Thread by @docrussjackson

"Calling it #FreedomDay attempts to nullify the public by encouraging us not to scrutinise government & media performance as we should. It reflects an attempt to move the discussion from science, sociology & public health to patriotism & emancipation."

theconversation.com/why-freedom-da…

The most effective propaganda is that which creates emotional bonds between the target audience & certain people, products, events or concepts. The powerful want us to think in certain ways about #FreedomDay & to exclude/overlook aspects of the pandemic that it deems undesirable.

From the propagandist’s point of view though, “freedom” is an effective rhetorical tool because it means whatever the target audience wants it to mean.

Its utility is that the term 'freedom' is vague, but it always resonates with ease when uttered.

#FreeMarketCapitaism

Throughout the pandemic, the UK Govt has used a wartime propaganda playbook to deliver public comms about #COVID19 & the purported solutions to it. We are now heading for the end of the “combat” phase of the Govt’s propaganda & the beginning of the post-pandemic (post-war) phase.

Concepts like “freedom” & “liberty” have been invoked by propagandists for centuries. Using “freedom” to describe the end of restrictions is part of a populist audience seduction strategy, using emotional rather than rational rhetoric, to appear to be on the side of the public.