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Comment by polytely | Hacker News Reader

The youtube channel smarter every day is doing a series about live aboard a nuclear attack sub (different class than the one in the article, Los Angeles class IIRC) during an exercise where they navigate under ice, called ICEX. which might be of interest if you like this article. It's obviously propaganda but it is very interesting nonetheless.

actual submarine part: https://youtu.be/RXXMJAU6vY8

the leadup and context surrounding the exercise: https://youtu.be/5d6SEQQbwtU

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I upvoted your child comment re: propaganda and I agree with it. I just also want to say to folks who might be turned off by that, his channel is super interesting!

Laminar flow, the physics of weed whackers and lawn mowers, rocket-powered golf clubs, eliminating poop splash, VR gloves and treadmills, touring a rocket factory and seeing a launch...he’s got a lot for geeks to like in there!

I’m not helping my case here, but he also has a good talk about being a science guy who is also a Christian in a field where that’s often dismissed reflexively as irrational. Probably only worth watching after you explore the channel and wonder about the Bible reference displayed briefly at the end of them.

https://youtu.be/WDu2ldAxHyc

>It's obviously propaganda but it is very interesting nonetheless.

Sorry, how is this video obviously propaganda?

It's not. The guy lives and works in Huntsville. The primary revenue of the city is weapon and propulsion research for the government. I'd imagine that perspective is the norm in that area (even more than the South in general).

He works for the military. He’s more open about it recently. I used to watched his videos but now its just advertisement for the military. He seems very happy designing efficient killing machines. He mentioned works on rocket propelled munitions research.

I thought he went back to grad school?

I unsubscribed when he mentioned his actual job, that was a long time ago.

The US military isn't just doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. They want you to become a submariner!

Or at least that's what I think he's implying.

Super fun job!

I think the smarter every day guy is or was military. I remember a video he did with his boss (some kind of general or so). That just as a fact, not judging on the propaganda part.

Destin worked as a civilian for the DoD.

I believe it would be accurate to state that Destin has a healthy respect for the people of, technology within, and the very idea of the US Military.

Destin, the person behind Smarter Every Day was ex-military and he interviewed his old commanding officer. It was clearly mentioned that the military is doing this to reach out to potential recruits while sharing interesting knowledge. I believe the actual episode is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOTYgcdNrXE

It is important to note that things can be more than one thing at once. The general in the video says that Destin created a weapon (of information), which would be propaganda. But the video is also highly informative and educational. Destin is in it for the education and cool factor. The military is in it for the education, cool factor (potential recruits), and show of power (to potential recruits, civilians, and foreign civilians). From my understanding, Destin has pretty free reign in what he can show (military does have to approve but he is free to speak his mind).

The fact that this is also propaganda just means that the military has a motive to show this other than for purely educational purposes. That's all propaganda means here.

(Note: I'm not arguing with the parent, I'm expanding on because of sibling comments that do not seem to understand the nuance)

It's fairly un-nuanced: get special exclusive access to military resources, and call the military resources cool in a way that the military approves of.

That's propaganda. Whether you think that's bad or good or there is nuance is still for each person to decide for themselves but nevertheless that's pretty much textbook propaganda.

Nitpick; ex-military has a negative connotation to some; as in, implying they got there by way of dishonourable discharge, etc.

In my experience, most such people prefer the term former military.

Potentially sponsored/edited by military personnel or at least done with their OK.

Ok so destin works as a scientist for the us gov. He did a video a while ago where he interviewed a general about the cyber domain of warfare. In this interview they discussed that the interview itself was part of that cyber domain, and the access they provide to destin is a part of the US presence in the cyber domain. [0]

The pentagon clearly sees smarter everyday as a channel to spread information to a certain audience, to show off US capability and serve as a recruitment material.

I respect Destin a lot and I think the video is very cool, but I feel that I should add a sort of disclaimer because I'm actively aiding the US gov by spreading this video? they obviously don't care about you knowing it's propaganda, but it cant hurt to emphasize it. Tbh my thinking about this isn't that crystallized yet but I thought it might spark an interesting side discussion.

0: https://youtu.be/qOTYgcdNrXE see 21:00+ for cyberdomain talk

marketing is not propaganda.

how then would propaganda be defined? It is the attempt to sway a targets opinion in your favor. Propaganda is "the formation of peoples attitudes"[1] as is marketing.

[1] Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda:_The_Formation_of_M...

It literally is though

Uncle Sam Wants You! To explain how that is remotely true.

The line is very blurry. Political marketing could easily be called propaganda.

First google definition is "information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view."

It's very easy to see how in a period of naval troubles (various collisions in the pacific, Bon Homme Richard, China in the South Sea), this could be considered advancing the US political position of the navy.

I really like Destin and think this isn't propaganda, but it is a recruiting tool for the Navy. If you're not constantly looking out for possible sources of bias in your information, there are a lot of people/organizations out there that will gladly lead you to conclusions that aren't 100% accurate.

“Propaganda" comes from the former name of the Roman Catholic central body tasked with marketing the faith, currently known as the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, but from 1622-1967 it was the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, or, in Latin Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide.

Marketing is exactly propaganda, the deliberate propagation of particular beliefs to motivate desired action.

And government promotion of it's military is pretty much at the core of the common understanding of propaganda, not some obscure connection.

Marketing for the military capacity of a state is pretty much the definition of propaganda :)

State marketing is the literal definition of propaganda...

Actually church marketing, originally.

(The pejorative state sense came out of German First World War influence campaigns.)

https://www.etymonline.com/word/propaganda

The state/marketing usage is predominant today though:

https://www.thefreedictionary.com/propaganda

Edward Bernays, father of modern advertising and public relations, Propaganda (1928):

https://archive.org/details/bernays-edward-l.-propaganda-192...

Marketing is propaganda is marketing.

Which term you use reveals your political leanings about a topic.

I don't remember the video, but Destin talked about how this stuff is clearly propaganda related but he'd have no chance to do the videos otherwise. I think it was the rocket factory one.

I like Destin a lot, but he's no journalist holding feet to fire and I think he's clear enough about that. He's more 'pop-sci' YouTube like Veritasium or Tom Scott.

That said, yeah, the angle is pro US and very empathizing with people/warfighters. He's also very pro Alabama. State pride, I guess.

I'm glad I don't have to walk the line that he is and I am grateful for the look he gives. But as always, you'll need more info than just Destin to make informed decisions.

I am assuming the idea that approval/invitation of a video from the subject is by definition propaganda of the subject. Just like sponsored product reviews or manufacturing tours. If you understand that he will not say much of anything negative then it is fine.

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