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Uncommon Decency


Apr 28, 2021

“That is the secret of propaganda: those who are to be persuaded by it should be completely immersed in its ideas, without ever noticing that they are being so”. These principles outlined by Hitler's master propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, continue to guide the propagators of hate in our times, albeit in service of a wholly new totalitarian ideology. At times vicious, at times more insidious, radical Islamist propaganda has taken the world by storm. From the execution of American hostages in orange suits to the pictures of a dreamland Caliphate where worthy men and women raise joyful families in faitful observance of Islam, the wedge driven by Jihadist propaganda at the core of European societies is real, deep and life-costing, with Europeans being led to assassinate fellow citizens in Paris, Manchester, Brussels and Vienna. If you doubt that ISIS' propaganda arm ought to be taken seriously at all, consider that its operators are paid on average 7 times more than those risking their lives on the Caliphate's battefront. What's the worldview of a propagandist? Who do they aim to recruit, and how are Europe's weaknesses exploited, including by enlisting the indirect help of adjacent civil society "gateway" organisations along the way? Jesse Morton of Parallel Networks and Hugo Micheron of Princeton are on the show this week to unpack.

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