Propaganda watch

[BIAD]

Especially during quiet periods like the holidays, there can be some ground made in regrds of keeping
a favoured politician in the public's eye for two reasons. It assures ratings by broadcasting interviews of
a 'sage-like' Statesman giving out wisdom -as if still near the political arena and it reinforces the narrative
that the current situation is only temporary.

Barack Obama keeps most admired status in annual Gallup poll, Donald Trump 2nd.

'More Americans are likely to name former President Barack Obama as the man they
admire most, although the gap between the former president and the current has narrowed
over the last year, a poll has found.



Seventeen percent of those polled said Obama was the man they admired most, compared to
14 percent who picked President Donald Trump, a Gallup poll released Wednesday said.

In 2016, 22 percent of those surveyed picked Obama and 15 percent picked Trump, according
to Gallup.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton continued to top the most admired woman question, according to the poll,
with 9 percent of those surveyed picking her in 2017. That number fell from 15 percent in 2013 and
12 percent in 2016, according to Gallup...'

NBC:

Prince Harry sidesteps Obama-Trump wedding guest list controversy.

'Britain's Prince Harry has avoided opening up a diplomatic rift between the British and US governments
over the guest list for his wedding to Meghan Markle, saying plans had yet to be finalized.



Asked on a BBC radio program whether he would invite former US President Barack Obama Harry swerved
the question, saying he didn't want to "ruin that surprise."

There has been speculation in the UK media that British officials fear the political consequences if the couple
decide to invite Barack and Michelle Obama, with whom they are friends, but not President Donald Trump.

Markle, an American actor, has been critical of Trump in the past, and there is already widespread controversy
in the UK over the prospect of an official visit by the President to the UK...'

CNN:

Obama warns against irresponsible social media use.

'Former US President Barack Obama has warned against the irresponsible use of social media, in a rare
interview since stepping down in January. He warned that such actions were distorting people's understanding
of complex issues, and spreading misinformation.

"All of us in leadership have to find ways in which we can recreate a common space on the internet," he said.
Mr Obama was quizzed by Prince Harry on BBC Radio 4's Today programme...'

'...The former president expressed concern about a future where facts are discarded and people only read
and listen to things that reinforce their own views. "One of the dangers of the internet is that people can have
entirely different realities. They can be cocooned in information that reinforces their current biases...'

This statement is a little disingenuous -to say the least. The mass of 'Anti-Trump' information churned out by
the mainstream media everyday is by it's very nature, biased. So is Mr. Obama saying these outlets are
dangerous or is he just getting at the 'Pro-Trump' sites?

Maybe he should look at the faces of the young at the final Clinton rally on the election night, did they seemed
'cocooned'...? They sure looked like it.

'..."The question has to do with how do we harness this technology in a way that allows a multiplicity of voices,
allows a diversity of views, but doesn't lead to a Balkanisation of society and allows ways of finding common
ground," he said...'

BBC:

This last comment seems a bit hypocritical, considering the segregation of races that many Universities wish
for! It also suggests that Mr. Obama knows that information-control is very important and may have been one of
the reasons for his party's downfall.