Benjamin Carlson @bfcarlson Twitter profile

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 month

🤯

Elon Musk

@elonmusk

2 months

Interesting discussion of how mind viruses are created and amplified

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In 1977, media prophet Marshall McLuhan discussed CIA and FBI surveillance, and then turned it into one of the most mind-bending riffs on identity in the digital age I've ever heard.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Think about what’s being done to your dopamine levels on a daily basis and then watch this. In 1958, Aldous Huxley predicted a form of dictatorship that would rely not on force, but propaganda—and addiction.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In 1977, Jorge Luis Borges, one of the most influential 20th c. Spanish-language writers, told William F. Buckley (whose first language was Spanish) his reasons for feeling, age 78, that English was 'far finer' than his native tongue. Right or wrong, I love his savor for language

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

How do you incubate a mind virus? How do you cause a culture to self-destruct? In 1984, this KGB defector exposed the 4-stages identified by Soviet intelligence as the necessary steps to cause the psychological implosion of American society. Stage 1: Demoralization (15–20 yrs)

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

10 months

Did you know this? 3 minutes before the second plane hit World Trade Center 2, an announcement went out to everyone in the building: "WTC is secure/safe, please return to your offices." Many who called 911 were told: shelter in place. Wait to be rescued. Some people…

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In 1974, author Ray Bradbury was asked, “What is space travel going to do for man?” In response, he gave the most mystical, mind-blowing, and strangely moving answer I could have imagined.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Love or hate her, Ayn Rand was a piercing voice on moral questions that continue to haunt the 21st century. Watch this 1959 clip with Mike Wallace and ask yourself: was she wrong?

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In the last interview of his life (1996), astronomer Carl Sagan gave an uncannily prescient warning of the dangers that arise when you cannot ask skeptical scientific questions of those in authority. Watch and ask yourself: was he right?

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

10 months

TIL every time you say “he is toast,” you are paying homage to that great linguistic innovator, Bill Murray.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

9 months

Your two minutes of inspiration of the day

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

How do you incubate a mind virus? How do you cause a culture to self-destruct? In 1984, this KGB defector exposed the secret 4-stage plan used by Soviet intelligence to wage psychological war on American society. Stage 1: Demoralization. (15-20 years)

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

12 days

In 1977, Jorge Luis Borges, one of the most influential 20th c. Spanish-language writers, told William F. Buckley (whose first language was Spanish) his reasons for feeling, age 78, that English was 'far finer' than his native tongue. Right or wrong, I love his savor for language

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

10 months

The feud between Susan Sontag and Camille Paglia captured on camera here in 1993 (on public TV) is so painfully entertaining it's impossible to look away.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Nobody hated clichés as intensely, and as thoughtfully, as Martin Amis. I particularly like his attack on the trendy catchphrases of 2007. That all of them now sound utterly dead makes his point.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Listen to why Ray Bradbury, author of 27 novels, didn't believe in college and thought it was "dangerous." Stay for the dazzling monologue on love, hate, creativity, and the irresistible power of feeling over the intellect.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

10 months

In the last interview of his life (1996), astronomer Carl Sagan warned of the dangers that come when citizens cannot ask skeptical scientific questions of those in authority. Watch and ask: was he right?

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

How do you incubate a mind virus? How do you cause a culture to self-destruct? In 1984, this KGB defector exposed the 4-stages identified by Soviet intelligence as the necessary steps to cause the psychological implosion of American society. Stage 1: Demoralization (15–20 yrs)

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

I can't get over how prophetic this man was. Here's Marshall McLuhan over half a century ago (1966) predicting the world we live in decades before anyone had imagined it.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

The most powerful propaganda technique you've never heard of: "The Big Lie" It's been used to manipulate people for decades—and on you, today. Here's how it works:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

The CIA has run psyops on the American public for years. In this 1983 clip, ex-agent Frank Snepp explains how the CIA did it in Vietnam. @Snowden highlighted a clip of this interview as the most important of 2022. Here is the full discussion. 1. Spreading Disinformation

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

In 1974, author Ray Bradbury was asked, “What is space travel going to do for man?” In response, he gave the most mystical, mind-blowing, and strangely moving answer I could have imagined.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In 1958, psychoanalyst and philosopher Eric Fromm was asked why he believed the United States of 1958 was the best society the world had ever seen. He explains why—and gives a warning for how the US could destroy itself. See if you agree with him on the fatal flaw of modern work

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

85% of KGB action was not spying, but ideological warfare. The aim was to change Americans’ perception of reality so that “no one is able to come to sensible conclusions.” This loss of reality then weakens the family, community, country — and the self.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In this 1980s interview, journalist Louis Wolf and ex-CIA agent John Stockwell expose CIA media operations with an unforgettable phrase: "It goes beyond your wildest imagination the extent to which the CIA has gone to manipulate public opinion."

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In 1977, media prophet Marshall McLuhan discussed CIA and FBI surveillance, and then spun it into one of the most mind-bending comments on identity in the digital age I've ever heard.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

8 months

What can an unfree society teach you about freedom? In 6+ years living in China as a journalist, I was informed on, spied on, tailed when traveling. This is nothing compared to what Chinese go through if targeted. Here are 14 lessons—and warnings—that many need to hear:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

How to handle a bank run, a guide. Fascinating tactics from an owner who halted a run on his bank exploiting shrewd intuitions about human psychology.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

I can't stop watching this moment in 1967 when Marshall McLuhan uncannily predicted exactly what it's like living in a world of social media

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

Stage 2: Destabilization (2–5 years) Once a society is demoralized, its weakness and unwillingness to defend itself is exploited to undermine the military, economy & foreign affairs.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In this 1980s interview, journalist Louis Wolf and ex-CIA agent John Stockwell expose CIA media operations with an unforgettable phrase: "It goes beyond your wildest imagination the extent to which the CIA has gone to manipulate public opinion."

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 years

I don't know who needs to hear this, but these are 14 hallmarks of totalitarianism:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

In the last interview of his life (1996), astronomer Carl Sagan gave an eerily prescient warning of the dangers that come when you cannot ask skeptical scientific questions of those in authority. Watch and ask yourself: was he right?

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Dear leaders, what is preventing you from speaking like this?

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

In 1984, KGB defector Bezmenov warned the demoralization of the US was nearly complete After the final crisis, all those who helped in subversion will have no further use, he adds. “They will be lined up against the wall and shot.”

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

Stage 3–4: Crisis & Normalization (6 weeks) A weakened society is easily brought to crisis, causing a “violent change of power, structure, and economy.” A benevolent dictator who makes grandiose promises could then be installed to bring things back to “normal.”

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

11 months

Kurt Vonnegut's theory of story shapes theory is the most delightful rejected master's thesis I know. All the great tales of the world can be graphed, he says, revealing the inner life of a society. Watch, enjoy, and consider what shape the stories of 2023 might make.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In 2017, the World Economic Forum put Xi Jinping on a pedestal as the champion of economic order. As a China economics correspondent, it was my job to cover it. I tried to change the script, and was overruled. That's the day I decided to leave journalism. The story:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Will Durant, philosopher and historian, gives a delightfully tart lesson to a glib reporter, and then gives an aquatic analogy on our human limits that is surprisingly profound.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

10 months

@tomharari Once a parent you feel this even more keenly. Nobody will truly care for your child but you.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

“A person who was demoralized is unable to assess true information. The facts tell nothing to him. … When a military boot crushes his balls, then he will understand. But not before that.”

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In 1958, legendary interviewer Mike Wallace asked America's most influential theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr: "What is your personal attitude toward atheists?" His answer is both surprising and thought-provoking, whatever your belief.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 month

@historyinmemes get that man a national news broadcast

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

Bezmenov died in 1993 in obscurity in Canada, where he lived under the assumed name Tomas Schuman. He considered himself a prophet but felt his warnings were ignored. In an era of daily psychological war, his lessons have more to teach us today than ever.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

A few days ago I asked readers what important matter they changed their minds on. This one is mine: Snowden. I was a reporter in Hong Kong when he fled there. I helped search for him. I believed what was said of him: he endangered lives. Now I see: in many ways, he was right.

Edward Snowden

@Snowden

1 year

Many have yet to realize that history has discredited the old propaganda. It has been nearly *ten years* since I revealed the system of global mass surveillance, and not one person has died. On the other hand, courts since ruled the *gov* broke the law!

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Here is how the CIA planted fake news stories, according to a former agent speaking in 1983.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

10 months

Here's the link to the full report. Excerpts below. One person on the stairs who heard the announcement "felt angry to hear this announcement, because I felt we were in danger."

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

4 months

Borges, near the end of his life, gives one of the best definitions of a writer's "joyful duty" I've ever heard.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

If Americans fail to grasp the impending danger, he said, “nothing ever can help the United States.” “You may kiss goodbye to your freedom.”

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

The creator of the Twilight Zone, Rod Serling, was an early and outspoken critic of censorship. In 1959, he describes with powerful frankness the insidious practice of “pre-censorship” —and its ultimate cause. To what extent is this still true of creators today?

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In the CIA interrogation manual, it lists coercive techniques used to break someone's will. They include: - Isolation - Dependence - Inducing guilt - Preying on fear - Disrupting sleep - Robbing basic dignity - Depriving of natural light Sounds like social media addiction.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Philip K. Dick, scifi visionary, died 41 years ago in a state of ruin. But his predictions of AI, predictive policing, and virtual reality have come uncannily true. In 1977, Dick reflects on his surprising emotion upon discovering he was being harassed by the FBI and CIA.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

As SpaceX tests Starship, the largest rocket ever built, we're one step closer to a future full of hope. Asked in 1974, “What is space travel going to do for man?”, Ray Bradbury gave the most mystical, mind-expanding, and strangely moving answer I could have imagined.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

@walterkirn @mtaibbi “Conservative” is no longer an ideological label. It’s a cue to the audience to dismiss a person without consideration.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

8 months

Why do bright people convert to a self-destructive ideology? It's happened before. One of the best analyses is the 1953 book, Captive Mind. Ask yourself if any of this familiar:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In 1966, media futurist Marshall McLuhan envisioned a form of digital research eerily similar to the customized queries now answered by AI. Then he makes a surprising admission about why he studies technological change—with a lesson I think many need to hear.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Eisenhower's famous farewell address not only coined the term "military industrial complex." He also warned of the dangers to liberties and democracy that come when government and massive corporations form a single bloc with "unwarranted influence" and malign power over society.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

7 months

How do you make people join radical movements? Perhaps the best answer comes from Dostoevsky's forgotten masterpiece, Demons Sentenced to death for conspiracy, he knew the lure of radicalism—and saw the madness to come 28 insights on how brainwashing really works:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

What is the real story of the Twitter Files? It's a much bigger deal than many realize. I've spent hours reading the great reporting (now thousands of words in 7+ parts) by @mtaibbi , @bariweiss , and @ShellenbergerMD . Here are 7 crucial takeaways everyone needs to know:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

This 1958 interview with theologian Reinhold Niebuhr is a stunning reminder of the serious, intellectual dialogue that was a staple of midcentury American culture. Here, Niebuhr reflects on the nature of radical human freedom. Where can you find this in 2023?

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In 1977, visionary thinker Marshall McLuhan gave a theory of violence that is startling and chillingly prescient. Watch and ask yourself: what relevance does it have today?

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

11 months

The fact the sub implosion was kept secret for days while it was the top news story in the world is a testament to both the power of information control, and the failure of reporting. James Cameron knew Monday & emailed people. How many others knew?

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

How can you identify when a movement is verging on terrorism? In his 2005 book on the psychopathology of terror, ex-FBI agent Joe Navarro defined "violence or the threat of violence intended to exact compliance from a population." These are 7 warning signs to watch for:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

3 months

Two years ago I quit alcohol. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. If you’re thinking about quitting, here are 11 things I wish someone had told me long ago:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

This is stunning: A majority of Americans believe life today is worse than it was half a century ago. What was different — and better— about the lives of people in 1973? And what is worse about today?

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

10 days

The purpose of propaganda is not simply to create consensus, but to humiliate those who refuse to accept it. Nothing is more psychologically painful and destructive of self-respect than to be shamed by lies and helpless to stop them.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 month

@Culture_Crit talent grows like a plant. put it in a healthy environment, it thrives. in a desert, it withers.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

8 months

Destroying a people's cultural & religious identity, severing them from their history, punishing their defenders, and making them ashamed of who they are, is a brutally effective way to annihilate a threat. Ever wonder why Hollywood stopped talking about Tibet?

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 years

I spent 10 years as a journalist in the US and China and wrote hundreds of stories in major websites and magazines. People wonder how fake information spreads. Here's how it really happens. 🧵

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

@Cernovich If you can’t enjoy an event without alcohol, you don’t actually find the event enjoyable.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

The last minutes of this hourlong 1985 lecture on computer science by physicist Richard Feynman are a dazzling masterclass in storytelling—and an amusingly wise (and true) story about the ultimate proof we'll need to know artificial intelligence has become all-too-human.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

In 1968, J.R.R Tolkien sat down in his study, pulled a newspaper clipping from his pocket, and revealed to the BBC the "keyspring" that drove his masterwork, The Lord of the Rings.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Don't miss the moment when Buckley spontaneously offers a suggested Spanish synonym for "he loomed over." The American pundit spoke only Spanish until age 6, and then was educated in French before finally learning English. Borges' grandmother was English.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

The CIA has long tried to use the media to manipulate the American public. In this 1983 clip, ex-agent Frank Snepp explains the techniques the CIA used in wartime to mold the narrative at home. 1. Spreading Disinformation

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

If you're fascinated by the far-seeing visions of Marshall McLuhan, you'll love this 1968 exchange with novelist Norman Mailer. In 2 minutes, he redefines violence as a quest for identity, and explains how information overload makes all of us confirmation-bias machines.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

70 yrs ago today, Allen Dulles, launched the CIA's mind control program MKULTRA. In 1953, Americans were shocked by Soviet/Chinese brainwashing of US soldiers in Korea. The response: a top-secret, and ultimately twisted, effort to "control human behavior." This is the story:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Here’s the real story of how a journalist (me) got the blue check mark:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

The power of framing.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

In 1958, psychoanalyst and philosopher Eric Fromm was asked why he believed the United States of 1958 was the best society the world had ever seen. He explains why—and gives a warning for how the US could destroy itself. See if you agree with him on the fatal flaw of modern work.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

8 months

In 1977, Jorge Luis Borges, one of the greatest 20th c. Spanish-language writers, told William F. Buckley (whose first language was Spanish) his reasons for feeling, age 78, that English was 'far finer' than his native tongue. Right or wrong, I love his savor for language.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 years

1. Dissent is branded evil 2. Political differences are not tolerated 3. Mass conformity of behaviors & beliefs

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Don’t judge a founder by their cover

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 months

Marshall McLuhan, who died in 1980, was one of the most prophetic thinkers of last century. When I wrote about him a year ago, I was stunned at the viral response. The editors at @TheFP asked me to go deeper—and my amazement grew. Here are 6 astonishing things McLuhan got…

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

Don't judge a crook by their cover

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

8 months

None of this is unique to China, of course. In daily life, people I met were warm, dynamic, optimistic. I still miss many things since leaving in 2018. But the lessons have stayed with me. Freedom is a fragile thing.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

5 months

Denzel Washington gives more practical wisdom in one minute of riffing than any TED talk

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

8 months

The most effective censorship is first legal, then social, then internal. Once people have learned to avoid certain topics ("that's too sensitive"), they cease to have anything to say on it.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

8 months

People will adapt to oppression sooner than they will rebel. It's human nature to seek the path of least resistance. There's a reason that subversives tend to be social misfits.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

10 months

Here is J. Robert Oppenheimer recalling the moment the bomb went off and he said those words.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

6 years

I went to China's national museum of art today & saw something interesting. At the exhibit for the 40th anniversary of reform & opening, Deng Xiaoping was hardly to be seen. Xi Jinping — and his father — stole the show. (1/ )

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 years

4. Large scale, semi-organized violence is permitted. 5. Power is exerted to prevent the rise of dissent. 6. Power is concentrated in a handful of people and institutions.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

The secret methods the CIA uses to spread propaganda, according to a 1983 exposé by a former agent.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

When you combine a constant stream of highly engineered emotional manipulation with a drip of dopamine hits, you get something that looks like social media.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

This 1992 prediction from media theorist Neil Postman on the dark side of our "convenient" technologies hits very hard.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

8 months

If you can limit the words people use, you can limit the thoughts they think. Since despots can never limit speech completely, they seek ever-more intrusive methods of intervention. Chat software wouldn't let you send certain words. Even workarounds were banned.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

1 year

I don't know who needs to hear this, but these are 15 markers of totalitarianism:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 years

7. Whole classes of people are scapegoated or singled out for persecution 8. Public opinion is turned against internal enemies 9. Extra-legal police action against internal enemies is condoned

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

10 months

@db_brewster Impressive. It's easy to think "I'd be just like that, too." But you don't know until you're tested.

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 years

5 secrets to raise your news IQ, from an ex-journalist:

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Benjamin Carlson

@bfcarlson

2 years

10. Police punish inconsistently and outside the limits of the law 11. Unpredictable and harsh enforcement used against enemies of state 12. Language of constitution continues to be used while serving as facade for exercise of power

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