Propaganda Schemes Against Edward Snowden: The Wealth Of Information

A wealth of information constantly exists in the world around us and continues to be discovered and created as the sciences progress. In fact, it has been estimated that every two days we create as much information as we did from the dawn of civilization up until 2003. Along with this affluence of information it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between the different facets of data. Information can be divided into three main sections: knowledge, opinion and propaganda. Knowledge is most conventionally defined as a justified, true belief. An opinion is a view or judgment that is not necessarily based on scientifically proven facts. Propaganda is defined as biased information that is presented in a way to promote or publicize a certain cause. These three forms of information all have their uses and have proven to be dangerous in the
past. This poses the following question: to what degree are knowledge, propaganda and opinion interconnected and what hazards exist in not knowing the differences? Comprehension is necessary to eliminate any dangers that gullibility may pose. In the paragraphs below three different examples or artifacts of these three main sections of information are dissected in an attempt to further discern what the truth is.
The first artifact of this essay is an example of opinion in the form of the collective ideals of a group of people. The Westboro Baptist Church is a church known for its hateful, scientifically inaccurate and general uneducated ideals towards world matters. They believe that it is their duty to picket at soldiers their funerals and spread hateful sermons towards the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender (LGBT) community. Their odious statements are based on extremely literal interpretations of the bible. The criterion for being considered an opinion is that the information is purely based on belief rather than proven facts. This successfully marks the Westboro Baptist Church as a mere opinion. By understanding that these ideas set forward by this group are not actually based on legitimate facts, you are able to take everything that they say with a grain of salt. Their colorful signs and poorly-edited videos also contain a tint of propaganda, but that will be explained in more detail in the next paragraph.
Propaganda has existed in many forms throughout history and continues to alter people their perception of the outcome of events.
An example of this would be the United States’ propaganda schemes against Edward Snowden. The matter of Edward Snowden’s acts of whistleblowing has caused a great amount of controversy on an international basis. The United States is trying their best to defame and discredit Snowden by slamming him with multiple hypocritical charges such as espionage and treason. Propaganda exists under the criterion that it is designed to modify a person’s political views in a biased method. That is exactly what the U.S. government is doing. They are taking the heat off of their own failures and funneling their own wrongs onto Edward Snowden. Rather than directly addressing the arguments brought forward, representatives of the United States government are attempting to alter the commonwealth’s views on the issue by spreading biased slander. By knowing the effect that governments are trying to have on media and people, it becomes significantly easier for a logical thinker to form intelligent arguments on
issues.
People often claim that they possess some form of knowledge, but often the conclusion is formed that it is just an opinion or maybe even propaganda. Knowledge in its purest form is a justified, true belief. A personal form of knowledge that is cherished by many (including myself) is the ability to read. Reading serves as a platform for connecting all types of information. Reading is knowledge, because I have personally checked this ability to against other people. Additionally, I know that I am able to read because I had to be taught how to read and I have the ability to write an essay. Being able to read not only enlightens me as a member of my global society, but it further gives me the ability to read literature. To read literature is to experience a range of emotions and events as written by an author. This further reinforces the argument that reading gives people the ability to connect to other types of information.
It is incredibly important to understand how these facets of information are interconnected in order to be a functioning and independent citizen of the world. Misuse of these types of information has led to authoritarian dictatorships and even entire genocides. When dealing with an opinion or propaganda it is imperative to apply yourself and figure out for yourself if this is the actual truth or a person trying to sway you in their favor. Examples of this would be the Soviet Union’s Iron Curtain, the Westboro Baptist Church’s hateful ideals, North Korea’s anti-America campaigns and the United States’ defamation of Edward Snowden. Knowledge also exists in many forms such as the ability to do something. In the end, information is rooted in all aspects of our lives and it is our choice

Bibliography:
1. "Eric Schmidt: Every 2 Days We Create As Much Information As We Did Up To 2003." TechCrunch RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. .

2. "US Files Criminal Charges against NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden." The Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. .

3. "Westboro Baptist Church Home Page." Westboro Baptist Church Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. .