Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Why do so many think tanks think the same thoughts?

Here's a fun activity if you're "working" from home and want to kill some time. Whenever you're reading about geopolitics on the CBC or in the Globe and Mail, and you get to the part where they trot out a couple of experts to flesh out their story, do a little homework and find out what organizations those experts are affiliated with, and where they get their funding.

The old saw about the guy who pays the piper may not be fashionable, but still rings true.

For example, virtually any article you'll read on those platforms will cite experts from one or another think tank, the vast majority of which are sponsored by various Western governments, foundations, billionaires, Pentagon contractors, or some combination of the above. 

When the expert being cited is a former defence minister now acting as a lobbyist for weapons manufacturers, it's good to know that. It probably has an impact on how he arranges his priorities. Anything affiliated with defence spending obviously needs some scary enemies out there to justify more defence spending!

Truly independent authorities on whatever is the topic at hand don't come up very often in our free press.


That's because they're in the propaganda business now, not the news business.




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