2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders still hasn't solved the biggest problem standing in his way of beating Hillary Clinto [View all]Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)Seriously, cut the "more catholic than the pope" routine for a moment. everyone is vulnerable to propaganda, regardless of how they identify, because propaganda plays off some basic human psychological stuff.
Skepticism isn't immunity. The key to propagandizing to a skeptic is to play on their ego and sense of intellectualism. You see cruder efforts at this in advertising. A good example s the old Sprite advert, "Image is nothing, thirst is everything, obey your thirst." - saying to the consumer, "look, we know you're hip to all the advertising techniques, the gimmicks and celebrity spots. We know you don't buy that. here's our tasty beverage, buy it if you want. Whatevs." And you know what? it was wildly successful.
Distrust? Oh man, distrust is even more exploitable. Distrust is at the center of every bit of the shit you might hear from right-wing AM radio or fox news. The best technique is to get your target audience to distrust voices other than your own. You know. That dastardly liberal media. Those fucking sanders supporters in their gingham shorts. Those third-way corporatism stooges. Etc. Isolating the mind you are trying to propagandize to effectively gives you a captive audience.
It's not a question of intelligence or cognitive ability. Brilliant people are manipulated every damn day.