Misinformation: Anger for Hire
In his article Anger for Hire reprinted in Readers Digest, Michael Crowley says, " You can't always believe what you see -- especially if you're looking at political protests."
"It's hard to know who to trust these days, " he says. "When we see people staging protests we think, Wow! These folks are passionate about their cause -- otherwise, why would they stand in the rain for hours? But sometimes it's a sham: You and even your Congressman may have been set up by manipulative marketers who pay serious money to hire protesters.
"It's a sneaky trick. Let's say you want to stage a political rally, but you just can't find enough people for a good turnout. What you need are folks with lots of time on their hands, who can be persuaded to make a fuss over almost anything. Solution: Head down to a homeless shelter and dole out cash."
Jeff's take on "anger for hire": it generates blatant misinformation. An alert press should interview a random sampling of the protesters, which would quickly reveal that many have no ideas about the issues about which they are "protesting!"
"It's hard to know who to trust these days, " he says. "When we see people staging protests we think, Wow! These folks are passionate about their cause -- otherwise, why would they stand in the rain for hours? But sometimes it's a sham: You and even your Congressman may have been set up by manipulative marketers who pay serious money to hire protesters.
"It's a sneaky trick. Let's say you want to stage a political rally, but you just can't find enough people for a good turnout. What you need are folks with lots of time on their hands, who can be persuaded to make a fuss over almost anything. Solution: Head down to a homeless shelter and dole out cash."
Jeff's take on "anger for hire": it generates blatant misinformation. An alert press should interview a random sampling of the protesters, which would quickly reveal that many have no ideas about the issues about which they are "protesting!"
Labels: activism, causes, false advertising, government, misinformation, politics, protest, rally