"Controlling public opinion is actually quite simple. Any official statement will be repeatedly examined under a magnifying glass. Every punctuation or onomatopoeic word can be interpreted into a 20,000-word explanation. Sometimes, it can even be a complete story with a specific time, place, and person. Keyboard politicians, teahouse managers, and kitchen investors all have rich imaginations."
According to Rorschach's understanding, most of the time, the more the officials said, the more mistakes they would make. Now that it was his turn to use official channels to speak, he would do his best to speak as little as possible.
"What if they don't make it clear? Many people will take the initiative to explain for you. They'll interpret every word for you, and they'll interpret that you don't mean anything at all. But they'll only explain in the direction of the future they want to see or the future they fear … When the time comes, you just need to state your position appropriately. Of course, you still can't say that you're dead. You have to grasp the feeling of 'I didn't say anything, it's all your guesses'. "
"Why don't they make it clear …? As the situation develops, we can treat it as' Ah, you guessed everything right, too bad there's no prize ', or' Sorry, it's the complete opposite of what you guessed. What? The officials tacitly agreed? There's evidence?! How imaginative! '"
In a way, Rorschach was also having a hard time. He had to control public opinion while maintaining a good distance. He had to be prepared to shift the blame at any time. He didn't want to leave any evidence behind that could be used as a scapegoat.
In this spirit, the entire Vila Nova Dônia's publicity channels were in a very strange situation.
The officials' words were like gold. Every day, their spokespeople would nag about "We'll jointly hold the Sunlight Festival" or "We'll open up a new batch of immigration quotas". There was nothing new at all.
Meanwhile, all kinds of news were flying around. Some of them were good, such as the new immigration benefits being very attractive, or that it would be very convenient to travel between Vila Nova Dônia and Cape Town in the future, or that basically everyone who participated in this incident would receive an extra month's bonus (allowance) and half a month's paid leave.
And these good news became reality one by one. Everyone really did receive additional benefits. The Sunlight Festival became an official festival, so there was a legal holiday. In addition to this special situation, there were a few extra days off, so there really was about 10 days of paid leave.
There was also bad news. For example, some people said that the illegal factories outside the city had suffered heavy losses, and that the black-hearted bosses of Eich had committed suicide … But to be honest, in front of the overwhelming amount of good news and news that would affect one's future, this bad news didn't even cause a ripple as it disappeared in the boundless flow of information.
Then, there was also some news. For example, a certain Wolf went to work at an illegal factory. Not only did he not return, his boss also died. He also had a child who didn't go to school and a disabled mother at home … This should have been considered a tragedy, but the disaster relief committee under the board of directors took over and helped him out. They even gave him a Level 3 Hero's Medal, which was considered a work injury and a sacrifice in Vila Nova Dônia.
Although this was only the lowest-level Hero's Medal, which didn't even have an honorary title, it meant that his child's education in the future would be free. His mother would also be able to receive a basic monthly allowance.
And this news was confirmed in the next episode of "Absolute Reality". The official words were quoted as saying, "On that night, he led the other workers to fight bravely and saved 27 Seymour people from death."
According to the traditional beliefs of the Seymour people, only by sacrificing for the city, such as dying in a battle to defend the city, would one be able to receive such treatment. This was because they were fighting for the city's ruler.
Sacrificing for a merchant outside the city, and a merchant from an illegal factory at that, would also receive such treatment. This had already surpassed the benevolence of the Seymour people's traditional beliefs. It had reached the level of indulgence.
"This is to compensate the families of the Seymour people who died in the disaster. Even if he didn't sacrifice himself for Vila Nova Dônia, Vila Nova Dônia still cares for its citizens in the sense of humanity."
The allusion of spending a thousand gold to buy the bones of a fine horse from a thousand miles away wasn't something new, but the fact that it spread so far and wide proved that this trick was indeed useful.
'Absolute Reality', as an unofficial media (probably only they remembered it), analyzed what would have happened to his child and mother if he didn't receive such an honorary sacrifice. The best outcome would have been being chased out of the house and moved back to their hometown in Cape Town.
Apart from this example, there were many other similar examples that were dug up. The Seymour people who were used to treating human lives as worthless as straw rope were really surprised by this treatment for the first time.
And in these reports of good people and martyrs, Rorschach unknowingly revealed some things that happened in the shadows.
For example, the existence of the illegal factory, and the fact that many people died that night … In fact, the martyr who led the 27 Seymour people to survive and sacrificed himself was in a factory with over 1600 workers. 27 of them were the only survivors of that night!
If this was really reported in full detail, "Shocking! Out of 2000 people, only a few survived! " Then public opinion would instantly explode.
But such selective reporting and indirect reporting could only be done by Rorschach and his' Absolute Reality '.
'Absolute Reality', although it was Vila Nova Dônia's number one media outlet, it wasn't an official media outlet after all, so it didn't have to take responsibility for selective reporting. At this time, the flexibility of a civilian media outlet to advance and retreat was reflected ….. it didn't have the responsibility to report the complete truth and the full picture of the incident!
Although it didn't have the responsibility of an official media outlet, it had the strength and credibility to exceed the official media outlets. In this entire incident, Rorschach and his' Absolute Reality 'shone brilliantly, earning a huge amount of impression points and favor points in the eyes of the board of directors.
These days, Rorschach had squeezed out every last bit of his spirit. He had never been so diligent since he was born. Not only did he work overtime every day, he didn't even get off work, constantly maintaining his understanding and control of public opinion and rumors.
And the results were delightful.
Not only were the exemplary and heroic deeds established, the follow-up of Vila Nova Dônia's' God of Fortune gives out money, and those who pass by will also give red packets' had also closed the gap between the Aishi People and the Seymour people. Especially after the Seymour people met with misfortune, after seeing these reports, they had the mentality that Vila Nova Dônia was theirs, and they would not be mistreated if they sacrificed for it. The citizens' satisfaction level rose sharply.
More importantly, Rorschach had fulfilled his promise and completed his work.
"Sigh, that martyr's factory is really pitiful. I heard that only a few dozen people survived."
"Don't mention it. I remember that factory. I almost joined them when they were recruiting workers ….. You can't go to a black-hearted factory. You'll lose your life just because you're greedy."
The citizens unknowingly approved of the black-hearted factory's existence. Some even said things like "it's been around for a long time" or "they were fooled by their own carelessness".
Rorschach had uncovered the truth. Although he had only uncovered a little of it, and most of it had been mixed in with rumors and lies, he had indeed uncovered the truth. Moreover, he hadn't caused any serious public outcry or dissatisfaction … this was actually quite difficult. After all, everything was difficult at the beginning. Only when a piece of news was uncovered would it be the breaking point. Now that he had uncovered a little of it, the hot news had passed the initial excitement period, and it would be much easier to deal with the rest.
Of course, not everyone paid attention to this. Vila Nova Dônia wasn't completely united either. Some people and churches had begun secretly investigating this matter. But what followed was a series of important news that attracted all the attention.
"The new immigration plan has been finalized. After the holidays, Vila Nova Dônia will welcome over 200,000 new immigrants."
This first piece of news was truly a rumor that had turned into reality. But what followed was a sudden bombshell.
"The twenty-member board of directors has issued a wasteland expansion order. After the holidays, the entire wastelands will enter a new era of development for knights. Countless satellite cities will be built. We won't be limited to just one city in Novodonia. In this new era, everyone will have the opportunity to become a domain lord, a noble, or a wealthy merchant."
However, the latest news made everyone feel like it was a fairy tale.
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