A degree in sociology, twenty years in marketing and communist convictions – the combination of all this led me to write a perhaps slightly longer, but from my point of view really important text that deals with the current role of the media. Most of the current media, whether newspapers, television or social networks, are not neutral sources of information. They are not just "windows to the world" through which we would learn the truth. The mainstream media in particular are primarily instruments of power that in every society serve the class that holds wealth and the means of production.

Capitalism rules. Factories, banks, retail chains, apartments, land and information infrastructure belong to a small minority. Most people own nothing but their labor power, which they have to sell in order to survive. This basic relationship of exploitation is inevitably reflected in the media. It also belongs to large companies, billionaires or is existentially dependent on advertising and corporate money. They therefore understandably cannot speak out against the system that feeds them. And they do not hesitate to silence those who try to do so through them.

The ruling class media do not have to lie openly every day. Their main function is something deeper: to maintain capitalism as the "normal", "natural" and "only possible" social order. They portray reality in such a way that the power of capital is not threatened. Job loss is presented as a personal failure, low wages as a necessity to tighten belts, strikes as an irresponsible threat to the economy, corporate profits as success and exploitation as a natural market mechanism.

Any alternative systems are then labeled as extremism, and those who promote them are labeled and criminalized. The real causes of poverty, stress, debt, insecurity, but also wars remain in the background and the class nature of the problems is masked by individualizing guilt. In the conditions of digital capitalism, this dynamic takes on a new form: information technologies are increasingly becoming a strategic tool for managing society and maintaining the power of ruling structures from the global to the personal level, especially through the systematic influence of public opinion.

Tabloids in a “red coat”

A significant role in this process is played by the systematic diversion of attention from the real causes. Tabloids, celebrities, scandals, artificial culture wars, hysterical campaigns against migrants, endless political arguments and media sensations flood the public space and crowd out topics that could lead to an understanding of real social contradictions. Instead of discussing wages, working conditions, housing or the power of corporations, workers are given a continuous stream of visual smog, emotions and superficial conflicts. A tired person after work, instead of understanding his own situation, consumes content that dulls his consciousness and distracts him from collective thinking.

This mechanism does not only work in openly pro-regime media, but also tends to spread to environments that formally claim to be left-wing. If left-wing communication begins to resemble a tabloid in a "red coat", if it begins to rely on ridicule, personal attacks, cheap slogans and media shortcuts, it becomes part of the same problem. Such a style of communication does not teach people to think, but to react impulsively.

It encourages anger, envy, aggression and scorn. It is similar with populism, which replaces analysis with simple slogans and false promises. Populism has become an integral part of political campaigns and always grows stronger before elections, when it can be a functional tool for attracting attention in the short term. However, its danger lies in the fact that it offers quick and attractive solutions, but without naming the real structural causes. Equally harmful is the reduction of politics to personal attacks and ridicule of opponents. When the political struggle is reduced to who is the bigger fool or hypocrite, the essence of the problem, namely capitalism as a system of exploitation, is hidden under the layers of media mud.

Capitalism is not bad because it is run by these “bad people” who are easy to identify with through their caricatures, but because it is built on the subordination of labor to capital. Thus, instead of being led to understand the systemic causes of their problems, workers are fed scandals and personal conflicts, making them passive consumers of political entertainment, not conscious participants in the class struggle. Instead of mobilizing, they are lulled into a false hope that the solution to their problems lies in the hands of political actors who, however, only sell them the products of marketing manuals and distract from the need for collective change.

New media – cui bono?

The so-called new media play a significant role in political communication today. However, social media platforms also belong to giant corporations and their goal is profit. Their algorithms prefer and spread only what generates clicks, emotions and advertising money. They support conflicts, fear, superficiality and polarization. That is why the most successful posts on social networks are those that do not require thinking, work with simple emotions and have a high potential for spreading, which the algorithms willingly support. However, what we must bear in mind is the fact that most users do not care who shares such posts.

They do not gain any knowledge, deeper understanding or relationship with their author, but only a short moment of superficial entertainment. Therefore, it is illusory to believe that the number of likes, followers and the reach of posts say anything about the success of promoting our politics. Moreover, if marketing begins to determine the content of politics instead of being its subordinate tool, ideological integration into the system that was supposed to be overcome will inevitably occur.

From a Marxist perspective, however, the media are not doomed to serve only oppression. From the beginning of the workers' movement, communication has been understood as a key weapon of class struggle. Lenin already formulated the role of the workers' press as that of collective agitator, propagandist and organizer. This means that class-conscious media should awaken discontent where people suffer injustice, explain the causes of social phenomena, connect individual struggles into a common movement and create class consciousness and solidarity.

They should not calm people down or superficially entertain, but educate and empower. They should ask basic questions: who profits from it, who pays for it, who makes the decisions and who it serves. Social networks must also be used in a way that is not in the interests of capital, to organize, to support each other and to disseminate information outside the control of the big media. However, this is only possible if the workers become aware of their non-neutral nature and use them consciously, critically and collectively.

Lead by example

The communist media must lead by example in this. Moreover, their task is to encourage self-confidence, pride, critical thinking and understanding of context. Not primitive shouting and impulsive reactions. They must expose exploitation, explain theory in a way that is understandable to the workers, connect individuals into a collective, promote solidarity and develop a class perspective. They should not replace politics with entertainment or reduce the political struggle to a media show.

Newspapers, websites and social networks can be either a tool for numbing, dividing and controlling or a tool for activation, education and solidarity. It depends on whose hands they are in and who can use them consciously. In this regard, the ruling class is today far ahead and very successful in its efforts. Knowing this, we cannot afford to waste energy and resources on mindless cries, but we must help people understand that they are not alone, that their problems are not individual but common, and that they have power when they unite.

Our goal must not be media popularity, but the emancipation of the working people. This can only be achieved through long-term and systematic building of class consciousness. Supporting the legitimate struggle for a world without exploitation – this is the true meaning of class-conscious communication, to which even the number of “likes” that some people tend to blindly chase today can temporarily fall victim.

Petra Prokšanová