Breaking Down War Propaganda
CNN reports on an imagined scenario of what boogeyman Vladimir Putin could do as if it's based in reality
The corporate media is giving us a textbook example of how “national security” reporting happens in their latest story about how evil Russian president Vladimir Putin is. From the CNN division of Imperial Washington’s propaganda bureau:
Recent US intelligence assessments indicate Russian President Vladimir Putin could try to test NATO’s resolve by launching a limited attack on an allied country within the next few years, according to three sources familiar with those reports.
The intelligence assessments outline several possible scenarios for Russian escalation, ranging from a cyberattack to a small-scale incursion intended to challenge NATO’s unity and commitment to Article 5, which states that an attack on one member is an attack on all, without necessarily crossing the threshold for an allied response, the sources said.
While how and when Putin might do so remains an open question, one of the sources said he is most likely to escalate in some way by targeting the Baltics or Poland. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the recent assessments.
US and NATO officials believe Putin may choose to escalate against NATO if he is unable to secure a face-saving off-ramp to the war with Ukraine, the sources added, noting the Russian president’s window for choosing his next course of action spans between now and the next few years.
How this works is the security state leaks a scenario that they’ve imagined to favored “reporters” with the corporate media, who can then report the imaginary scenario to the public while claiming that they have a “source.” Then, when pressed for any actual evidence, the security state officials can hide behind vague non-denials and claim that everything is classified1. In other words, they can say whatever they want, the corporate media will regurgitate it to the public with feigned solemnity, and neither group has to actually prove anything and will never be held accountable when the imagined scenario never happens.
War propaganda is effective, but it’s not complicated.
“Martin O’Donnell, a senior NATO military spokesperson, declined to comment on classified intelligence assessments but said NATO is “always thinking through and preparing for any number of scenarios.””