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cbabe

(4,575 posts)
Sun Nov 24, 2024, 12:40 PM Nov 24

Clara Pretus, neurologist: 'There are evil agents who are profiting by generating this nervousness'

https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2024-11-24/clara-pretus-neurologist-there-are-evil-agents-who-are-profiting-by-generating-this-nervousness.html

Clara Pretus, neurologist: ‘There are evil agents who are profiting by generating this nervousness’

The neuroscientist studies how people fall into extremism and how the brain processes misinformation in polarized situations

JAVIER SALAS
NOV 23, 2024 - 23:05 EST

Few people know the minds of extremists like the neuroscientist Clara Pretus, 36, because she has literally looked inside them. In her most celebrated work, the researchers scanned the brains of young people who wanted to participate in violent jihadist acts to understand the personal and social mechanisms that activated this interest.

In a more recent work, her team studied the grey matter of voters of Spain’s far-right Vox party to understand why they spread lies on issues important to them, such as immigration. The research revealed that when these topics were discussed, regions of the participants’ social brain were activated. “These are not the usual decision-making areas but those that help infer the thoughts of others,” explains Pretus from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. In other words, they share false information with the group’s approval and cohesion in mind.

Pretus — who is an advisor to the United Nations Office on Terrorism and director of the Social Brain Lab — warns that a tragedy like the flash flooding in the Spanish region of Valencia create fertile ground for disinformation to spread. “When you are in danger, it is better for you to believe any information that can save you or that can help you,” she says.

However, she also criticizes the way certain political actors exploit such crises for their own advantage. Pretus notes that in times of anxiety and danger, opportunists often use emotionally charged language to “hack our nervous system.” “We must take this into account, because there will be more and more emergencies of this type, very conducive to disinformation and political gain,” says Pretus.

… more …

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bhikkhu

(10,763 posts)
2. One thing I can't help but notice is all the "collapse" videos on youtube
Sun Nov 24, 2024, 12:56 PM
Nov 24

...suddenly my feed is full of pundits and finance guys talking about the inevitable economic collapse and pointing out all the factors and evidence that it's already under way.

Maybe it is, I don't know. I don't really watch videos like that as they all tend to seem pretty disingenuous and I'm not especially trusting when it comes to tales of collapse. Having been around for awhile I remember the same sort of thing consistently since the late 70's. Now why would they want to convince everyone there's an economic collapse? Probably the cheerleaders for disaster already sold, and now they want to see everyone else do the same so that they can buy back in at a discount. I've seen that happen often enough, it's one way of making gains in a market that might otherwise be pretty flat. Youtube is one way for them to lean on the scales and control the narrative, or maybe I'm just the suspicious type.

Igel

(36,552 posts)
4. Yeah.
Sun Nov 24, 2024, 01:38 PM
Nov 24

Then again I just read about how they're abolishing the ACA, privatizing Medicare and social security, militarizing K-12 education, and stripping us of the right to unionize.

And that's just what I've looked at in the last couple of hours.

yardwork

(65,396 posts)
9. They haven't actually achieved any of that. Yet.
Sun Nov 24, 2024, 03:49 PM
Nov 24

Bob Kennedy running his mouth is not the same as a done deal. Let's see what happens.

erronis

(17,664 posts)
5. I'll definitely dig deeper. Thank you for referencing elpais.com - they are a great news outlet
Sun Nov 24, 2024, 03:07 PM
Nov 24

with an international audience and perspective.

Cherokee100

(347 posts)
6. Come on people
Sun Nov 24, 2024, 03:10 PM
Nov 24

Come on people, big brother will tell us, what to think and when to think it. Get with the program. Praise Jesus.

Beartracks

(13,665 posts)
7. Taking into account that opportunists use emotional language to "hack our nervous system'"...
Sun Nov 24, 2024, 03:10 PM
Nov 24

... is what critical thinking skills are used for -- and such skills appear to be in woefully short supply in the US these days.

===================

nilram

(3,057 posts)
8. Came across this today: a long-term plan of psychological warfare
Sun Nov 24, 2024, 03:39 PM
Nov 24
A former KGB agent named Yuri Alexandrovich Bezmenov claimed in 1984 that Russia has a long-term goal of ideologically subverting the U.S. He described the process as “a great brainwashing” that has four basic stages. The first stage, he said, is called “demoralization,” which would take about 20 years to achieve.
...
In 1984, Bezmenov gave an interview to G. Edward Griffin from which much can be learned today. His most chilling point was that there’s a long-term plan put in play by Russia to defeat America through psychological warfare and “demoralization.” It’s a long game that takes decades to achieve but it may already be bearing fruit.

Bezmenov made the point that the work of the KGB mainly does not involve espionage, despite what our popular culture may tell us. Most of the work, 85% of it, was “a slow process which we call either ideological subversion, active measures, or psychological warfare.”

Here’s how he further defined ideological subversion: “What it basically means is: to change the perception of reality of every American to such an extent that despite of the abundance of information no one is able to come to sensible conclusions in the interest of defending themselves, their families, their community, and their country.”


"39 years ago, a KGB defector chillingly predicted modern America"
https://bigthink.com/the-present/yuri-bezmenov/

My apologies for the twitter link, but for visual/auditory learners, here's a video summarizing it,


yardwork

(65,396 posts)
10. I was definitely demoralized in 2004 so it seems their timeline is on target.
Sun Nov 24, 2024, 03:51 PM
Nov 24

Mission being accomplished. Without a shot fired.

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