Of ‘strategic ignorance’ and ‘gaslighting’

There is a strategy in the practice of political (and for that matter even commercial) agitation and propaganda called “Strategic Ignorance,” wherein powerful, organized players manipulate an information system to “manufacture ignorance.” The Philippine public, media audience and academic community, has been victimized by this strategy in the South China Sea issue.

Essentially, Filipinos have been channeled by the dominant mainstream media to devote unjustified amount of time focusing on the South China Sea issue and the contentions between China and the Philippines, while the mainstream media has deliberately blinded the public on the big and small elephants in the room – Vietnam with 21 fortifications in the Spratly’s and four other claimants.

Hence, the 99.08 percent of the infinitely more important issues relating to the Philippines’ relations with China, the ASEAN and the World is effectively relegated to the background of issues, such as the fact that China is, without any doubt, now the central economy that matters in the Philippines’ economic recovery post-pandemic as it is for the entire Asian economy, if not for the World as a whole.

Within the issue of the SCS dispute, the media has also blinded the public on the following: Philippines opted out of the “compulsory arbitration” provision in its Declaration before ratifying UNCLOs which stops it from using it; the validity of “customary law” that China and Vietnam invoke when citing “historic rights;” and, the inviolability of the Third Party in arbitration and the unenforceability of the PCA decision.

The dominant mainstream media are beholden to the US funding sources, through decades of pampering and financial largesse through various channels, and direct US budgetary allocations such as the current anti-China US Strategic Competition Act providing $300-Million plus $100-Million for information and cyber warfare with the Philippine MSM and social media trolls among the primary beneficiaries.

Any objections to allegations of US support for Philippines’ mainstream media is easily answered, by citing the Rappler case where in just one instance it obtained $ 4.5-Million for its directors, the listing of Vera Files and CMFR (Melinda Quinto-de Jesus’ Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility) among National Endowment for Democracy (NED) beneficiaries; the PDRs for Inquirer, Star, et al.

But when one goes down to the bottom line, how much importance does the public really give to the SCS issues?

The regular surveys of the SWS, Pulse Asia etc. focused on polling Filipino sentiments on the SCS issues and China are invariably loaded with value-biased questions of the pollsters who are tied to the economic-political vested interests invested in the US-dominated Status Quo.

However, one recent poll that was both litmus test and unintended referendum on the issue came up with the survey on the presidentiables by Pulse Asia which resulted in 0.2 percent rating for ex-Justice Antonio Carpio. This is a clear reflection on how much “priority” the public gives to Carpio’s one-issue campaign – the West Philippine Sea claim. Sara Duterte and Bongbong Marcos polled 27 percent and 13 percent respectively.

The poll was conducted on the field of 17 possible candidates, as gleaned from the report. Both topnotchers in the survey are known to be partial to President Duterte’s policies, including the administration’s preference for good and cooperative relations with China over that with the U.S., and the de-prioritization of the South China Sea claims conflict.

Outside of the chattering classes in Metro-Manila and a few academic centers like U.P., Ateneo, La Salle and a few minor Catholic exclusive schools, and the mainstream print and broadcast media, the main issues are still: employment and livelihood, Covid-19 and vaccinations. But mainstream media have a way of occupying the public mind through its gaslighting.

Gaslighting is defined by medicalnewstoday.com as “a form of psychological abuse where a person or group makes someone question their sanity, perception of reality, or memories. People experiencing gaslighting often feel confused, anxious…”

We see this happening to many of our people – like the hapless Teddyboy Locsin or AFP Chief Sobejana who even awarded the fake news of ABS-CBN’s Zambrano.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte was right to call a spade a spade and tell it like it is really about the PCA (arbitration panel) in his May 6 late-night address saying, “In real life, between nations, that paper is nothing. Actually, if you give that to me, I will tell you ‘Son of a bitch that is only a paper.’ I will throw that in a waste basket.” This is truer than true, if I may use a colloquial.

The malignant dominant mainstream media must be taught a lesson on its criminal activities of sabotaging the sanity of this nation, creating tension and conflict by gaslighting our people, churning fake news day in and day out like Zambrano.

It’s about time something drastic must be done to end this runaway disinformation machine called “mainstream media.”

(Herman Tiu Laurel is an author, writer and founder of the Phil-BRICS Strategic Studies think tank. Join his: “Power Thinks” with Ka Mentong Laurel and guests – Every Wednesday 6pm Live on Global Talk News Radio [GTNR] on Facebook and Talk News TV on YouTube; and Every Sunday 8 to 10am on RP1 738 on your AM radio dial.)