I'm changing that to: Propaganda works and there is little defense.

Pictures, voices, narratives, emotions directly create memories; connections between neurons are created or strenghtened - you can switch on your "anti virus" but the machine is hacked on the "hardware" level.

I agree. Our instinctive reaction is to believe all the subliminal messaging. And we have to actively and consciously resist believing it, and to undo the wrong beliefs.

But it also helps a lot to periodically read how yet another US teacher is living in their car. After a while it becomes an instinct NOT to believe the propaganda that tells you otherwise.