wuhan research: Voxmeter poll

Disinformation in the media

  • The previously controversial and heavily censored Wuhan lab leak theory has gained more attention in the media and among the public.
  • It has long been concluded that the US government has funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan on genetically engineered coronaviruses with "enhanced pandemic potential".
  • Yet, according to a Voxmeter poll conducted in Denmark, few are still aware of the U.S. involvement in the now infamous lab.
  • Most Danes, however, think that the Danish press should write about the US involvement in the Wuhan lab.
Published 23 August 2023
– By Editorial Staff

Since 2014, the US has co-funded coronavirus trials at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China. However, only 15 percent of the Danish population is aware of the US involvement, according to a survey by Voxmeter research.

Since 2014, the US Department of Health and Human Services (NIH) has been funding coronavirus trials in Wuhan through Peter Daszak, CEO of the NGO EcoHealth Alliance. This type of gain-of-function research on SARS viruses (coronavirus family) was banned under the Obama administration from 2014 to December 2017, but the trials and funding continue to this day.

The goal of the research is to study the properties of the virus to better understand how such viruses can cause pandemics. One of the many NIH-funded research projects at the now infamous Wuhan lab involved the creation of a new, artificial coronavirus that did not exist in nature and could easily infect humans. This also resulted in a new genetically engineered virus with “enhanced pandemic potential”, meaning it could have a greater impact on the population than naturally occurring viruses.

A visualization of the SARS-CoV-2 virion.

It is not yet known whether this particular experiment, which was last funded in 2019 and was scheduled to run until 2024, directly led to the outbreak of covid-19.

Many interested, few aware

The issue has received little coverage in the Danish press. According to a survey conducted by Voxmeter Research, only 15 percent of respondents were aware of the US involvement in the laboratory.

At the same time, the same survey shows that the Danish population is generally interested in the Wuhan lab. As many as 77 percent believe that the Danish press should write about the US involvement in the Wuhan lab.

As many as 67 percent of respondents have heard that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Energy have made statements that it’s “likely” that the SARS-CoV-2 virus escaped from the lab.

About the survey

The survey was conducted as a telephone-based survey using Voxmeter's CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview) system among randomly selected respondents. Data is collected according to nationally representative quotas by gender, age group and region. The data collection was conducted between April 17th and April 23rd and data was collected from 1,000 representative respondents.

“Fact-checkers” call themselves independent while funding left-liberal politicians

Disinformation in the media

Published 18 June 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Joe Biden's Democratic Party is the fact-checkers' favorite.

The major “fact checkers” claim to be neutral and independent. However, a review shows that almost 100% of their political donations have gone to the Democratic Party and other left-leaning liberal groups.

The online magazine Free Beacon has reviewed the donations over the last four elections and notes that 22 580 of the 22 683 dollars it has been able to track have gone to the Democrats and other left-liberal groups – that’s 99.5%.

Left-leaning Senator and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders received ten times more money from fact-checkers over seven years than all Republican candidates combined.

“The findings contradict claims of neutrality by the leading fact-checking firms,” according to the Free Beacon.

Both the New York Times and Reuters claim to be impartial and balanced in their fact-checking – but the Free Beacon notes that they both have a long history of biased fact-checking of high-profile conservative figures.

In 2020, for example, the Times falsely accused Republican Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton of “flirting with conspiracy theorists” when he suggested that covid could have come from a Chinese laboratory – a view now supported by several US government agencies.

In turn, Facebook’s fact checkers chose to label a revelation that the Department of Health under Biden had distributed “safe” crack pipes to addicts as “disinformation” – in spite of the information being entirely accurate.

On several occasions, fact-checkers have also urged the public to react in different ways to political events. For example, when the Biden administration sold millions of barrels of oil to a Chinese company, the Washington Post’s fact checkers declared that this was “no cause for outrage” and that the action was perfectly fine.

The Free Beacon also notes that the number of “fact-checking” organizations has increased significantly since the 2016 election – and that politicized tech giants like Facebook and Google have spent millions of dollars on various “fact-checking initiatives”.

Notably, none of the “fact-checkers” will comment on why they only fund left-liberal political actors or what this means for their supposed impartiality.

Musk: Why is the media misrepresenting the issue of ethnic violence?

Disinformation in the media

Published 10 May 2023
– By Editorial Staff

Elon Musk, CEO of Twitter, questions why the US media is misrepresenting reality and making it appear that black people are being victimized by white perpetrators – when the reality is usually the opposite.

The image conveyed to the public by the media and politicians is usually that black people are subjected to violence by white people and that black people are victims and white people are perpetrators. However, the real situation is quite different and in the United States, according to available statistics, black people are much more likely to use violence against white people than vice versa.

Twitter’s CEO and owner Elon Musk is one of those who have drawn attention to how the media distorts reality, calling it “strange” and asking “why would the media misrepresent the real situation to such an extreme degree?”

Musk also comments on other Twitter posts related to statistics on ethnic violence, describing it as “interesting” that the media is four times more likely to mention the ethnicity of the killer if he or she is white compared to black.

Also, statistics showing that black men are more likely to murder other black men, while white men are more likely to kill themselves, are commented as “interesting” by Musk and he reacts to the fact that the New York Times and the Washington Post increased the use of terms such as “racist”, “racists” and “racism” by more than 700% and almost 1000% respectively between 2011 and 2019.

Left-liberal opinion makers and policymakers have always been very negative about Musk’s takeover of Twitter – one of the main reasons for this has been a stated concern for reduced censorship on the platform and greater freedom of expression for users.

Under previous ownership, posts and information highlighting black-on-white violence or criticizing issues such as multiculturalism, mass immigration, LGBT and feminism have often been labeled as “far-right” hate and often censored.