When I first read this quote, which comes from his 1943 essay “Looking back on the Spanish War,” I didn't have any idea what Orwell was talking about. Today, I understand exactly what he was talking about. And that terrifies me.
George Orwell once wrote that "history stopped" in 1936. Truth after that point was drowned out by state propaganda. It was a phenomenon that clearly terrified him. "I saw newspaper reports which did not bear any relation to the facts, not even the relationship which is implied in an ordinary lie. I saw great battles reported where there had been no fighting, and complete silence where hundreds of men had been killed. I saw troops who had fought bravely denounced as cowards and traitors, and others who had never seen a shot fired hailed as the heroes of imaginary victories; and I saw newspapers in London retailing these lies and eager intellectuals building emotional superstructures over events that had never happened. I saw, in fact, history being written not in terms of what happened but of what ought to have happened according to various ‘party lines.’”
viewing the world as a global network requires knowledge of how it is wired.
Having graduated in Communication science I translate this into our contemporary world:
The techniques for controlling platforms, such as the grouping of users and the curating of content, were originally developed to allow advertisers to identify potential customers. Now these techniques are also being used everywhere to adjust the political and “moral” environment on a platform.
Our governments have approached this subversion of society by inviting the social media corporations to meetings to make suggestions. These corporations have the resources of medium sized countries. They come out of the meetings having promised the politicians political support and employment opportunities.
Wokery is probably the first instance of a social media generated political and moral trend. Academics are scurrying around trying to fit wokery to the writings of various philosophers and sages but ultimately it has bubbled out of social media. The essence of Wokery was first invented by the post-marxists but it has developed far beyond the original philosophy.
Modern Wokery is the sum total of the adjustments staff have made to the algorithms that curate platforms. The new social media norm represents the nexus of the desires of advertisers, the WEF rules for business ethics, philosophically dumb programmers, managers attempting to avoid sanction and the political deals of the owners.
The techniques for controlling platforms, such as the grouping of users and the curating of content, were originally developed to allow advertisers to identify potential customers. Now these techniques are also being used everywhere to adjust the political and “moral” environment on a platform.
Our governments have approached this subversion of society by inviting the social media corporations to meetings to make suggestions. These corporations have the resources of medium sized countries. They come out of the meetings having promised the politicians political support and employment opportunities.
Wokery is probably the first instance of a social media generated political and moral trend. Academics are scurrying around trying to fit wokery to the writings of various philosophers and sages but ultimately it has bubbled out of social media. The essence of Wokery was first invented by the post-marxists but it has developed far beyond the original philosophy.
Modern Wokery is the sum total of the adjustments staff have made to the algorithms that curate platforms. The new social media norm represents the nexus of the desires of advertisers, the WEF rules for business ethics, philosophically dumb programmers, managers attempting to avoid sanction and the political deals of the owners.