Opinion | The selectivity of outrage
By Tom Fowdy
The selectivity of outrage refers to a propaganda tactic whereby some anger is given a platform in order to broadcast a political agenda, but others are ignored. Through manipulation of mass media, it is possible to deceive public consciousnesses that some issues are important, and that people are angry about them, but others are not, distorting reality. By doing so, elites are able to sustain control by having a "veto" about what matters to the public. Although democracies have less control over this on matters such as their domestic economy, which is harder to hide, this is very much the case for many other aspects of politics, including Foreign Policy.
For example, some people hold a protest. There are many protests held all over the world, each and every day, on a host of issues. But let's ask ourselves this, which protests do we hear about? And why? Some protests get coverage, some don't. Sure, some may be deemed to be totally insignificant on a newsworthy scale, but there is also an editorial decision that goes into that too. For example, it isn't only just which issues are being covered, but also which ones politicians "choose" to give attention to. This is why for example, negative stories pertaining to criticism or anger about China as it happens, get more coverage than other countries.
Recently, China released a new official map. Although the map makes a new "ten dash line" to incorporate Taiwan, in reality, none of China's official territorial claims, as dated from the start of the PRC, have changed. It's nothing new. Despite this, what was the mainstream media reaction? The answer was outrage, feigning a narrative as if Beijing has just newly made scores of territorial claims and just abrasively attacked scores of countries. In doing so, the objections and disagreements of every single country are pumped up very loudly in order to generate a theatre of "outrage" against China. The result is an all-encompassing coverage wherein Beijing is framed to be an unreasonable aggressor and is of course, isolating itself. This is then recycled into a hundred more, "China is isolated and declining" editorials, such as one which recently appeared in the Washington Post.
But it doesn't end with that, every single issue related to China is therefore subject to coordinated, concerted, and amplified outrage. This is of course ironic because the same media outlets doing this are simultaneously telling us that the subjects China is outraged about, such as the Fukushima nuclear dumping, don't in fact matter. But in doing this we are now shown the other side of the coin in how outrage is really a superficial manipulation of consciousness. For example, this coverage deliberately ignores and downplays other countries' objections to the contaminated water dumping, pretending that it doesn't exist, or it isn't significant, and all of it is therefore just a propaganda campaign on China's behalf.
A protest in China, be it about any issue, will be given maximum coverage. Take for example, the Hong Kong protests. Any kind of controversy in China, such as the Peng Shuai saga, will also be given maximum scope by the mainstream media. On the other hand, any protest that opposes the United States, its military presence in Asia, or Japan, will be aptly ignored. This is because on a foreign policy level, it is a deliberative editorial choice both at the political and the media level what issues should be drawn attention to and which ones should not. While coverage will never allow Japan to be shown as upsetting its neighbors by any particular means, all efforts will go towards that with China.
This of course is all part of how mainstream media in the West has become theatrical and agenda-driven. The United States for one, is a master at pushing dramaticised hysteria in order to shape and lead public opinion towards its foreign policy objectives, and it does so unopposed. This is ingeniously captured by the band Green Day in its song "American Idiot" which proclaims "One nation controlled by the media, can you hear the sound of hysteria? It's calling out to idiot America." Essentially, journalists have pinpoint control over what people "should" be angry about, using selectivity and manufactured outrage to shape the world they live in. We're seeing it all too often with China coverage now, and people have to wake up.
The author is a well-seasoned writer and analyst with a large portfolio related to China topics, especially in the field of politics, international relations and more. He graduated with an Msc. in Chinese Studies from Oxford University in 2018.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of DotDotNews.
Read more articles by Tom Fowdy:
Opinion | Dissecting a classic BBC propaganda piece
Opinion | How concerns over Fukushima became an anti-China campaign
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