Merkel Blames Populist Gains on Rise of ‘Fake News’ … This week Merkel blamed “fake news” in driving the rise of populism in the West. It looks like the left is just going to blame “fake news” every time they lose their grip on power. – Gateway Pundit
The elite is leveraging its “populism versus globalism” meme by declaring that populism is closely linked to “fake news.”
We’ve written numerous articles on the emergent elite meme, here and here, of “populism versus globalism” and warned that, “This meme is not only of the utmost importance, it is clearly warning us of considerable distress to come.”
But we didn’t imagine the populist propaganda concept would be turned in the direction of fake news, though that’s just what has happened – and most powerfully and suddenly.
AFP reported: German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Wednesday against the power of fake news on social media to spur the rise of populists, after launching her campaign for a fourth term.
Speaking in parliament for the first time since her announcement Sunday that she would seek re-election next year, Merkel cautioned that public opinion was being “manipulated” on the internet.
Yes public opinion is being manipulated – as usual. In our view, elite controllers continued to circulate propaganda to frighten people and influence their thinking.
We call their efforts “dominant social themes” … fear-based propaganda designed to convince people that they are running out of food, water, a stable climate, etc. The solution is inevitably more government – either domestically or globally.
Elite themes reinforce people’s inclination to look toward government – the bigger, the better – to protect them. The goal evidently is world domination via government that is inevitably controlled discreetly by elite forces.
As a result of Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, the elite-controlled mainstream media has lost no time in disseminating the term “populist” to describe the current rising, Western “nationalism.”
It is even beyond nationalism, of course. The entire globalist structure is being challenged because it is has continued to grow significantly – stripping people of resources and wealth.
But by defining “populism” on their terms, elites were able to create a contrasting meme – globalism – that could then be imbued with a variety of positive characteristics.
Globalism, in contrast to populism, is to be seen as positive and prosperity enhancing – and only under attack because it has not distributed its benefits equally.
Populism is presented as racist, greedy, insular and ignorant. “Fake news” is being positioned by Merkel as bothersome and dangerous because it encourages this aberrant populism.
What’s the goal? She says so herself: Government may have to regulate “fake news” so that it does not continue to create the growing scourge of “populism.”
Merkel, 62, said the challenge for democrats was to “reach and inspire people — we must confront this phenomenon and if necessary, regulate it.”
So now we can see how the “populist” meme is being deployed, to attack the alternative media in hopes of creating a groundswell of support for regulations that will control and retard it.
Of course it is perfectly possible to argue that this sort of manipulation does not exist in the manner described. But if one denies this paradigm, one has to address the question of why the “populism versus globalism” meme appeared suddenly in mid-summer, even before Trump won the election.
And then one needs to address why suddenly “fake news” is on the front page, collectively, of mainstream media with the inference that it is linked directly or indirectly to the growth of said populism.
As the recent election showed us, the mainstream media is capable of reporting with a single voice, no matter how falsely, when its organizers have in mind to present a concept or opinion in a certain way.
The fake news meme has developed inexorably out of “populism” propaganda and when looked at this way, one can see clearly that these various memes are programmatic. They are part of a mechanism designed to attack and blunt people’s desperate anger with the growing power of globalism.
It is even possible that some or much of the so-called fake news circulating has been secretly funded and generated by mainstream media controllers.
Conclusion: No, it would seem there is nothing coincidental about the emergence of “populism,” nor of the subsequent emergence of the fake news meme. One can argue, as we have herein, that they are a kind of weaponized media manipulation. They are, in fact, serial elite psyops designed to manipulate the general public.
As his trial continues in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, if found culpable, faces a fine for his comments, purportedly "racist", on Moroccans.
The prosecution alleges that his comments unfairly "targeted a specific race, which is considered a crime."
Never mind that Moroccans are not a race or even a religion; they are citizens of a country -- apparently, making comments on trends that are prominent within minorities, or advice on how to keep a country secure, is now criminal. Statements might sometimes be unpleasant to hear, but to express these views should not be "criminal."
Look at the comments of the lead prosecutor, Wouter Bos, who said, "Freedom of expression is not absolute, it is paired with obligations and responsibilities." This is worrying. To suggest that an individual should have the obligation not to "uncessarily offend," is to make every individual responsible for the thoughts of every other, theoretical individual who might be offended by one's words -- or even, as we see now all too often, just claim to be offended for malicious purposes.
Bos added that Wilders has "the responsibility not to set groups of people against each other." Is this really what Wilders was trying to do? The opposite would seem to be true: Wilders was not calling for racial tension; in his view, he is seeking to alleviate it, his solution being less immigration from Morocco. So far, objectively, immigrants from Morocco seem to have had a significant effect on the increase in crime syndicates, drugs- and human-trafficking, and a notably lopsided change in the composition of the prison population in the Netherlands.
Is it racist to note these problems? Statistical data are usually not racist; they simply express the factual reality of a situation.
With this in mind, perhaps then the struggle Wilders faces could be better described as: Geert Wilders is now on trial for having national security views that the prosecution have deemed unacceptable to air in public.
The latest development in this process is that the prosecution have demanded that Wilders be punished with a €5,000 fine, in order for him to atone for his alleged transgression against Moroccans.
To suggest that Dutch citizens, whose safety Wilders was elected to protect -- it is his job; it is why he was elected -- should not publicly be given his best advice, would to countermand his official duty. If, heaven forbid, there were to be adverse circumstances in the Netherlands, as seen all too often in France, Denmark, Germany and Belgium, and Wilders had failed to warn his countrymen, why could he not, conversely, risk being charged with reckless endangerment?
Saying that the Netherlands should have fewer Moroccans is apparently considered "unnecessarily offensive."
Perhaps the problem for the long-term survival of Europe is that in modern politics, too many individuals are seeking to base legislation on protecting people from being offended, instead of basing legislation on what is best for the national and cultural security of a country. While no-one might wish others to be offended, sometimes offending others is necessary, even a duty.
When Wilders criticises Islam and its associated practices and legal codes, no doubt he offends many conservative Muslims. Does this mean his criticism should not have been expressed? (No.)
When Wilders criticises the European Union, he no doubt offends Eurocrats in Brussels. Does this mean his criticism should not have been expressed? (No.)
So when Wilders criticises immigration from Moroccan and suggests there should be less of it, he may well have offended Moroccans. Does this mean his criticism shouldn't have been expressed? (No.)
Sometimes, causing offence and allowing individuals critically to engage with a viewpoint with which they disagree is a crucial part of our dialogue as a society. Individuals sometimes need to be presented with uncomfortable truths.
Whether one agrees with Wilders's view or not, it should be comforting that an individual is allowed to question fundamental building blocks for the future health of our Western values and communal well-being.
The freedom to speak and to question without fear of retribution is, in fact, fundamentally what separates democratic governments from totalitarian ones.
If one wants individuals to be able to counter views they perceive to be "racist" or in some other way prejudiced, they first need to be able to hear them to counter them.
In condemning Wilders, we are not only robbing Wilders of his right to free expression, we are also robbing individuals of a right to listen to him.
In a democratic society, individuals should have the right to hear Wilders, and then, based on his arguments, to draw their own conclusions. Too many countries, based on originally well-intended laws that repress free speech, have already fallen into the trap of "the truth is no defense."
Is the implication, then, that half-truths, distortions and lies are an acceptable defense? In closing the door to "truth" in Europe and Canada, our fragile Western democracies are opening the door to authoritarian governance. Farewell, democracy.
There are other reasons why all Dutch citizens or other individuals should be terrified of this.
Wilders, as a private citizen with possibly a moderate income, has had to go up against the virtually unlimited exchequer of the entire Dutch government. People's resources are not inexhaustible. This is the nightmare that great protectors of freedom such as Franz Kafka or George Orwell have written about.
What happens if Geert Wilders, who is a politician, is only among the first of those who might be prosecuted for speaking out? Other individuals who might also want "fewer Moroccans" may not be able to afford endless court costs and a fine of €5,000 -- or whatever the judgement might be on December 9. Are we really asking the citizens of the Netherlands, and much the free world, as we have already seen too often -- to go through life weighing whether expressing a view will come with a crippling economic cost?
Surely if there is a conviction this will be only the beginning. Will anyone ever feel free again to express opinions that might be found -- by someone, anyone, who knows -- "unnecessarily offensive"? Probably not.
What, by the way, does "necessarily offensive" consist of? Will lawyers become rich as person after person is hauled into court to decide, case by case, how necessary is "necessary"?
Is this really what the free world wants: societies that claim to protect the rights of the individual but then instead prosecute them? Sunshiny, politically correct views do not need protecting. The reason for freedom of speech is to protect the less-than-enchanting views. Without any contrarians, how would society have developed?
If this court rules against Wilders, will every politician thereafter who makes a statement that someone deems "unnecessarily offensive" be summoned before a court? At the other end of the political spectrum, three Dutch Labour Party politicians were noted to have insulted Moroccans far more corrosively than Wilders ever did -- even likening them to dirt and excrement. Those Labour politicians were never prosecuted. Gee, could this be a double standard we are seeing? Wilders's judges refused to dismiss his trial on the grounds that it was, as Wilders maintained, politically motivated; but what looks suspiciously like a selective prosecution seems to bear him out. Will the Dutch prosecutors, in fairness, proceed to try these even-more-insulting politicians from the political left?
Repeated trials and appeals only lead, as in a totalitarian government, to no-one being able to afford maintaining his freedom by due process.
That thought leads to the major politically incorrect elephant in this room:
Is it possible that there are people who are exploiting the West's open but expensive legal process precisely to shut down freedom of speech and political views they find inconvenient for themselves? Is that the whole secret point behind the prosecution: to smother speech and smother thought?
European nations seem to be rapidly approaching a path of political censorship, to prevent views being expressed that their leaders deem unacceptable. The result? These views only grow in prominence. Across Europe, as Brexit, Wilders, Le Pen, and other "politically incorrect" tributaries that leaders are trying to restrict, are surging in popularity.
Ideas cannot be killed by stopping individuals from hearing them; people only seem to want to hear more about what they sense is being hidden from them.
You do not have to like Geert Wilders or even agree with him; it is, however, fundamental for the health of our civilization that he and others be able to speak and be heard freely.
To protect us and to protect the humanist values of freedom brought to us by Erasmus and the Enlightenment, it is crucial that the Dutch court grant Wilders a full acquittal.
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