{"id":5566,"date":"2019-02-08T17:35:43","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T17:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/arielsheen.com\/?p=5566"},"modified":"2019-04-03T18:23:03","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T18:23:03","slug":"orwellian-irony-a-case-study-in-telesur-english","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/08\/orwellian-irony-a-case-study-in-telesur-english\/","title":{"rendered":"Orwellian Irony: A Case Study in TeleSUR English"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most well-known writers in the English language, George Orwell is known primarily for his works of political fiction. Recommended or required reading for literature programs across U.S. high schools, in the American political imagination Big Brother and Winston from are familiar characters while newspeak and thoughtcrime are well known concepts.<\/p>\n

Not as well-known is how Orwell\u2019s writings were promoted by the state intelligence services of the United States and England during the Cold War. This fascinating irony is teased out in detail in The New Yorker\u2019s 2003 article Honest, Decent, Wrong: The Invention of George Orwell<\/em><\/a> by Louis Menand. There, after illustrating how Orwell\u2019s fiction was mobilized as a means of influencing populations not within America\u2019s sphere of influence, Menand describes the trajectory of Orwell\u2019s writing: \u201cThe great enemy of propaganda was subjected, after his death, to the deceptions and evasions of propaganda \u2014 and by the very people, American Cold Warriors, who would canonize him as the great enemy of propaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is not the only great irony of how George Orwell\u2019s work and thought has been mobilized by groups seeking to claim him as a guiding moral force.<\/p>\n

By presenting a case study of the means by which the Venezuelan state media company TeleSUR has acted to propagandize the notion that Americans are living in an Orwellian, totalitarian dictatorship <\/em><\/strong>\u2014 this article will provide another example of such irony. A type of irony that is so unique given the circumstances that it deserves a new term to describe it: Orwellian Irony.<\/p>\n

Before doing this, however, I\u2019m going to first briefly describe the impetus for TeleSUR\u2019s founding and how it\u2019s primary funder \u2014 the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) \u2014 understands it\u2019s mission. Then I will contextualize TeleSUR\u2019s relationship to Russian state and para-state media and then define some terms.<\/p>\n

TeleSUR English: Propaganda, Not News<\/strong><\/canvas><\/p>\n

TeleSUR was conceived following the attempted coup in against Chavez in 2002. It was seen as a project to help the government maintain control of the country. Because of this it\u2019s sensible that Chavez describes the goal for TeleSUR in December 2003 at a meeting of media professional not to be a news station, but as a means \u201ccreate a breach in the media wall\u201d that would \u201cuse social networks\u201d.<\/p>\n

After stating that capitalism is reaching a potentially terminal crisis, former president of Chavez stated in his Program for the Homeland 2013\u20132019<\/em> that: \u201cIn the words of Antonio Gramsci, the old must finally end so that the birth of the new can be manifested to the full\u2026 it is difficult to know exactly when this great horizon will become visible, but we should deploy significant and well-aimed efforts in the interest of its advent<\/strong>.\u201d (bold added)<\/p>\n

Lest it appear that Chavez is the only one with such a vision for TeleSUR it\u2019s worth pointing out that the Ministry of Popular Power for Communication and Information \u2014 the body which oversees TeleSUR \u2014 presented a report to the Venezuelan National Assembly in 2015 which clearly states that TeleSUR\u2019s goal is not to present news, but to help create a new world order. Furthermore on page 36 of the Red Book, written by the PSUV \u2014 in the section titled Declaration of Principles, the party states explicitly that TeleSUR is one of the \u201cspaces for diffusion for socialist experiences to the people of the world.\u201d This explains why TeleSUR was so highly praised by Fidel Castro before his death.<\/p>\n

Given that TeleSUR\u2019s stated goal to help with the formation of a new, multi-polar world order and that one way to achieve this is by undermining American\u2019s trust in their government \u2014 it\u2019s no surprise that they would hire people to direct their organizations with a history of political activism aligned with their own goals instead of journalists and why they would partner with the Russian state \u2014 who has similar ambitions \u2014 to achieve their goal.<\/p>\n

TeleSUR English and Russian Social Media Manipulation<\/strong><\/canvas><\/p>\n

In Fake News: A Roadmap<\/a>, propaganda is defined as writing or audio-visual content that:<\/p>\n

\u201cdoes not disregard truth, but uses elements of truth in the \u2018deliberate, systematic attempt to shape perceptions\u2019, in order to achieve a specific response or reaction from an audience, meant to benefit and \u2018further the desired intent of the propagandist\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

During an investigation conducted by the Atlantic Council\u2019s Digital Forensics Research Labs<\/a> that identified a Russian social media propaganda campaign they found that one of the ways that Russian nationals sought to do this was by mobilizing American\u2019s familiarity of 1984 against the government.<\/p>\n

This, however, isn\u2019t the only time that Russian-originated media sought to make such a connection between 1984 and the present.<\/p>\n

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One of the videos that Abby Martin features in before she left her position at Russia Today for Venezuela\u2019s TeleSUR English was, basically, a book report that sought to connect the present political environment in the United States to George Orwell\u2019s description of Oceania. While a few of the connections are valid, as a whole they fall flat. To demonstrate why, I\u2019ll briefly put on my professor\u2019s cap to review what Orwellian<\/em> means.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrwellian\u201d as a Term for Describing the Present<\/strong><\/canvas><\/p>\n

\u201cOrwellian\u201d emerges from the description of the social and political qualities of the fictional world of Oceania in 1984, which was modeled on Orwell\u2019s understanding of the Soviet Union during the leadership of Joseph Stalin. For Orwell the Soviet state, then defending it\u2019s very existence in Stalingrad again Nazi invaders, had too much control over the individual and thus he claimed in the pages of the Socialist Journal Monthly Review that it is \u201cwillingness to criticize Russia and Stalin [that] is the <\/em>test of intellectual honesty. It is the only thing that from a literary intellectual\u2019s point of view is really dangerous\u201d.<\/p>\n

While one does not need to know this history to be able to use the term, it\u2019s useful for understanding Orwell\u2019s intent in writing 1984 and also to help distinguish it from other literary works that fall within the literary category of dystopia. A Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/em> and The Iron Heel<\/em> are dystopias, but they are not Orwellian.<\/p>\n

To illustrate specifically what it is that Orwellian means, the below graphic organizer provides a number of the socio-political qualities of 1984. I\u2019ve also included the header 2018 not to reference another book, but to show the book\u2019s relationship to the qualities of the United States at present.<\/p>\n

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Based on this chart, I\u2019d claim that saying that the present is \u201cOrwellian\u201d is analogous to arguing that since Peter Parker undergoes a metamorphosis into a human-insect hybrid, Spiderman, and then has an identity crisis and major issues with his job and family that the story is Kafkaesque. Yes, there\u2019s some element of truth there, but that doesn\u2019t mean that the metaphor fits. Anyone describing the present political and technological moment as Orwellian is intentionally misusing the term in order to promote a specific political perspective<\/strong>. Or, less likely, they simply have reading comprehension issues.<\/p>\n

In what follows, you\u2019ll see further evidence of Russian-Venezuelan collaboration and more examples of how TeleSUR English seeks to propagandize the notion that 1984 is now.<\/p>\n

TeleSUR English\u2019s Propaganda<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Like Abby Martin\u2019s video for RT, Paul Street\u2019s editorial for TeleSUR English titled The Logical Bipartisan Insanity of Endless War similarly pitches the notion that 1984 is now. The irony is that it is don\u2019t so in a style filled with the type of linguistic choices that Orwell hated. Unsurprisingly for someone who wrote a book entitled They Rule: The 1% v. Democracy, <\/em>Street\u2019s article is most similar to the writing qualities of the Communist writer that Orwell analyzes in Politics and the English Language. Orwell state there that \u201cthe [Communist] writer knows more or less what he wants to say, but an accumulation of stale phrases chokes him like tea leaves blocking a sink.\u201d The first paragraph hints at this \u2014 with it\u2019s \u201calways supremely evil foreign others\u201d, \u201ctoiling masses\u201d and repetitions of \u201cendless war\u201d\u2013 while the rest of the article that seeks to frame the present in terms of 1984 continues it.<\/p>\n

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In another article on TeleSUR, this time by respected filmmaker and news analyst John Pilger, again the United States is cast as Big Brother.<\/p>\n

The irony here is that this article published before the full extent of Russian disinformation campaigns in relation to their annexation of Crimea and had been analyzed and made available to the public. According to thorough analysis by experts on the matter: \u201cCrimea may be considered a test-case for Russia in trying out this new form of warfare where hybrid, asymmetric warfare, combining an intensive information campaign, cyber warfare and the use of highly trained Special Operation Forces, play a key role\u201d.<\/p>\n

Following the two-day unpublishing of TeleSUR English\u2019s Facebook page in August, the pace of \u201cOrwellian\u201d comparison accelerates. Adriano Contreras, a current TeleSUR English presenter, uses the term in the organizations public response video. Abby Martin again uses the term in an interview with Comedian Jimmy Dore for his television show on RT. Thus we can see that with the increase in use of the term it also becomes easier to connections between Venezuelan and Russian media becoming more apparent.<\/p>\n

Russia Today and TeleSUR English: Propaganda Partners<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Following the two-day unpublishing of TeleSUR English\u2019s Facebook page in August not only does the acceleration of the Orwellian smear rapidly accelerate, but the connections between Venezuelan and Russian media also become more apparent.<\/p>\n

On Sputnik and RT several editorials about TeleSUR English\u2019s unpublishing were posted that were not only fundamentally, factually wrong in their presentation and assessment of what transpired but that also quoted a known propagandist, Pablo Vivanco, without fact checking statements he made that I was able to prove untrue with great ease. More than this, these articles all demonstrate the qualities that Orwell warned of while at the same time invoking his name.<\/p>\n

Ask a credentialed reporter, a seasoned news editor or an English teacher about the use of the term \u201cvanishes\u201d in the above headline and all will likely agree that it is inappropriate. Vanish, which comes from the Latin \u2018evanascere\u2019, means to make nothing, to die away, to completely disappear. As should be clear from the fact no criminal charges have been made against Facebook executives, its staff or their contractors for either theft or destruction of TeleSUR English\u2019s equipment or for the kidnapping or murder of their employees, we can see that the language used here is that of gross overstatement.<\/p>\n

In his essay Politics and the English Language<\/a>, George Orwell cautions readers to beware of:<\/p>\n

political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer<\/p>\n

cloudy vagueness\u2026 [this] inflated style itself is a kind of euphemism. A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outline and covering up all the details. The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one\u2019s real and one\u2019s declared aims one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.<\/p>\n

To keep the casual reader interested I\u2019m not going to undertake a close reading of the entirety of the articles, but suffice it to say that the qualities of the headline \u2014 maybe the most important part of the story for a reader in determining whether or not they will click through to read it \u2014 are replicated throughout the story.<\/p>\n

Something else that I noticed in the comments section of the RT articles about the brief unpublishing of TeleSUR English was the numerous anti-Semitic comments.<\/canvas><\/p>\n

I decided to respond to one of these trolls to see what kind of response I would get and sure from them enough I \u201clearned\u201d that Menlo Park is not the real place where Facebook policy is made.<\/p>\n

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This isn\u2019t a trend related to the second unpublishing of TeleSUR English\u2019s Facebook page. In Danielle Ryan\u2019s opinion piece \u201cFacebook pretending to care about democracy now is the height of hypocrisy\u201d published on RT after their first unpublishing more anti-semitic comments popping up \u2014 though in a more covert fashion. For those not in the know the phrase dual nationals<\/em> is allusion to American politicians with a Jewish background.<\/canvas><\/p>\n

In the comments section on Sputnik\u2019s article about TeleSUR English\u2019s unpublishing I was able to get more interesting information as they use Facebook for their news comments. After reading this comment:<\/p>\n

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Since Rob\u2019s profile was public (a requirement for allowing non-Facebook algorithm\u2019s to include those social media actions in their calculations), I decided to review it. Sure enough it has all the qualities of a sock-puppet account: few friends \u2014 many without picture, no photos that would indicate this is a real person, and a very high level of posing for \u201calternative news\u201d websites<\/p>\n

Twitter, TeleSUR English and Orwellian Irony<\/strong><\/p>\n

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It wasn\u2019t just in the editorials and comments sections of Russia news outlets that Orwellian notes were being played.<\/p>\n

The irony in this Aaron Mate tweet is like a German chocolate cake: sweet despite its darkness and with such efficiency linguistically that it contains multiple layers of decadent pleasure.<\/p>\n

The first layer of irony<\/strong> is the fact that I\u2019ve already referenced above: 1984 is not 2018 and a private company and a non-governmental organization partnering is literally the opposite of anything described in 1984.<\/p>\n

The second layer of irony<\/strong> is how the original tweet by TeleSUR English, like the Resisters tweet shown above, also uses improper English.<\/p>\n

A third level of irony<\/strong> is in the factual incorrectness of two of Mate\u2019s claims. The Atlantic Council had nothing anything to do with the brief unpublishing of TeleSUR English and, as reported elsewhere, an explanation had been provided.<\/p>\n

The fourth level of irony<\/strong> is the fact that Aaron Mate tweets this analogy to promote an interview for \u201cThe Real News Network\u201d. This is ironic not merely because the title for such an organization sounds so similar to Orwell\u2019s Ministry of Truth, but as The Real News Network was founded and is directed by Gregory Wilpert, one of the former directors of TeleSUR English!<\/p>\n

The fifth level of irony<\/strong> stems from the fact that The Real News is engaged in exactly the same sort of promotional behavior that is prohibited by Facebook that causes their algorithm to flag and shut down the page!<\/p>\n

Below are screenshots of two Facebook groups that I\u2019ve found with memberships of 2 and 3 people whose sole activity is the reposting of links from The Real News as well as Venezuela\u2019s TeleSUR English, Russia\u2019s RT, CounterPunch, Global Research, Iranian.com, World Socialist Website and several other leftist \u201calternative media\u201d outlets.<\/p>\n

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There\u2019s a sixth level of irony<\/strong> in the Tweet, though it requires a story for context.<\/p>\n

On September 3rd I emailed the contact listed on the Left Forum website to inquire about obtaining a copy of the 2016 Building Left Media in the Digital Commons panel. I wanted to view Pablo Vivanco\u2019s presentation as while there is a screenshot available online of the presentation it is one of the few panels not available on YouTube.<\/p>\n

This is itself ironic \u2014 as according to Marcus Graetsch, the only current full time volunteer for this \u201corganization\u201d, this was the year that the \u201corganization\u201d decided to have presenters arrange their own recording of the events and neither of these Directors of large media firms felt that what they had to share was worth recording and sharing for the sake of posterity. \u2013<\/p>\n

I expressed my frustration in a follow up email asking for something other than a story and this is when the seventh level of irony<\/strong> was revealed.<\/p>\n

He said that though he couldn\u2019t help he would ask Gregory Wilpert, who organized the panel to assist me.<\/p>\n

In my exchange with Wilpert, the Managing Editor of an alternative news network, he claimed not to have a copy and then refused my request to ask others that were present if they had one as he believes that criticism of TeleSUR English should remain private.<\/p>\n

Another words, in Aaron Mate\u2019s tweet he dishonestly maligns Facebook for behavior that his employer is engaged in!<\/p>\n

The Fifth Estate Masquerading as the Fourth Estate<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Given that CounterPunch and WSWS \u2014 a Trotskyist political group \u2014 are similarly promoted by the above listed fake social media accounts and websites associated with TeleSUR English it\u2019s not surprising seems also to be in on the game of promoting the U.S. and Facebook as Orwellian in nature.<\/p>\n

In Andre Damon\u2019s article Facebook Details Plans to Censor News Feeds and Manipulate Public Opinion he states the following: \u201cIt is exactly to prevent the distribution of \u201ctrue news\u201d that Facebook is, using Orwellian language, employing \u201cfact\u00ad checkers\u201d to flag stories and opinions that are to be suppressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

TeleSUR English and \u201cIndependent\u201d Blogs<\/strong><\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not just current TeleSUR English employees, former TeleSUR English\u2019s employees, the current employees of former TeleSUR English employees, TeleSUR English\u2019s official media partners, and TeleSUR English\u2019s unofficial media partners that are in the \u201cOrwellian\u201d campaign.<\/p>\n

Several blogs that exist seemingly only to echo TeleSUR\u2019s position also do this, which is to be expected as any modern propaganda campaign on social media is not going to be limited solely to \u201cofficial\u201d news outlets to propagate the notion that such views are normal.<\/p>\n

One blog, from which the above image comes, is from Luis Garcia and is titled Nomadic Thoughts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Another blog, by the Russian-born Dimimtry Orlov, is titled the An Outsiders Sojurn<\/a>. The not so subtle title of his blog: \u201cThe Social-Media Tech-Giants are an Orwellian\/Dystopian Tentacle of this Anglo-Zionist Rogue-Empire!\u201d gives a hint at the thrust of his analysis.<\/p>\n

In addition to the videos, articles and blogs promoting the notion that Americans are living in an Orwellian epoch, there are also comments like the one below.<\/canvas><\/p>\n

TeleSUR English and Orwellian Irony<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of George Orwell\u2019s views about people who wrote from the party line was that: \u201cOrthodoxy, of whatever colour, seems to demand a lifeless, imitative style.\u201d While the president of TeleSUR claims to be an impartial news outlet when other countries decide to stop funding them or continuing to their cable distribution packages, TeleSUR English is a propaganda outlet.<\/p>\n

In their quest for cultural and political hegemony Venezuelan and Russian media find their interests overlapping and thus combined their efforts propagate a distorted worldview through their outlets in Russia Today and TeleSUR English.<\/p>\n

Propagating the notion that contemporary America is \u201cOrwellian\u201d through a series of official, semi-official and quasi-official outlets is just one of many examples of this. If the above wasn\u2019t able to convince you that it\u2019s not, consider this last point in the form of a graphic organizer:<\/canvas><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n

1984 by George Orwell<\/p>\n

Analysis of Russia\u2019s Information Campaign Against Ukraine: Examining non-military aspects of the crisis in Ukraine from a Strategic Communications Perspectives<\/p>\n

Curso Basico de Formacion Socialista Para La Militancia de Vanguardia del PSUV<\/p>\n

Digital Hydra: Security Implications of False Information Online<\/p>\n

Documentos Fundamentales: Libro Rojo by Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela<\/p>\n

Politics and the English Language by George Orwell<\/p>\n

Proposal of the Candidate of the Homeland, for the Socialist Bolivarian Government 2013\u20132019 by Commander Hugo Ch\u00e1vez<\/p>\n

The Logical Bipartisan Insanity of Endless War by Paul Street<\/p>\n

Fake News: A Roadmap Editors: Jente Althuis and Leonie Haiden<\/p>\n

Facebook Details Plans to Censor News Feeds and Manipulate Public Opinion by Andre Damon<\/p>\n

https:\/\/riseuptimes.org\/2018\/01\/29\/facebook-details-plans-to-censor-news-feeds-and-manipulate-public-opinion\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Facebook pretending to care about democracy now is the height of hypocrisy by Danielle Ryan<\/p>\n

Betraying the Bolivarian Revolution\/ Vichy Journalism at teleSUR English by Jon Jeter<\/p>\n

Facebook security officer: not all speeches are \u201ccreated equal\u201d by Andre Damon<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wsws.org\/es\/articles\/2018\/06\/06\/cens-j06.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Whose Truth? Soverignty, Disinformation and Winning the Battle of Trust by John T. Watts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the most well-known writers in the English language, George Orwell is known primarily for his works of political fiction. Recommended or required reading for literature programs across U.S. high schools, in the American political imagination Big Brother and Winston from are familiar characters while newspeak and thoughtcrime are well known concepts. Not as … Continue reading “Orwellian Irony: A Case Study in TeleSUR English”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[98,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-telesur-english","category-venezuela"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8e7kf-1rM","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5566"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5566\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5842,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5566\/revisions\/5842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arielsheen.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}