Back in the 60’s I totally believed the war in Vietnam was essential to preserving the “free world”. The free world, of course, were all the democratic nations. The communists were coming to get us and take away our hard-earned freedom. Of course I pretty much believed everything the government told me back then.
I was high school age the first time I became aware of national propaganda. I was working on getting my Ham Radio license. I built a Knight Kit Star Roamer shortwave receiver and installed a long-line dipole antenna on the roof. Between studying the FCC rules and practicing Morse code, I enjoyed tuning in shortwave radio stations from around the world. I listened to most of the English-speaking stations around the world, but stations concerned with the war were the most interesting at the time. I regularly listened to two stations for war news, Voice of America and Radio Havana.
Listening to these two stations quickly dissolved my naivety that all news was reported accurately. Voice of America claimed the US was winning the war with major enemy casualties and very few of ours while Radio Havana reported exactly the opposite. Asking my Dad about this resulted in an interesting explanation of why and how propaganda works. I never took the news at face value again. Even news sources doing their best to report the news accurately are at the mercy of the government press releases for a lot of information. So governments are spinning the news.
Breaking free from government propaganda is challenging, but many people have done so through a mix of critical thinking, exposure to alternative perspectives, and historical awareness. Here are some of the key ways people have learned to recognize and resist propaganda:
Understanding How Propaganda Works
People who study history and psychology recognize patterns of propaganda used in the past, like fear-mongering, scapegoating, appeals to nationalism, and repetition. Recognizing these logical fallacies (straw man arguments, false dilemmas, personal attacks) helps people see when they’re being manipulated. Advanced college degrees are not needed to understand the basic concepts. These are not difficult concepts to learn and train yourself to spot.
Exposure to Diverse Information Sources
Those who escape propaganda often start by seeking out alternative viewpoints like reading news from international sources, listening to dissident voices, or accessing independent media. The hard part is finding news sources without a political bias. When in doubt, ask ChatGPT.
The Internet has helped, but in authoritarian countries, people have to use VPNs, encrypted messaging, and dark web resources to bypass government censorship.
Personal Experience vs. Official Narratives
Many people start questioning propaganda when their real-life experiences don’t match what they’ve been told. Soviet citizens in the 1980s were told they lived in a utopia, but they saw breadlines, corruption, and shortages firsthand. The availability of satellite TV increased their awareness of the rest of the world. Teenagers and young adults tore down the Berlin wall, not Ronald Reagan who took credit for it! Iraq War veterans came home and spoke out when they realized the reasons for the war were exaggerated or false.
Firsthand contact with “enemies” often changes perspectives. Soldiers, travelers, or refugees often realize that the people they were taught to fear are just like them.
Studying History and Past Lies
Seeing how governments have lied before helps people recognize when it’s happening again. Here’s some good examples:
Gulf of Tonkin Incident (Vietnam War) – The U.S. falsely claimed an attack to justify war.
Weapons of Mass Destruction (Iraq War) – No WMDs were found, despite claims.
Soviet Lies about Chernobyl – The USSR downplayed the nuclear disaster for days.
Stopping NATO Aggression (Ukraine War) – Putin masking efforts to expand the Russian empire.
Climate change denial (oil companies) – Deniers claim this change is naturally occurring and has happened many times in the past. This is overwhelmingly false. Past climate shifts took thousands to millions of years while today’s warming is happening in decades, making it much harder for ecosystems and human societies to adapt.
Once people see how easily the truth gets manipulated, they question present-day narratives more critically.
Conversations and Underground Movements
Dissent spreads through private discussions, underground literature, and social media. In authoritarian regimes, people share banned books, listen to foreign radio stations (like Radio Free Europe in the Cold War), and circulate illegal self-published texts. Today, leaked information (e.g., Wikileaks, whistleblowers) plays a big role in breaking official narratives.
Asking: “Who Benefits?”
Many people break free by simply asking “Who profits from this?” For example:
War – Military contractors, politicians seeking power, resource-hungry corporations.
Fear – Justifies government control, new laws, or tax increases.
Division – Prevents people from uniting against their real oppressors.
Breaking Free is Hard but Possible
Governments use harsh penalties to keep people from questioning the narrative. Whistle-blowers get jailed, journalists disappear, and dissenters are silenced. Yet, people still resist, from Soviet defectors to Chinese dissidents to American war protesters. Still, you don’t need to break the law to have a meaningful impact.
I was drafted for Vietnam. Fortunately, the war ended before I was due to go to Nam, but too many others were not so lucky. At that time, most of us in the military realized the war was a government sham. The government spent way too much time trying to cover it up and needless lives were lost. That is the worst consequence of propaganda. This is the filter I process everything through now.
By educating ourselves and questioning narratives, we can hold leaders accountable and demand a more honest government. Fact check everything and study important issues in depth. Making decisions based on news media “sound bites” is never good. Beware of misleading statistics. The government will never be any better than the people they govern. Let us hold them to a higher standard!
The Blog of Tim Schmitz 