Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia

Putin playbook

Chaos and Confusion

Book : Nothing is true, everything is possible

RAND Paper

Russia is about as capitalist as it gets these days (not to be confused with free market capitalism, there is a slight distinction - this is not a defense of it either), if you can I'd recommend Peter Pomerantsev's Nothing is True and Everything is Possible .

Worth the read and gives an interesting insight into the warping of Russian culture as the oligarch's took power and the economy opened up.

Chaos and Confusion

Book : Nothing is true, everything is possible

RAND Paper

Bedrock part of their plan.

Chaos and Confusion

Book : Nothing is true, everything is possible

RAND Paper

Perfect tool for Putin

Chaos and Confusion

Book : Nothing is true, everything is possible

RAND Paper

No one is saying you shouldn't maintain your skepticism of the news, but there's a distinction to be made between news outlets, don't you think?

A news outlet that aspires to truth and one that aspires to propagandize shouldn't be falsely equated to one another.

Before claiming this is a false equivalence (or the opposite- claiming they are indeed similar enough to be equated) one should ensure there's substantial evidence supporting this claim. Otherwise the argument only serves to muddy the waters between news outlets.

There are some really dystopian consequences of removing all public trust in the media/press- imagine a country where everyone believes that Nothing Is True And Everything Is Possible.

Nothing is true and everything is possible

Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible

Exactly what Trump wants to hear.

Chaos and Confusion

Book : Nothing is true, everything is possible

RAND Paper

You might see the first AG (attempted) appointee that isn't even an attorney. As crazy as this circus is, you might see Alex Jones on the list. Uncharted territory here everybody.

Nothing is true and everything is possible

>Ein nicht zu vernacchlässigender Teil der Bevölkerung wird hier Stück für Stück, Überschrift für Überschrift, von jemandem der Merkel nicht und sich eine Strengere Flüchtlingspolitik wünscht; zu einem der allen traditionellen Medien nicht mehr traut (da sie nie über diese News berichten!) und empfänglich für Verschwörungstheorien ist.

Ein ganz wichtiger Punkt! Zu dieser Entwicklung hat der Journalist Peter Pomerantsew ein Buch mit dem passenden Titel "Nothing is true and everything is possible." geschrieben.

Die Strategie heutiger Propaganda ist nicht mehr, die Menschen auf die eigene Seite zu ziehen. Es reicht schon, das Vertrauen in die Medien der Gegenseite zu erodieren.

Dazu auch ein sehr lesenswerter Artikel von Marina Weisband in der Zeit, Zitat:

> Widersprüchliche Informationen sind deshalb so unbeliebt, weil sie kognitive Dissonanz erzeugen – die auszuhalten Ressourcen kostet. Das ist besonders zum Problem geworden, seit Informationen im Internet gesammelt werden können. Im Netz kann jedes Foto verfälscht sein, kann völlig aus dem Zusammenhang gerissen worden sein. Die Verwirrung und Belastung durch die Vielfalt der widersprüchlichen Information in den sozialen Medien sind ohnehin gewaltig. Nun kommt der Kniff der Lügner hinzu, dieses Potenzial bewusst zu instrumentalisieren.

>Wenn ich Ihnen sage: "Der Himmel ist grün", dann ist es gar nicht so sehr mein Ziel, dass Sie mir auf Anhieb glauben. Mein Ziel ist es vielmehr, so häufig zu behaupten, der Himmel sei grün, bis Ihre Ressourcen, den Widerspruch auszuhalten, erschöpft sind und Sie einlenken und sagen: "Das ist Ihre Meinung. Ich denke, der Himmel ist blau. Es gibt wohl keine Möglichkeit, die Farbe des Himmels objektiv festzustellen." Steter Tropfen höhlt den Schädel. Das Ziel offensichtlicher Lügen ist der Beweis der Machtlosigkeit von Wahrheit; die Verschiebung des Diskurses, sodass alles plötzlich infrage gestellt wird.

this is how propaganda works, FYI. First thing you have to do is get everyone to disbelieve all sources of news/authority and adopt a 'who cares, it is all fake, all fake stuff is equally valid' mentality.

The gold-standard book on how Russians use propaganda in the modern age is literally called Nothing is True, Everything is Possible to reflect this mindset.

Just be sure to vet your sources carefully, and never trust the conspiracy-fueled sources.

Also, I'll repost this from another subreddit:

I am right now finishing up a pretty massive book binge about Russia. I became fascinated with the work of Russian political dissident and expat Masha Gessen back when she published her article Autocracy: Rules for Survival, and have since been reading anything by her that I can get my hands on.

Every scrap of her writing over at the New York Review of Books is gold, and worth reading. Here is that trove of articles and essays.

Her latest book, The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia, is a kind of difficult read (mostly because all the Russian names are tough to keep straight; it's like reading Tolstoy that way, lol), but it is VERY much worth it.

If you are interested, here are a few books that cover the lunacy that is modern Russia:

Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia

The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin

The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia

And on the American side of things:

The Plot to Hack America: How Putin’s Cyberspies and WikiLeaks Tried to Steal the 2016 Election

Devil's Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump, and the Storming of the Presidency

And finally, this excellent social history of America that attempts to explain why the US is uniquely vulnerable to cons, propaganda, chicanery, religious hacks, and snake oil salesmen of all flavors, even Russian:

Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History

edit: also keep in mind that in Russia, the election interference and cheating is regarded as a source of national pride (remember, this is the nation that thinks steroid cheating at the Olympics is totally awesome):

"People in Russia are always proud of Russian achievements, even if some of them are bad."

>It really is an insane world we've landed in.

this is a strategy

they are attempting to push us closer and closer to the same state of chaos, confusion, and societal disintegration that Putin has already accomplished in Russia

while people are reeling around in delirium you can pick their pockets, and if they beat one another up that just allows you to sit back and play golf while they do your genocidal work for you

lol whatever

...then again, Gessen's Rule #1: Believe the autocrat.

Political strategy used with great success by Putin

Chaos and Confusion

Book : Nothing is true, everything is possible

RAND Paper

I hate that you are being downvoted because there is a very real possibility that this is true. This book is basically all about how manipulative the Russian government is and how their strategy is to create an environment where no one knows what is real or fake.

I've heard good things about Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible to detail the cultural mindset of the "New Russia" but to be frank I have yet to read it.

If you want more context on Putin's regime, check out, "Nothing is True and Everything is Possible" by Peter Pomerantsev. It's an inside view of Russian life/propaganda from someone who worked as a TV producer for a Russian network:

https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-True-Everything-Possible-Surr...

Yes, but if we continue down our current path, they will not be directed at automation itself. Instead, advanced propaganda and bot networks will organize discontent against whichever targets allow the protesters to feel temporarily empowered, but that pose no actual threat to entrenched powers. The Russians are far further down this road than the US. Go read about how Surkov simultaneously creates Neo-Nazi movements, gives money to anti-Putin protestors, and props up the Russian Orthodox Church.

https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-True-Everything-Possible-Surr...