We’ve all seen news quotes like this one:<\/p>\n
Scientists moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight on Thursday amid increasing worries over\u00a0nuclear weapons\u00a0and climate change.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Source: Doomsday Clock ticks closer to apocalypse and 1 person is to blame<\/a>
\nThe Doomsday Clock is a propaganda tool that allegedly represents how many minutes we are from Armageddon and the end of life on earth.
\nIt works as propaganda through its ease of understanding, and its appeal to authority<\/em> (it’s published by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists”<\/a> – and its a non-profit so it must pure!)\u00a0 The clock setting is not based on science.\u00a0 But with its pedigree (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists), with a leadership, staff and governing board made up of scientists, it implies there is a scientific basis for the clock setting. Originally the setting was determined by a single individual<\/a>; after he died, the setting was determined by a board of “scientists and other experts” (except when its still set by an individual<\/a>).
\nThe clock is perpetually a few minutes from midnight, using the method of fear<\/em> to deliver its message. Each year it may move a minute or two one way or the other, with the implication that we are always just a few minutes away from Armageddon.
\nThe clock has been around for 71 years – its effectiveness as propaganda has been excellent, but its effectiveness at predicting anything about the future has been non-existent. They even say the clock predicts nothing.
\n The goal, as explained in their FAQ<\/a> is to get people to adopt the agenda of the Bulletin of the the Atomic Scientists, and to “share what you’ve learned with others” and to “tell your government representatives that you don’t want even more of your tax money spent”… that sounds rather political doesn’t it? In fact, their definitions – and their use of fear to encourage sharing – nearly fits the modern concept of fake news click-bait.
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\nThe Doomsday Clock group defines itself as propaganda messaging.<\/strong>
\nEvery time they issue a new press release, the news media laps it up and spreads the propaganda.
\nRemember, journalists should be acting as firewalls against propaganda messaging but instead, they act as arm-in-arm partners in propaganda messaging.
\nThe physics professor responsible for the most recent “closer to midnight” setting is now under investigation for sexual misconduct<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We’ve all seen news quotes like this one: Scientists moved the hands of the Doomsday Clock closer to midnight on Thursday amid increasing worries over\u00a0nuclear weapons\u00a0and climate change. Source: Doomsday Clock ticks closer to apocalypse and 1 person is to blame The Doomsday Clock is a propaganda tool that allegedly represents how many minutes we are from Armageddon and the end of life on earth. It works as propaganda through its ease of understanding, and its appeal to authority (it’s…<\/p>\n