Henry A. Wallace: Use News to Dupe Public
on Wednesday, November 30, 2016Henry A. Wallace, former Vice President to Roosevelt, Money Quote saying fascism seeks to manipulate the news to gain power and funnel money to fascist uses. Henry A. Wallace said:
“With a fascist the problem is never how best to present the truth to the public but how best to use the news to deceive the public into giving the fascist and his group more money or more power” — Henry A. Wallace
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In this quote, Henry A. Wallace seems to be drawing a distinction between how fascists and non-fascists use the news/media. Specifically:
- He argues that for a fascist, the goal is never about honestly presenting the truth or facts to citizens.
- Rather, their sole concern is deceiving the public and manipulating the news/information to gain more financial support (money) or authority/control (power) for themselves and their political group.
- Wallace implies fascists are not interested in an objective, truthful discussion but see the media primarily as a propaganda tool for self-enrichment and self-preservation in power.
- The quote conveys Wallace’s view that transparency and public trust mean little to fascists – their focus is on exploiting information asymmetry for personal and partisan political gain.
Overall, Wallace appears to be highlighting how fascists are willing to distort reality and facts in order to accumulate more money and power for themselves, with no regard for ethics or civic duty in their use of mass media and news.
Birthday: October 7, 1888 – Death: November 18, 1965
#NationalHugANewsPersonDay March 17
#WorldPressFreedomDay May 3
Pat Bagley, The Salt Lake Tribune, UT
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