Sergio Rodríguez Gelfenstein*, Prensa Latina employee
For several months I have been reaffirming the belief that the great battles of the 21st century will take place not on the territory of the countries to be occupied, but in the human brain, the real “territory” that must be conquered by them powerful in order to reveal its truth and to enforce his reason.
The United States and Europe are being defeated by China and Russia in economics, finance, technology, politics, ideology, ethics and even war because both have hypersonic missiles that the West does not have, which has changed the equation militarily -strategic balance.
In this framework, the only mechanisms remaining for the West to maintain its planetary hegemony are the monopoly of issuing dollars and the maintenance of this currency as the basis for world trade. The dominance it exerts through its almost absolute control over the cultural media communication apparatus must also be taken into account. This is where the most important battles of the present and future will take place.
As the process of de-dollarization of the global economy has already begun, is expanding and becoming irreversible, it seems that the “mother of all battles” is being fought in the cultural-media space. Therefore, the forms and instruments we use to obtain information are of great importance these days.
Therefore, if we do not acknowledge the reality and depth of this battle and do not understand that we must face it as such, the enemy (in this case it is not valid to speak of an adversary) will maintain its dominance, because we will not be ready to face this fight. decisive. Therefore, constructing and believing our truth is a primary task.
When information from the media enemy is passed on uncritically, the intermediary who does so becomes a blind propagandist of a “truth” that is usually false, but which is in fact mendacious and deceptive.
In my personal case, for example, the last time I listened to and watched CNN was April 11, 2002, the day of the coup against President Hugo Chávez. At that moment I realized that CNN was lying with complete impudence. I never saw or heard from her again. I did the same with other media that served the empire or the local right. Nevertheless, I do not consider myself to be an uninformed person, precisely because these media do not provide information. On the contrary, they are the fathers of post-truth and “fake news”.
To those who say it is necessary to know what the enemy is thinking, I ask you what makes you not only bitter, desperate and discouraged, but also what you do with this false information other than pass it on to your 500 best to pass on to friends and become their propagandists? Sometimes it is necessary to resort to imperial means (I do it myself), but only to strengthen an idea that exposes its contradictions and/or aberrations.
The uncritical dissemination of rumors, gossip, anonymous opinions or those of authors who do not show their faces makes complicit in those who, consciously or unconsciously, reproduce the lies that are constructed – mostly – in the think tanks of global power.
Therefore, it is important not to believe in the “information” coming from the enemy, as this leads to accepting the false truths that he constructs. This became particularly reckless when facts about Russian military operations in Ukraine emerged. The lie is no longer subtle, on the contrary, it is now vicious, vulgar, unscrupulous and evil.
In the last few days alone, the amount of fake news spread by the imperial media has increased. It’s so grotesque that some of them even expose the lies that others spread. Let’s look at some examples:
1. Kiev announced with “great fanfare” that the chief admiral of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and his staff had been killed following a missile and drone attack by Ukrainian forces. The news “flooded” the Western media. The next day, Admiral Victor Sokolov appeared in a televised meeting with the Russian Defense Minister. Complete silence.
2. In the same attack, Ukraine reported that it severely damaged the Russian amphibious assault ship Minsk, causing 62 deaths. The problem is that even if the Minsk did experience certain mishaps, it was being repaired in dry dock that day. No ship in any country in the world is full of sailors and officers in this situation. Complete silence.
3. A few weeks ago, the transnational “communications” media reported with carnival-like noise that a Russian missile had hit a market in a Donetsk city. As if a magic wand had been waved, a chorus of accusations began against Russia for such an “inhumane action.” However, an investigation by none other than the New York Times (apparently launched during the US election campaign) was responsible for proving that the projectile was Ukrainian. Complete silence.
4. Another Russian ship, the large landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak, was hit by a Ukrainian drone on August 4 and left “severely damaged and adrift,” according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces press service report. The ship was repaired and rejoined the Black Sea Fleet on September 7. It is difficult to assume that a “severely damaged and adrift” ship can be repaired in less than a month.
Don’t waste time looking for information about the ship. The Ukraine action from August 4th can only be found on the Internet. The ship then disappeared from the Western media. His photo sailing and docking in the port of Sevastopol, the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, has not been seen in any Western media. Complete silence.
5. The missile that hit a grain factory in Poland last November and was reportedly of Russian origin was actually of Ukrainian origin, according to Polish experts. At that time, it was irresponsibly reported that a NATO country (Poland) had been attacked by Russia and that this could trigger World War III. Given this important clarification a few days ago, the reaction was complete silence.
6. The Ukrainian regime’s information services are now widely announcing that Russian missiles and drones will be completely shot down in any attack. But it is absurd to report the crash of a larger number of drones than were actually used. The final straw is that they say they did no damage, but at the same time they report deaths, injuries and destroyed buildings. If anyone has doubts, I recommend that they check NASA’s fire maps, which can be watched for free on the Internet, after the Russian attacks on the war infrastructure and the command and concentration centers of troops in Ukraine. You can draw your own conclusions.
Anyway, these are just a few recent examples of how people lie, which is why you need to learn to educate yourself. “Our wine is bitter, but it is ours,” said José Martí. We must learn to drink our wine, no matter how bitter it is.
Likewise, we must think for ourselves, be convinced of what we believe in, and thus build and pass on our truth. Only in this way can we play a leading role in this tough, difficult and protracted battle. But if we are armed with our truth, the truth of the majority, there will be no doubt that we will move forward.
(For my brother and companion Orlando Bahamondes “Caballito”, who left this world a few days ago, taking with him his nobility and his kindness, but leaving us countless examples of his conviction, his passion and his fighting spirit for a better world. Always on to victory!)
rmh/srg
*Bachelor in International Studies, Master in International and Global Relations. Doctor of Political Science
(Taken from selected signatures)