I began writing when I was still in the British Foreign Service, and it was then understood that even if you wrote about butterfly collecting, you used another name.
John Le CarreRead
I remain terrified of the capacity of the media, the capacity of spin doctors, here and abroad, particularly the United States media, to perpetuate false lies, perpetuate lies.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights a deep concern about the media's ability to distort truth through manipulation and misinformation.
John Le Carre expresses a profound unease regarding the power of the media, especially in the United States, to fabricate and perpetuate false narratives. He emphasizes the critical impact that spin doctors and media manipulation have in shaping public perception and the importance of recognizing this potential for deception.
Themes
MediaLiesManipulationTruthDeception
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing misinformation in politics, one might quote this to emphasize the need for media literacy.
More from John Le Carre
All quotes βIn every war zone that I've been in, there has been a reality and then there has been the public perception of why the war was being fought. In every crisis, the issues have been far more complex than the public has been allowed to know.
John Le CarreRead
The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other catβs mat is a story.
John Le CarreRead
The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous.
John Le CarreRead
Coming home from very lonely places, all of us go a little mad: whether from great personal success, or just an all-night drive, we are the sole survivors of a world no one else has ever seen.
John Le CarreRead
If I had to put a name to it, I would wish that all my books were entertainments. I think the first thing you've got to do is grab the reader by the ear, and make him sit down and listen. Make him laugh, make him feel. We all want to be entertained at a very high level.
John Le CarreRead
Similar quotes
Clearly I miss Him, having been brought up in religion. But now a man must be responsible to himself.
Ernest HemingwayRead
If the newspapers of a country are filled with good news, the jails of that country will be filled with good people.
Daniel Patrick MoynihanRead
In a constitutional democracy the moral content of law must be given by the morality of the framer or legislator, never by the morality of the judge.
Robert BorkRead
...let us recognize that extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere. Let us recall that poverty is a denial of human rights. For the first time in history, in this age of unprecedented wealth and technical prowess, we have the power to save humanity from this shameful scourge. Let us summon the will to do it.
Kofi AnnanRead
Beauty is worse than wine, it intoxicates both the holder and beholder.
Aldous HuxleyRead
The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.
Richard DawkinsRead