The Methods Used in Adbusters Are Wrong

The magazine Adbusters is quite difficult to classify. While being informative, it is still quite visceral. The many images put in the magazine by the editors are meant to dismay, scare and anger the reader. Stories in the magazine are designed to do the same thing, and fit in perfectly with the pictures. The editors did not do this on accident, as no advertisement is entirely by accident. Adbusters is just glorified propaganda.

The ideas put forth in Adbusters are sound and could even be condoned. Their overall message is a justified one, and they are trying to "fight the good fight." However, their methods are absolutely detestable. The images in the magazine, as said previously, are only there for their shock value and very few actually help to inform the reader. Epictetus said that "only the educated are free." So would not the publishers of Adbusters want to inform the reader before they bring ethics and emotion into the picture? The Adbusters website, adbusters.org, says "Our aim is to topple existing power structures and forge a major shift in the way we will live in the 21st century." It sounds like they want to free people from the powers that be, so to free these people, would not they want to first educate them? An example of this horrid display of dirty journalism can be found right in the magazine itself. In the September/October issue, there is an article called "The Moral Rightness of the War," written by Jenny Uechi. The article is accompanied by an image of a bloody soldier. This image is unnecessary because it does not have any context. This soldier could be from any war, and from any time. This image does not inform the reader of anything because it offers no information, just shock. Thus, Adbusters is only using its magazine to spread their own message, and the definition of propaganda is information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc (dictionary.com). This use of propaganda wouldn't be so detestable if they would just come out and say it, but instead they act like they are saviors of the citizens of the world.