Afrasianet - Journalist writer Kathleen Johnston published an article on her platform titled "Ah... Old war propaganda!" In it, she discussed the way in which Western media, especially those owned by the Murdoch family, are used to promote wars and influence the consciousness of the masses, in favor of the American imperial agendas.

The Wall Street Journal as a Model: News as a Tool of War

Johnston began her article by referring to a Wall Street Journal report titled "How Venezuelan gangs and African jihadists are drowning Europe with cocaine," as the  Trump administration warned his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro to leave  immediately if he wanted to survive his life. The report focused on Maduro's role in drug trafficking, and tried to link it to jihadist groups, noting that Europeans "should thank the United States" for the destruction of so-called drug boats.

Johnston noted that the report contains all the elements of traditional war propaganda: portraying and exaggerating the danger of the "evil tyrant," intimidating the public with "jihadists" and promoting the idea of a possible foreign intervention for regime change.

She added that this type of reporting is intended to prepare Western public opinion to support the policies of the US imperial, not to convey the truth or provide accurate news.

Western Media Is Not Free: The Great Myth

Johnston explained that the most common misconception about Western media is that it is "free." The most influential newspapers and channels exist not to provide accurate news, but to manufacture popular acceptance of America's imperial agendas.

Yes, these organizations sometimes publish real news, and an experienced follower can extract useful information from the lines, but that's not the point. The goal is to influence the collective consciousness to serve the empire.

Johnston: The most common misconception about the Western media is that it's "free." The most influential newspapers and channels do not exist to provide accurate news, but rather to manufacture popular acceptance of the American imperial agendas

Western media does not operate through a secret "Ministry of Truth," but through a clear mechanism: ownership and control. The major media outlets are either owned by billionaires or subject to government censorship, and editorial leaders are appointed according to their interests.

Journalists who want to continue their careers quickly learn the accepted "narrative lines," or else they disappear from the media scene.

Western Propaganda and its Impact on the Masses

Johnston cited the example of the Iraq War, where Western consciousness was shaped by false narratives of weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein's association with the 9/11 attacks, making the idea of invading a country thousands of kilometers away seem acceptable to the Western public.

These propaganda campaigns are "implanted in the minds of the masses that would never have occurred to them", Johnston said, explaining that millions of people have fallen victim to this media machine.

Johnston: Uncovering the facts is the key to breaking imperial control. If people knew the truth about what was going on in the world, how much evil was being done in their name, and how much wealth the powerful made compared to what they were benefiting from, they would have revolted immediately

Exposing the Deception: The Path to a Liberated Mass Consciousness

Johnston sees uncovering the facts as the key to breaking imperial control. If people knew the truth of what was going on in the world, how much evil was being done in their name, and how much wealth the powerful were making compared to what they were benefiting, they would have revolted immediately. The oligarchy (those in power and money) is therefore making all the effort to ensure continued dominance through the media, think tanks, technology algorithms, and information on the Internet.

Any success in enabling people to recognize deception and expose media lies could be a first step toward real change, whether in Venezuela, Gaza, or other areas where fake narratives are being told.

From Certainty to Change: The Importance of Individual and Collective Consciousness

Katelyn Johnston concludes her article by emphasizing that a better world is possible, and that the first step toward this is to wake people up from the propaganda coma and enable them to see the truth behind the news and lies that have been told to them daily since childhood.

It is this collective consciousness that can shake imperial domination and weaken the narrative of lies on which Western policies are based.