Once upon a time, “news” reported on past events, telling us the Who, What, When, Why and Where of a story, and possibly told us of scheduled upcoming events.

Today’s news is primarily opinion and speculation about the future, and almost aways scary, frightening speculation.

In recent weeks, the news gave us a steady stream of scary pronouncements about May 9th

• the day Vladimir Putin would launch a nuclear attack on Ukraine,
• or a nuclear attack on other nations,
• or announce a major escalation of the war by declaring war on Ukraine,
• mobilizing their entire armed forces,
• re-establishing conscription
• and likely attack other nearby countries.

What actually happened: Putin announces no new escalation on long awaited Victory Day

Fear is one of the most powerful tools of propagandists. Plus, with the added benefit that viewers and readers in a heightened emotional state are more responsive to advertising messages 🙂