Cecil and PSYOP

The US media has joined the Social Media frenzy in lambasting the dentist who purportedly paid over $US50,000 to hunt and kill Cecil the iconic lion in Zimbawae.

One of the more interesting takes on this story had nothing to do with the virtue or lack thereof in the big game hunting trophy business, rather that article “If Cecil Circus: If He Only Had A Gun” (see: http://www.havokjournal.com/world/if-cecil-circus-if-he-only-had-a-gun/?utm_source=Havok+Journal&utm_campaign=730f4286c9-Havok_Journal_Daily&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_566058f87c-730f4286c9-213402489, which is also the photo source.)

The article has a simple, yet intriguing premise: “With limited choices for news, even in the 24 hour news cycle, why do we even have a story about a lion? In no imaginable circumstance is this lion relevant enough to make it to the front page of anyone’s paper when there are major drastic issues to be faced on a daily basis.”

The article goes on to become a very enlightening piece on PSYOP targeting. The author paints a case that appealing to the baser instincts of the small number of media companies that have millions of ‘followers’ can result in a massive impact on human behavior.

The article postulates that all the media attention won’t help Cecil nor any future big game targets. But that’s not the point, the point is that a small coterie of media companies control mass impressions – that’s an important point in PSYOP targeting.

Oh, what does the author say is the way to try and eliminate future victims like poor Cecil: “If you really care about Cecil, stop buying things made in China because while one dentist killed one lion, the vast majority of wildlife are killed for weird remedies in China. Or maybe you should stop buying things made in Japan, since the Japanese routinely slaughter thousands of dolphins for meat.
They would listen to the loss of money. That is the one value system most of the world can agree on and it is the point to how it all works. The media shows you something to make money, and they distract you from other things that might lose them money. The truth has no monetary value.”