Propaganda Then and Now: What Orwell Did and Didn't Know

http://www.nypl.org/live/multimedia/orwell

On the 60th anniversary of Orwell's Politics and the English Language, George Orwell described political speech as consisting largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness. Some six decades later, many symptoms of manipulation and propaganda diagnosed by Orwell persist on the American political landscape, along with new disinformation techniques enabled by modern technology.

Historians, scientists, philosophers, linguists, cognitive experts, journalists, image-makers, and public figures will debate in three separate sessions the current state of political discourse?and journalism's response to it? on the dawn of a bitterly contested presidential campaign.

Part I - Propaganda Then and Now: What Orwell Did and Didn't Know

Part II - Deceiving Images: The Science of Manipulation

Part III - Solutions: The Future Political Landscape

Each session will explore the past, present, and future of deceptive political speech, and assess what can be done to bring more realism and honesty into the conduct of America?s public affairs.

This event is co-sponsored by the Open Society Institute.