Everything

From your lips to the world’s ears. You know how to influence public opinion on a mass scale, often by bending an inflammatory truth just enough to boil the blood of John and Jane Q. Public. Given a few days, some resources, and the right venue, you can make your chosen party look as good or bad as possible. Obviously, this demands media access (computers, social media, TV network connections, etc.); assuming you have it, though, you can craft messages that lodge and burn in the public consciousness.

Like other “offstage” Abilities, this Trait requires time and patience to employ. In game terms, you decide the message you want to send, the instruments you want to employ when delivering that message, the methods you plan to use in order to get that message across, and the effect you want it to have once it’s out there. A Manipulation + Propaganda roll sends that message out to the court of public opinion; the better you roll, the stronger that idea takes hold. That roll’s difficulty depends on your target, the message, and the general public’s receptivity to the idea. Claiming that the first dark-skinned American president is a malignant foreign infiltrator appears to be a very easy task; convincing the general public that their favorite news sources are owned by an Arabian prince is far more challenging. To many Technocratic Operatives, this Trait makes a perfect venue for large-scale coincidental Mind Procedures. Note, however, that such propaganda, even in Awakened hands, is effective but not perfect. The pervasive and contradictory nature of mass-media culture assures a certain degree of skepticism in even the most gullible audiences.

For potential applications of this Trait, again see Influence From a Distance and The Social Element in How Do You DO That?.

• Dabbler: Daily Kos blogger.

•• Student: Fox News anchor.

••• Scholar: Rush Limbaugh.

•••• Professor: Noam Chomsky.

••••• Master: Dick Chaney.

Possessed by

Pundits, Bloggers, Politicians, Anonymous, Media Analysts, Media Activists, Ad Executives, Adbusters, Politicians, Spin Doctors, Speechwriters, PR Consultants, Network Honchos, Game Designers, Media Ops, Religious Leaders, Conspiracy Theorists, NWO Specialists, Syndicate Ops, Nephandic Corrupters

Specialties

Targets, Moral Panics, Celebrity Endorsements, Smears, Scandals, Red Alerts, Misdirection, Elections, Subliminals, Advertising, Politics, “Othering,” Undermining, Counterprogramming, Pervasive Images, Military Applications, Total Fabrications, Panic Buttons, Beating the War-Drums

Ratings