Are The NDC’s Propaganda And Cherry-Picking Working?

In the echo chamber of propaganda, lies always sit atop the information food chain. In that crucible of “alternative reality,” cherry-picking of unfolding events and misrepresentation of facts to fit right into the propaganda peddlers’ narrative or slanted worldviews of what passes for objective reality are the norm. Literally, propaganda’s number one casualty is the truth. In effect, propaganda is the savage crucifixion of truth on the “sacred cross” of manipulation, cynicism, and expediency. The propaganda purveyors’ MO is to lie, and lie some more until people get entangled in amnesiac trance, thereby becoming confused in the process with the subsequent loss of the ability to differentiate between fact and fiction. In many ways, that is what the main opposition NDC party is trying to do under Akufo-Addo era, if it has not already succeeded in using vile propaganda to muddy the waters of Ghana’s sociopolitical ecosystem.

It bears repeating that in the propagandists’ playbook, misleading information quickly metamorphosize into “truth” via passionate repetition over long period of time until the lies are consumed as the whole truth by large mass of the citizenry. By the large mass of the citizenry, the emphasis here is mostly on the uncritical minds as well as the socioeconomic underclass, including the gullible citizens in the society. These particular groups of people are often the main targets of the propagandists’ onslaughts because of their vulnerabilities, as well as their often simplistic grasps of issues of national importance.

No doubt, Ghana today is witnessing seismic shift regarding political propaganda network steadfastly operated by the NDC. Here, we are talking about misinformation wing the country’s major opposition party classifies it as “Communication Team.” Clearly, the Team is pure NDC propaganda outpost which has some parallels with the Hitler’s Public Enlightenment and Propaganda Ministry in the 1930s and beyond. The team’s responsibilities, among others, is to saturate the media airwaves with misleading information and create “truth” out of the real truth. This is not hyperbolic assertion in that the NDC’s frenzied communication team, like almost all propaganda machinery thrives on twisting facts such that lies are viewed as truth and the truth or reality is interpreted as untruth.

In their wildest imaginations, then ruling NDC party led by Mr. John Mahama and his party’s apparatchiks never dreamed their lackluster government would be booted out of office by the assuredly disillusioned Ghanaian electorates. It appeared the prevailing conditions leading up to the 2016 general elections had deceivingly blown a wind of victory in every direction toward the then incumbent President Mahama and his majority party reelection adventure. They were expecting nothing but resounding win.

Obviously, the mere thought of the NDC becoming the minority party after eight unproductive years in power, and the unfavorable 2016 general election results had led to the production of nightmarish reverberations and lingering aftershocks across the entire veneer of the hitherto invincible fortresses constructed by the party’s top echelons and their foot soldiers prior to their miserable defeat. At this point it is as if the NDC’s avowed endgame is to engage in cynical cherry picking of events in Ghana today, using endless propaganda spins in a calculated effort to weaken the architectural prop of Nana Akufo-Addo presidency to pave the way for ex-President Mahama, especially, to redeem himself in the 2020 general elections.

Now based on Mr. Mahama’s recent admission, it is becoming clearer than before why the NDC is so deeply involved in cherry-picking Nana Akufo-Addo’s far-reaching policies and then propagating misleading information everywhere. It official the ex-president wants to contest for the office of the presidency he mismanaged not too long ago so he can get the chance to “right the wrong” during his time in the political saddles. The question is what type of wrongdoings he committed while in office? For that Mr. Mahama did not bother to tell the whole country because he probably harbors the feelings that Ghanaians are political suckers who can be swayed by display of self-pity backed by some touches of propaganda.

It is up to all serious-minded Ghanaians to show commitment toward separating the proverbial wheat from the chaff so they can quickly see through one of the real triggers behind NDC’s desperation, including how neck-deep its propaganda “communication team” has been stuck in the midstream of distortions of facts and campaign of cherry-picking. The NDC “communication team” is not your ordinary political information outlet as we know it. The team is not about using public communication as a balance between originality, decency, and constraint; neither is it for genuine information transfer to average Ghanaians. Because the team is never about the interest of everyday Ghanaians and their right to get alternative perspectives of the true state of affairs of Ghana from a viable opposition group.

For the progressive-minded Ghanaians, the two most consequential initiatives any government had ever taken in Ghana’s recent history are the Free SHS and the genuine fight against galamsey or illegal mining that is fast destroying the nation’s pristine environment. Rather than giving patriotic-centered support and suggest workable solutions to help make the policies successful, the NDC is rather leading a supercharged propaganda crusades and cynical cherry-picking of the issues’ challenges as if every major policy implementation under any government in this world is without problems.

After all the US high school education system is not problems-free—I know this as current educator in America—but the policymakers keep improving it every day to make it better. Given the high premium and huge investments progress-oriented countries put in education, and lest l forget their sustained effort to go “green” on their environments, Ghanaians of good conscience will be digging their own graves if they do not put on their critical thinking caps but easily give in to selfish propaganda and cherry-picking. And President Akufo-Addo is right: Ghana is not backing away from the Free SHS!

The author, Bernard Asubonteng, teaches political science at college-level in U.S. Send comments to: [email protected]