When I first witnessed the video of Stephen Miller’s May 1st 13-minute speech in the White House Press Room, I was mortified. I felt like I was in the Twilight Zone. How could anyone in America today not recognize the blatant propaganda on display? And how could anyone believe Miller’s words?
For decades we educators have tried to instill “media literacy” to our students, helping them to recognize undue influence, motivations, coercion, misinformation/disinformation, and propaganda. As this article in Edutopia states:
The ultimate goal is to empower students to become discerning information consumers, capable of navigating the digital landscape with confidence and skepticism, and help them identify why and how hidden interests might be working to capture their thinking.
Discerning individuals recognize that if any portion of a communication is false, the entire communication’s integrity should be questioned. This is especially important today when viewing political speeches from anyone in Trump’s authoritarian administration.
Discerning individuals recognize that if any portion of a communication is false,
the entire communication’s integrity should be questioned.
Mr. Miller’s speech doesn’t showcase every form propaganda takes; but I was able to identify and then condense the speech into 12 recognizable forms. *Note that I am not a professional filmmaker, so pardon the marginal quality. I did not alter any video clips, except one clip on Trump’s “Golden Age,” which I slowed down for clarity; I did rearrange clips into categories.
I encourage everyone to VIEW, SHARE, DISCUSS—and become an amateur educator of media literacy, to inform the next generation of media consumers.
In solidarity,
Kimberly Kennedy
UPDATE: Since writing this piece, I discovered this impressive deep-dive into Stephen Miller’s background:
