Companies & You: Social Media and... Propaganda? (Patreon)

We live in a Capitalist Hellscape right now, the state of the world is uncertain, there's a bunch of rich assholes fucking the world over for their own benefit, it all seems kind of... Really bad. And amidst worker exploitation and monopolies that keep raising prices of things people need to live, the Wendy's Twitter posts a Funny Meme.

A heart chuckle, a bit of a laugh. Perhaps you decide to share this with a friend, like 'lol, look what the wendys twitter just posted ;)". And then a twang of guilt as Garfield's smug-ass face pops up in your consciousness, as you remember the 'You're Not Immune to Propaganda' thing having been doing the rounds lately.

Yeah, I am going to ramble a little bit about this situation.

Let us not kid ourselves. The Colonel Sanders Dating Game is just a marketing ploy, making something bizarre and unexpected, play into the whole 'people are into Hot Dads' thing, to make people talk about it, and by extension, their product. The Wendy's Twitter took advantage of that one 'savage' response about not remembering what a fridge is, and practically rebranded itself as sassy and jokey. And of course, this concerns a lot of people on the Internet.

"You're not Immune to Propaganda" is a clear message- We're constantly bombarded from all sides by advertisements, the TV, billboards, radio stations, pop-ups, they're practically inescapable, and as a consequence of this, we've really started to tune them out. An ad has to be very eye-catching or different or weird to make a lot of people more interested in a product, and so, ploys like these that get people talking without it being an outright ad, that brings positive publicity to the company, are very desirable for them. They masquerade themselves innocently, and entice you to purchase their product.

Be aware! Be careful! Be critical of the companies and don't fall for their traps!

Yeah...

This is kind of a really alarmist mindset, isn't it?

(Yes, this is from Colonel Sander's Dating Sim, apparently)

Being critical, wary, of publicity and advertising, of being manipulated and swayed to buy a product you don't need, is okay. Companies are not your friends, and there are very insidious ploys to hide harsh and unfair labor standards within companies or bad politics. When they promote themselves to be Pro-LGBT during Pride Month, only to then find out they're donating to a Political Campaign that openly opposes the community, when they put a friendly face, while insider information leaks showcasing the awful conditions they treat their workers and their exploitation, that, is shit to look out for.

And while things like making a Dating Sim of your Mascot, or having a Sassy Social Media presence can contribute to this vibe of 'friendliness' towards the face a Company puts on, while they hide their more insidious shit, it is not as... Dramatic as the previous example? It's not 'Propaganda' trying to hide the skeletons in their closet, it's closer to advertising to get people talking about them and generate good PR. Publicity stunts, ads, they've always existed, and this is just the new iteration of it, for the current age, for the newer generations.

This is a complex and nuanced topic, because I can see perfectly why people would be extra-critical of every single stunt of this kind. And companies trying to appear friendly while not reflecting this good in how they treat their employees is awful! But I've also seen people being attacked for commenting something that Wendy's said, or people bashing on others when Reggie stepped down from Nintendo of America. Public figures people have seen for a long time within a company, moments of levity coming from them as a bright spark in the middle of all the shit we're in. People want a laugh and to relax some times, not be hyper-vigilant and cynical 24/7, and when your stance on Propaganda and Companies is to shit on people who were bummed out Reggie stepped down, you have to consider whether you're actually concerned with improving worker conditions and dismantling toxic systems, or if you're just trying to gain brownie points feeling 'purer' and 'more woke' than other people for not caring about this stuff.

Pride Month is a very interesting time for this kind of issue. Companies of all sorts push out products that are 'rainbow-themed' in 'support' of the LGBT community, and it is grating on a lot of people, specially when their internal politics have shown that they are very much not invested in reality.

But remember, we still live in a Capitalistic Hellhole. To change this kind of model would imply deep societal changes, which, is a goal, but it's not going to happen overnight. It's not good that Companies just put up a front of friendliness before ignoring us or outright going against us the rest of the year- But it marks us as big and visible enough of a community to be Marketable. The alternative being totally ignoring us, even if it's temporary and only seeking profit, it is enjoyable seeing that, regarding hard profit, we are still ahead of homophobes.

It is sad that we have to deal with only temporary, profit-based investment. It is shitty that anti-worker companies try to market themselves as friendlier to make people turn a blind eye to their many, many issues. It is awful that we have to deal with this until we can push for a major social change, little by little, one step at a time. But staying alert and being careful with brands and propagandas shouldn't extend to the point where someone laughing at a dumb publicity stunt causes a vitriolic reaction within you.

Read about companies. Seek out which brands to support and which to not. Be critical of what they tell you and do to gain positive traction. Make sure they're not covering up for something else they're doing at the moment. But while staying informed... Allow yourself to laugh to dumb publicity once in a while without beating yourself up over it.

Thanks for listen to me ramble, stay sharp, but kind, and try to enjoy yourself. Life can get shitty enough as is, you don't need to keep a pessimistic attitude towards everything all the time.

<3

(Also I should point out, I don't actually know the working conditions or politics of either Wendy's or KFC. I've put them as examples because they're recent things I've seen around, that in themselves seem like dumb publicity. But then again, you can't be aware of every single bad thing every company ever has done before, and as far as I know, there isn't even a Wendy's or KFC locally anywhere near where I live)