It is not surprising to read reports of government media advisers telling newspaper editors how to report on price hikes, following the move to reduce or eliminate subsidies.
It seems it is okay to say ‘upward price adjustments’ and ‘subsidy rationalisation’ but not ‘price hikes’ or ‘barang naik’. Ridiculous? It’s all part of the info-war.
Increasingly governments are using public relations experts to manage the way the public reacts to controversial new policies and to neutralise dissent. In public relations circles, this is referred to as ‘perception management’.
