How to brainwash. What is brainwashing? How does this affect our lives? Brainwashing, from the legal encyclopedia

The term "brainwashing" was coined by journalist Edward Hunter during the Korean War to describe the "re-education" technique the Chinese used on American prisoners of war. Since then, the concept has become associated with cults, which very often used a combination of psychological methods to keep their members in line. According to psychologist Margaret Singer, there are about 2.5 million people in the US who are members of brainwashing cults.

However, the idea of ​​brainwashing has always been controversial. Hunter was associated with the intelligence agency, so it has been suggested that the CIA popularized the term in order to explain to the citizens of the country the rapid growth of the popularity of communism at that time.

chants

Chanting is an integral part of many world religions. When people say the same words in unison, their voices merge into a choral chant, which creates a sense of unity and group identity inside. This, along with the known effects of singing (decrease in heart rate and relaxation), may lead to view the experience of group worship as something positive.

However, in cults, the constant repetition of short texts can intoxicate a person and put him into a trance state. Increased suggestibility is a hallmark of this condition.

Repeated and prolonged hypnotic inductions can influence a person's ability to make decisions and critically evaluate new information, and the prolonged lectures and chants used by most cults serve to alter consciousness.

Insulation

In 1977, Jim Jones and about 1,000 members of the Peoples Temple decided to move to an isolated community in Guyana. A 400-kilometer strip of jungle separated them from the US embassy in Georgetown (the capital of Guyana). Such isolation helped the followers of the "Temple of the Peoples" to distance themselves from the values ​​of the outside world. Jones took advantage of this to set up his own terrifying regimen. People who doubted Jones were put into a medically induced coma, scared with snakes, lowered into wells at night, and so on.

Isolation turned out to be an effective method of influencing the followers of the Temple of the Peoples cult. Since the members of the movement were far from home and were subjected to severe punishments for disobedience, they had no choice but to follow Jones' crazy logic, even if it caused them a feeling of dissatisfaction and discomfort.

Addiction and fear

The 1974 kidnapping of Patricia Hearst (granddaughter of William Randolph Hearst, an American billionaire and newspaper magnate) by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army is a classic example of addiction and fear brainwashing. Hearst quickly transitioned from a young socialite to a bank robber and became a member of a terrorist organization.

After the girl was kidnapped, she was locked in a room where she was physically and sexually abused. Members of the Symbionese Liberation Army had complete control over Hearst's life. Addiction to kidnappers led to the well-known Stockholm Syndrome. A few months later, Hearst was already an ideologically committed member of the organization and even took part in a bank robbery in San Francisco.

After Hearst was arrested, the prosecution refused to admit that she had been brainwashed. The girl was sentenced to seven years in prison. However, two years later, President Carter commuted her sentence on the basis of the "degrading treatment" she endured after her abduction.

activity pedagogy

How does the teacher encourage good behavior and conformity in his students? The answer often involves incorporating physical activity or sports into the learning process. After active play or running, tired children are less prone to arguing and causing problems. Realizing the essence of this phenomenon, the creators of some cults set out to involve their followers in tedious activities in order to be able to control them.

What distinguishes activity pedagogy and mere sport is that the regime or cult takes advantage of the heightened mood and sense of group identity that comes with physical activity.

Sleep deprivation and fatigue

The combination of sensory overload, disorientation, and sleep deprivation negatively affects our ability to make good decisions. Amway Corporation has been repeatedly accused of mistreating its distributors by depriving them of vacations during the weekend, during which they listen to lectures non-stop until the early hours of the morning, and loud music in accompaniment during short breaks. with flashing lights.

Cultists often combine sleep deprivation with special diets that contain reduced amounts of protein and other important nutrients. As a result, cult members always feel tired and unable to resist the dictates of cult ideology.

Criticism and self-criticism

During the Korean War, American soldiers captured by the Chinese were subjected to "criticism and self-criticism" sessions, during which they had to denounce their comrades, discuss their own mistakes, and express uncertainty about the effectiveness of capitalism in the United States. At first, the prisoners of war did not take these sessions seriously. However, over time, they began to really doubt their patriotism and the need for war.

Despite some limited success, the brainwashing methods used during the Korean War were generally not very effective. At the end of the war, only 23 American prisoners of war refused to be repatriated. The Chinese stopped using the method of criticism and self-criticism a year before the end of the Korean War.

Love bombardment

The essence of the "Love Bombing" method is that new or potential members of the cult are generously endowed with attention and care for some time. The term arose thanks to representatives of the religious movement "Children of God" and the "Unification Church".

We are talking about a banal social psychology, according to which we tend to reciprocate the kindness and nobility of others. The feigned love, support, and friendship shown to certain cult members is meant to create a sense of duty, guilt, and obligation.

People enter cults through a process of "defrosting and refreezing". During the thaw phase, the potential cult member begins to abandon their old beliefs and becomes open to new ideas. During the refreeze stage, the cult reinforces this new world view in him. Love bombardment is a key element of the refreeze phase - newcomers who embrace the cult's philosophy are rewarded with hugs and compliments.

mystical manipulation

Most cults rely on "mystical manipulation," which involves the cult leaders exercising control over circumstances or information to make it appear that they have supernatural wisdom, divine grace, or magical powers. In other words, religious leaders position themselves as sinless messengers of God, whose opinion is always true and correct, and support this through dizzying tricks and extreme contrivances.

George Rowden, one of the contenders for the role of the leader of the religious sect "Branch of David" (his rival was David Koresh), exhumed the corpse, which he wanted to bring back to life, to show his "necromantic abilities". He invited his rival to do the same, but Koresh reported him to the police.

The police asked for his convincing evidence. When Koresh, along with his cronies, tried to get into the building where Rodin kept the corpse, a shootout ensued.

Koresh himself attributed supernatural abilities to himself and proved them to his followers with the help of staged tricks.

Abuse of lawsuits

The power-obsessed regularly sue anyone who publicly criticizes them, no matter how trivial the criticism. Of course, they can afford to lose the case, while the average person filing a lawsuit is often insolvent. They are simply incapable of organizing an effective legal counterattack.

Moreover, most journalists are afraid to denounce cults because of the constant threat of legal action. In 2003, researcher Rick Ross managed to get his hands on excerpts from documents belonging to NXIVM, a self-improvement organization that is accused of cult activities. Ross circulated these passages online, for which he was sued. Employees who left NXIVM also faced a bunch of lawsuits.

Scientologists are also notorious for using baseless lawsuits as pressure on opponents. Ron Hubbard wrote in 1967, "Among the critics of Scientology, there is not a single person who does not have a criminal record." Lawsuits are used to silence critics.

The owners of the American cable and satellite television network HBO hired 160 lawyers to represent them if they were sued by Scientologists after the release of the 2015 documentary Delusion. The church, in turn, mounted a "hard" campaign against the people who starred in the film and director Alex Gibney.

Cliches that limit thinking

Modern Western society, through pop culture, resorts to "thinking-limiting clichés" in order to achieve power and complete control over people. Through these clichés, "the most serious and complex problems of man are turned into short, highly simplified, categorical phrases." Modern clichés simply limit human thinking.

In 1949, George Orwell wrote the novel 1984, in which a despotic government created Newspeak to stifle the ability to think otherwise. Modern society has developed a set of phrases, and uses them to primitive concepts and, accordingly, thinking.

To this day, the most famous example of clichés that limit thinking are the phrases that the Nazi official Adolf Eichmann spoke at the trial. In her famous book on Eichmann and the "banality of evil," the writer Hannah Arendt writes that the SS leader often used clichés and clichés in his speech. Eichmann repeated that he would like to "make peace with his former enemies." However, Arendt came to the conclusion that the phrase made no sense, since he did not understand the extent of his crimes at all. Arendt claims that during the war "German society, which consisted of eighty million people, was shielded from reality by self-deception, lies and stupidity."

The term "brainwashing" was first used in the 1950s by American journalist Edward Hunter, in his report on the treatment of American soldiers in Chinese prison camps during the Korean War. The brainwashing technique is documented in the Egyptian Book of the Dead and is still used today by abusive spouses and parents, self-proclaimed psychics, cult leaders, secret societies, revolutionaries and dictators to control and manipulate others in what would appear to be their own will. These methods do not involve fantastic weapons or extraordinary abilities, but they involve understanding the human psyche and intending to use it. By better learning these techniques, you will learn how to protect yourself and others from such exposure.

Steps

Part 1

Realize that those who attempt to brainwash tend to prey on the weak and defenseless. Not everyone will be a target for psychic control, but certain people are more susceptible to its forms at different times. A skilled manipulator knows who to look for and targets people who are going through a difficult period in their lives or are undergoing changes that may or may not be their own choice. Possible candidates include:

Beware of those people who try to isolate you or those you know from outside influences. Since people experiencing personal tragedy or other major life changes tend to feel lonely, the brainwasher will work to increase this feeling. This isolation can take several forms.

• For young cult followers, this can be an obstacle in communicating with their friends and family members.
• For a loved one in an abusive relationship, this may mean that the victim of the scam will not be allowed to be out of the aggressor's line of sight or interact with family and friends.
• For prisoners in enemy prison camps, this may involve isolating the prisoners from one another, while simultaneously exposing them to covert or overt forms of abuse.

1. Watch out for attacks on the target's self-image. Brainwashing only works when the brainwasher is in a position superior to the target. This means that the victim must be broken so that the brainwasher can reshape the victim's mindset. This can be done through mental, emotional, or ultimately physical means over time to mentally and emotionally wear down the victim.

   • Mental bullying can begin with lying to the target and then progress to embarrassing and intimidating the victim. This form of bullying can be carried out with words or gestures, ranging from expressing disapproval to intrusion into the victim's personal space.
   • Emotional bullying is not a type, of course, but it can start as verbal abuse, then progress to bullying, spitting, or more degrading things like stripping the victim to take a picture or just look at them.
   • Physical abuse can include starvation, freezing, sleep deprivation, beatings, mutilation, and other socially unacceptable methods... Physical abuse is widely used by abusive parents and spouses, as well as in prison "re-education" camps.

2. Watch out for those who are trying to make being "part of a group" more attractive than being in the outside world. Along with overcoming victim resistance, it is important to provide a more attractive alternative to what the target knew prior to contact with the brainwasher. This can be done through several methods:

   Be aware that oftentimes, brainwashers offer rewards for the victim's "conversion."» Once the victim is completely broken and becomes servile, he or she can be retrained. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years, depending on the circumstances of the brainwashing.

   Recognize new ways of thinking in the victim's brain. Much of the retraining consists of the same reward and punishment conditioning techniques that were used in the beginning to break the victim. Positive sensations are now used to reward the victim for thinking the way the brainwasher wishes, while negative sensations are used to punish the last vestige of defiance.

   Wash and repeat. While brainwashing can be effective and thorough, most people who do it find it necessary to test the depth of their control over subjects. Control can be tested in several ways, depending on the goals of the brainwasher, and the results of determining how much an increase in the unconditioned reflex in the victim needs to be brainwashed.

   Part 2

   identifying those who have been brainwashed

   Part 3

   clearing the minds of those who have been brainwashed

   1. Warn the target of suggestion that he or she is being brainwashed. The execution of this plan is often accompanied by denial and mental anguish, as the subject begins to ask questions without having had any practice in interrogation. Gradually, the subject should become aware of how he or she has been manipulated.

      Present to the subject those ideas that are contrary to the brainwashing. Presenting multiple options without overwhelming the subject with too many options will provide the subject with a new, broader perspective from which to challenge the beliefs implanted by the brainwasher.

I always remember the advice of Bulgakov's professor Preobrazhensky: "Don't read Soviet newspapers before dinner" - and I follow it to the best of my ability, primarily in relation to our TV. But when I was working on this material, I still had to take a fair dose of "poison" in order to understand the methods and techniques that modern media use to shape public opinion. All these techniques are based on the laws of the functioning of the human psyche. I tried to analyze and systematize them. Of course, everyone will be able to supplement my list with their own observations.

distraction

How does a gypsy distract attention? First, a meaningless phrase: “Don’t tell me how to get through ...” Then a sharp change in topic, intonation: “Oh, girl, I can see by your face that you will have two coffins in your family!”, “Oh, sufferer, your husband cheats, and you know the lovebird. Changing the topic throws the victim into confusion, the ability to think is turned off, the subconscious reacts to "dead words". We are paralyzed by sticky fear, our hearts are pounding, our legs give way.

For propaganda, as for any other kind of manipulation, it is important to suppress the psychological resistance to suggestion. If, at the time of transmission of the message, the attention of the addressee is diverted from its content, then it is difficult to comprehend it and find counterarguments. And counterarguments are the basis of resistance to suggestion.

In what ways are our attention diverted?

Information kaleidoscope. TV shows are usually built like this: short stories replace one another, interspersed with announcements, advertisements, frames flash, a line with additional news runs at the bottom. At the same time, important information is diluted with rumors from the life of celebrities, from the world of fashion, etc. In ten minutes of viewing, so many images flash before our eyes that it is impossible to concentrate on anything. This kaleidoscope of disparate information, which we are not able to comprehend and process, is perceived as a whole. Our attention is scattered, criticality is reduced - and we are open to any "garbage".

Crushing the topic. If information needs to be introduced into consciousness without causing resistance, it is divided into parts - then it becomes more difficult to comprehend the whole. It seems that everyone reported - one earlier, the other later, but in such a way that it is difficult to concentrate and understand what really happened.

Sensationalism and urgency. Often in news programs we hear: “Sensation!”, “Urgent!”, “Exclusive!”. The urgency of the message is usually false, far-fetched, but the goal is achieved - attention is diverted. Although the sensation itself is not worth a damn: an elephant gave birth in a zoo, a scandal in the family of a politician, Angelina Jolie had an operation, etc. Such “sensations” are a reason to keep silent about important things that the public does not need to know about.

When we are bombarded with "urgent", "sensational" news, informational noise, passions and nervousness reduce our criticality, and we become more suggestible. Our brain works at high speed, it increasingly turns on the "autopilot", and we begin to think in stereotypes, ready-made formulas.

Focus on the secondary. It is also very easy to distract us from exciting social problems. The announcer will talk about the new law, which will lead to a serious decrease in the standard of living, as if it were something of no particular importance - it's like breaking the news in a small circulation newspaper, and even printing it in small print. But arguments about a ban on the import of lacy underwear or the story of a giraffe that was fed to lions in a Danish zoo will be washed out by all media.

The illusion of certainty

The strongest emotional response creates a sense of authenticity of events. We plunge into a different reality, not suspecting that this may be a cheap reception, staging, editing.

Presence effect. The film "Apocalypse Now" shows how news stories are filmed. "Run without looking back, as if you were at war!" the director demands. And people run, bend down, noise, explosions, everything is as it really is. Of course, there is honest journalism, and reporters often risk their lives, but such tricks are not uncommon, especially when it comes to propaganda.

"Eyewitnesses of events". Eyewitnesses in the news are not much different from eyewitnesses in advertising. Here is a young woman, stammering, with ostentatious uncertainty, tells how her son, playing football, soiled his T-shirt, and she washed it. In the news, supposedly random people are interviewed, and from their words a semantic and emotional series is formed, which must be introduced into our consciousness. The strongest impression is made by crying old people, children, young invalids.

In October 1990, the world media spread the news: according to a 15-year-old Kuwaiti girl, Iraqi soldiers pulled babies out of the maternity hospital and threw them on the cold floor to die - the girl saw it with her own eyes. The girl's name was withheld for security reasons. During the 40 days before the invasion of Iraq, President Bush repeatedly recalled this story, and the US Senate, when discussing future military action, also referred to this fact. Later it turned out that the girl was the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States, and the rest of the "witnesses" were prepared by the Hill & Knowlton PR agency. But when the troops were already brought in, no one cared about the truth.

anonymous authority. His name is not given, the documents quoted are not shown - it is assumed that references to authority add credibility. “Scientists, on the basis of many years of research, have established ...” - which scientists? "Doctors recommend toothpaste ..." - what kind of doctor? "A source from the president's inner circle, who wished to remain anonymous, reports...", etc. Such information is most often pure propaganda or hidden advertising, but the source is unknown, and journalists are not responsible for the lies.

halo effect. Popular people - actors, athletes, musicians - often become "agents of influence": they convince fans of what they themselves do not really understand. They are skillfully used by politicians and advertisers, because it is known that if a person is an authority for us in one thing, then we are ready to believe him in another.

substitution

One of the most important brainwashing techniques is the substitution of one fact or phenomenon for another, often with a completely opposite sign. Moreover, this is done imperceptibly to the viewer or listener.

Create associations. The essence of the reception is to tie a certain object to what the mass consciousness perceives as unequivocally bad or good. One side says: fascists. Other: terrorists. Such metaphors enable associative thinking and save our intellectual effort. We are being driven into yet another propaganda trap. And so, instead of comprehending the essence of the problem, we cling to these associations, false analogies and metaphors. This is how our brain is arranged: at every opportunity it tries not to do unnecessary work.

In fact, associations and metaphors rarely clarify the essence of the matter. For example, we are told: "Putin is like Peter the Great." We are hinted that we know what the times of Peter and the results of his activities really were. “Ah, well, I understand,” we agree, although in fact we don’t understand anything.

When information is associated with known facts, phenomena, people whom we perceive positively, a positive emotional transfer occurs. How is it in advertising? Here is a clearly successful person driving a car - if we have the same one, we will also achieve success.

Often messages are supported by a video sequence. For example, they tell us something, and on the screen - Hitler, the Nazis, the swastika, everything that causes fear and disgust in us. The information itself has nothing to do with German Nazism, but in our minds one has already grappled with the other.

A conditioned reflex connection is also used. Say, one event (a person, a product) is presented as good, another as bad. When they talk about good things, the background is an optimistic, pleasant melody that we all love. If they show “bad”, disturbing music sounds and sad faces flash. Everything: the conditioned reflex circuit is closed.

Change of sign. The main purpose of the reception is to call black white and white black, change “plus” to “minus” or vice versa. You can "recolor" any events, call pogroms protest demonstrations, bandits - freedom fighters, mercenaries - volunteers.

The propagandists of the Third Reich were especially successful in this field: the Gestapo did not arrest citizens, but "subjected to preliminary detention", the Jews were not robbed, but took their property "under reliable protection", the invasion of Poland in 1939 was a "police action". Soviet tanks in Czechoslovakia and Hungary "restored constitutional order." Karel Capek was ironic about this: "The enemy treacherously attacked our planes, peacefully bombing his cities."

Direct falsification. In order to create the necessary moods in society, the desired is presented as reality. For example, the news reports that "in the opposition camp, confusion and vacillation", "demand for prestigious offices in the center exceeds supply." And since the majority thinks in stereotypes - "since everyone is talking about it, then it is the way it is." In fact, the "facts" are taken from the ceiling.

In elections, we are often guided by sociological ratings: we want to vote for the strong, not for the weak. If the average citizen, who strives to be “like everyone else”, creates the feeling that he is in the minority, he will vote for the one with whom the majority is. Therefore, by announcing falsified data on a candidate's high rating on the eve of the elections, one can actually increase the number of votes cast for him.

Figures, graphs generally make us believe what we are told: wrinkles disappear by 90%, complexion improves by 30%, the number of people supporting such and such a politician has doubled.

Repetition

If we repeat the same thought in simple phrases, we get used to it and begin to consider it our own. What we remember always seems convincing to us, even if the memorization occurred during the mechanical repetition of a commercial or an annoying song. Before the April 1993 referendum, all you could hear on radio and TV was: “Yes, yes, no, yes.” Came to vote. How to answer? Yes, yes, no, yes. Everything, no questions. And today, many will remember this “slogan”, but few will say for what or against what these “Yes, yes, no, yes” were.

Why do such "miracles" happen? Repetition effectively affects the poorly controlled subconscious and leads to the unconscious assimilation of other people's formulations, thoughts, ideas and views.

Goebbels, the famous brainwashing virtuoso, said: “The masses name the true information that is most familiar. Ordinary people are usually much more primitive than we imagine ... The most outstanding results ... will be achieved by those who are able to reduce problems to the simplest words and expressions and who have the courage to constantly repeat them in this simplified form, despite the objections of highbrow intellectuals.

In the 1980s, political psychologists Donald Kinder and Shanto Iyengar conducted an experiment. They edited the evening news in such a way as to focus the viewers' attention on one issue, and the rest went in the background. So, the first group of subjects was told every day about the weakness of American defense, the second was frightened by bad ecology, the third - by growing inflation. As a result, a week later, most of the participants in the experiment were convinced that the problem that was emphasized in “their” news should be addressed by the country in the first place, and they evaluated the current US president by how he copes with it.

It turns out that the manipulator does not need to fight with the ideas of the enemy, it is enough to tirelessly repeat the necessary formulations.

People are being brainwashed all the time – this is happening now, this is how it was a hundred years ago. There have always been cunning manipulators who managed to use all possible psychological mechanisms to shake the mind, move them to certain actions, or implant specific beliefs in the minds of other people.

The term "brainwashing" was first used in the early 1950s. American journalist Edward Hunter to translate Chinese colloquialism hsi nao(literally it means "brainwash"). This expression was quoted by Hunter at the suggestion of his Chinese consultants, who described its use after the communist takeover. The publication of the book (1951) by E. Hunter "Brainwashing in Red China" contributed to the spread of the expression.

Learn the basics of brainwashing just to stop others from manipulating your mind. Forewarned is forearmed.

So here's how it works:

1. Insulation

Brainwashing can only be effective against an isolated subject who receives little (or no) information from the outside, which is why brainwashing is possible only in a controlled society.

2. Scanning

There is a reason why chiefs use chant. Get people to repeat a simple slogan over and over. It will drown out their inner thoughts and bring yours to the fore.

3. Imitation

Imitation is the real form of brainwashing. Repeat the last words the person said and he will be more open to you and your suggestions.

4. We are together

Find the enemy and show that he is against "us". “Us” versus “them” is a great scheme that evokes strong emotions such as hatred and loyalty.

5. Illusion of choice

Give them a choice, but make sure the outcome is the same either way. The key to success is making them think they have a choice, even if they don't. You will see whichever option they choose, they will be more confident in it and more willing to take on its implementation.

6. Repetition

Repeat a statement or thought to sound more persuasive. Repeat a statement or thought to sound more persuasive.

7. Maximalism

Describe everything exclusively in black or white. This is good, this is bad. This is up, this is down. People who do not recognize halftones are easier to convince to execute the order immediately, without unnecessary thought.

8. Fear

Make people believe they are in danger and save them from that danger. Provide security and shelter, or offer to eliminate the source of danger. Some scammers, for example, will tell their victims that they have been corrupted, so luck has turned away from them. Then they will offer to remove the damage for a small fee.

9. Use logic

Justify each request. Don't ask to borrow a car. Ask to borrow a car so you can get to the pharmacy. If you have a reason for asking, it sounds logical. Even a strange request can be fulfilled if your words are full of logic.

10. Control information

Provide information sparingly, quickly, and in small chunks. After a while, everything you say will sound significant, desirable, like the ultimate truth.

But this prison brainwashing program was described by Dr. Shane of the University of Massachusetts, who initially focused on influencing people, and then switched to corporate culture and team building. I don’t know how familiar the domestic jailers are with the developments of American scientists, but they actively use many of the methods described in their practice. And very successfully.
This, of course, does not reduce the level of crime, but the goal of our penitentiary system is not to eliminate crime, but to gain control over it.

Translation from German is mine.

So, Dr. Shane's 24 Points:

1. Prisoners are placed in a place that must be sufficiently isolated from the outside world. Close emotional ties must be severed or at least weakened.
2. Natural leaders must be eliminated.
3. Collaborating prisoners are used as leaders.
4. Any group activity that does not resonate with brainwashing purposes is prohibited.
5. The names of the prisoners are written into false explanatory notes and denunciations, which are later shown to others.
6. Prisoners are monitored, the information collected is passed on.
7. Opportunists and informers are used.
8. Prisoners should be convinced that they should not trust anyone.
9. Prisoners who agree to interact should be treated more leniently than those who refuse.
10. Punish those who, by their behavior, oppose cooperation.
11. Mail should be systematically delayed and restricted.
12. Contact of prisoners with those who do not agree with the methods of re-education and control should be prevented.
13. Eliminate all intra-group norms among prisoners.
14. Prisoners must perceive themselves as an isolated group, rejected by society.
15. Any emotional support must be destroyed.
16. Prisoners should not write to relatives or friends about living conditions in the correctional facility.
17. Access to books and press should be allowed, but only materials that form the desired new behavior should be allowed.
18. You need to put individuals in new and ambiguous situations, the way out of which is unclear, and then put pressure on them so that they, trying to get away from this pressure, get a break or advantages, choose a strategy of behavior that is beneficial to you.
19. Individuals whose will has been repeatedly weakened or broken should be confronted with other prisoners who, in one way or another, have already adjusted to the regime. Their task is to further destroy the individual's emotional defenses.
20. Techniques are used to weaken the character, such as: humiliation, slander, screaming (to cause guilt, fear and, as a result, greater compliance). They are used in conjunction with sleep deprivation, extra-strict detention, and repetitive interrogations.
21. Attempts to insincerely pretend to succumb to the pressure of the environment must be met with even greater hostility.
22. Constantly indicate to prisoners through their cellmates that neither in the past nor in the present they lived in harmony even with their own system of values.
23. Through reducing pressure and recognizing the human dignity of prisoners, obedient conduct consistent with the goals of brainwashing should be encouraged.
24. Social and emotional support must be created to encourage the new behavior.

Paradoxical brainwashing methods used by the media and described by the world famous philosopher Noam Chomsky

Avram Noam Chomsky - philosopher, analyst, writer,
clever ... In a word, a rare type of person in today's circles
managers of media corporations and apparatuses
governments forming
public opinion.

He is disliked by US officials for his merciless criticism of the "way of life". Just one quote: “Why doesn’t anyone notice that the Americans use the names of the victims of the genocide in the names of military equipment “Apache”, “Comanche” ... I think if the Luftwaffe called military helicopters “Jew” or “Gypsy”, people would notice.”

He described Barack Obama as a man without stable moral guidelines at the very peak of the popularity of the first black president of the United States.

Paradox! Zionist Chomsky (he considers himself such) is not very favored in Israel and reproached for anti-Semitism. The philosopher does not identify the promised land with the Jewish state and evaluates its current policy extremely negatively. I think that in Ukraine, where Chomsky's father William was born and raised, he would not have come to court either. The intellectual temperament of the 84-year-old scientist is too great, directed against any form of oppression of the individual.

Without Chomsky's brilliant analysis and his ability to bring disparate facts into a system of conclusions, the picture of the world in our eyes would look blurry. Thinking people and especially journalists need it. The "Ten Strategies for Media Manipulation" outlined by a linguist, I would introduce into the curriculum of a professional school. However, it is interesting for every person to know what and how they put into his consciousness. Meticulously evaluating food for the stomach, we are sometimes completely indifferent to ersatz prepared for brainwashing. They have been around for many years, but only today we have begun to understand the essence of global transformations in post-Soviet society. The authorities are trying to use communication channels to their advantage not only in Ukraine. But in our country, attempts at manipulation look particularly overt and clumsy.

Apparently, this is due to the general intellectual level of management and the equal distance of the elites from European and Russian media management practices.

Here are 10 strategies and ways the media use to brainwash:

1. SWITCH ATTENTION TO THE SECONDARY

Divert public attention from pressing social problems, switching it to topics of no real importance. So that citizens, like children, daily find another fun under their pillows that occupies the mind and time.

There are more than enough lollipops for electoral sucking: crimes, catastrophes, topics that concern everyone like language or territorial differences. Everything that suits the authorities at the moment is suitable.

2. CREATE THE PROBLEM YOURSELF AND TAKE SOLVE IT YOURSELF

Initially, a situation is formed or develops on its own that impedes the development of society. The media then bring the issue to the forefront of discussion. When discussions have heated up, politicians and managers offer solutions to this problem. Their participation in the hub that is relevant for the country increases the ratings and support of the population.

Programs and ways to combat corruption have been actively discussed by the media for 15 years. The phenomenon has reached enormous proportions due to the fault of the state apparatus, but is regarded as a natural disaster, behind which there is no specific fault of leaders and politicians. Many figures rose on the wave of anti-corruption, but corruption itself did not decrease from that.

3. GRADUALLY TRAIN ADVERSE

A tried and tested method of preparing society for the perception of unpopular measures. Day after day, year after year, the media talk about the problem of interest to the supreme power. And society develops a habit of calmly reacting to projects that are unprofitable for itself: minimizing the functions of the state, the methods and nature of privatization, mass unemployment, wage levels that are not capable of providing a decent life.

An illustrative case with tax and pension reform. When the government was in a hurry to introduce bills that were unfavorable to society, the situation almost got out of control. The error was corrected by moving to gradual measures. The same result was achieved over a longer time period.

4. DELAY AND GIVE HOPE

Presenting unpopular measures as painful, but necessary, the authorities offer the society their phased application. It is easier for people to accept sacrifices in the future than in the present. And they do not lose hope - suddenly everything will change for the better. People do not know when the gloomy “tomorrow” will come, and journalists do not try to assess the future consequences.

The edifice of many reforms is being built on pent-up demand, for example, the pension reform, the results of which the society will fully experience in a few years. 14 million pensioners still hope to receive from the state a level of security above the subsistence level.

5. TREAT SOCIETY LIKE CHILDREN

Most propaganda speeches intended for the general public use arguments, characters, intonations, words that are understandable even to small children or people with mental retardation. The infantilism of speech turns is not accidental. If you are spoken to in such a language, then you also unwittingly lower the level of your answers or objections, as if you were actually 12 years old.

The rule of communicating polemical vessels can be seen and heard in almost every discussion TV show and public speeches by politicians of all levels. In Ukraine, it is aggravated by poor knowledge of the language and a small vocabulary of ministers and top officials of the country.

6. GENERATE EMOTIONS BUT STOP THOUGHTS

Influencing emotions is a classic technique for blocking people's ability to rational analysis. A short circuit, as Chomsky calls it, deprives a person of the possibility of critical reflection on what is happening. On the other hand, stimulating emotional stimuli allows you to penetrate into the subconscious, and thus, it is easier to introduce fears, desires, fears.

The programs and rhetoric of politicians are full of words about patriotism, love for people and nature. A lot of calls for goodness, selflessness, etc. are proclaimed. At the same time, a huge number of warnings are heard about the inevitable collapse of the state, the implacability of the people of East and West. Emotional provocations are planned at the headquarters of political parties, such as the overthrow of monuments, defamation of opponents and other trolling, forcing the enemy to swallow the opponent's spinner. Usually these news occupy the main pages of websites and newspapers. At the same time, serious analysis of events is shifting from the front pages and prime time, as it does not arouse the interest of the majority.

7. KEEP IN IGNORANCE AND CULTIVATE GRAND

Poor education, ignorance and mediocrity are powerful tools in the hands of the media. Submission to one's will is much easier when obedient material is in the hands. "The quality of education given to the lower social classes must be mediocre and meager, so that the ignorance that separates the lower social classes from the higher ones serves as a dividing barrier."

Chomsky calls it the silent weapon of the ruling elites. The point is not only in the substitution of specialists and analysts by "representatives of the people", but also in the destruction of the education system in the country. While politicians are fighting for their own, the next generation is being grown in the laboratories of the educational sphere. In the minds of the future electorate, humanitarian values ​​are replaced by technical ones, and their social purpose is reduced to the ability to earn a living.

8. LOVE MEDIUM

While readers and viewers wonder why there is so much stupidity, vulgarity and rudeness in society, these qualities become the criteria for selecting people for social elevators. Intellectuals are not needed by systems designed to fulfill the will of the top.

The press is actively involved in popularizing brainless people for many reasons. Because some pay, others encourage, others get in line. It is profitable to interview gray politicians. They are always open for meetings and are not too lazy to repeat the common truth for the hundredth time.

9. REINFORCING YOUR OWN GUILTY

Psychotherapists know that guilt is a hook that can easily hook even the strongest personality. The one who owns the gaff, like a rafter, directs the masses of logs into the desired stream. If the media makes a person believe in his own guilt about all the misfortunes around him, then it is easier to distract him from the struggle for economic and political rights. Self-abasement leads to apathy and inaction.

You failed the Orange Revolution, which means that you are not able to change society, and any protests are meaningless. The revolution does not solve anything. The history of the country is the history of defeats in which the Ukrainians themselves are to blame. Are not these words you hear from those who intend to constantly control each of us?

10. KNOW MORE ABOUT PEOPLE THAN THEY KNOW ABOUT THESELF

Thanks to the achievements of science and modern technologies, the media have at their disposal such knowledge about society that allows them to anticipate and anticipate the trends and reactions of society. The media have a huge information resource and are able to control people to a greater extent than they themselves.

For every citizen of the country, when performing simple everyday operations: buying goods, registering property, loans, exchanging documents, the system imposes a thousand ways to leave as much information about yourself as possible. By summarizing and systematizing it, you can get a powerful tool to influence a person.

It is vain to believe that all ten strategies are planned and implemented by certain people, a kind of Masonic lodge in power. Professor Noam Chomsky has collected only a set of tools used in modern politics. Something like a hammer, saw and pliers that can do different jobs, but at a primitive level.