The math won’t add up with a lie, no matter how well-crafted. Gaslighting in politics is not unusual, let’s explore the causes for why lies become extra absurd.
They don’t respect you
If a politician’s lies are getting more and more shoddy, and their base still believes them – it is because these demagogs do not respect their adoring followers at all, let alone their intelligence. Demagogs tend to have “better crafted” lies at the onset. Yes, these are still lies, laced with some truth to pass the smell test – just enough to create a visceral response on their potential target audience of future adoring followers.
But crafting a strong lie takes time and effort. Therefore, if their base is deemed naïve enough to eat any lie, no matter how insultingly ridiculous it might be – they will keep lowering the bar. They will stop putting in the effort. Simple, but there is another layer to this saga. This lowering the bar becomes a measuring rod to see which followers are not only naïve, but prime contenders to become useful fools.
Useful fools are not only naïve enough to believe the lies. They also feel emboldened to parrot these falsehoods with confidence, and even condescension against any other person fact-checking them. These useful fools will tend to feel justified not only to assert their point of view but imposing that narrative onto others – even if they don’t realize they are doing so. A common example in today’s political climate is going out of their way to comment with derogatory replies and posts on social media threads – uninvited, and aggressively.
If a person feels emboldened to insult another person they have never met via social media – as their very first interaction ever… then these same individuals will feel emboldened to do so in person, should their cyberbullying get normalized. I will be writing a future article about narcissism to expand on that rabbit hole, for this article we are going to limit that conversation to the fact that demagogs become pseudo-mentors to these other would-be demagogs on their base. What the demagog won’t tell them is that that they are laughing at the useful-fools gullibility behind their backs, whilst praising them to their face.
False flattery is a very effective tool to manipulate a person who has a proclivity for self-centered adulation. However, not only seemingly conceited people fall for that trap. In fact, we are all vulnerable to that exploitation, depending on the level of trust we bestow on a demagog who seems to resonate with our “world view.” That’s what the demagogs do, they have done their homework on their target audience, they understand their biases, they feed those biases a controlled diet of misinformation and normalize the lies as though they were truths.
It is brainwashing, but to the victim it would feel something akin to somebody “reading their minds” – and resonating in ways they feel this person who is “so superior” is also so “humble” as to see them as equal or mingle with the “little people” for a few minutes. It is a populist tactic being used from the beginning of civilization. It keeps getting used, because it works. If you’re familiar with my writing on authoritarian propaganda, you’ll hear me emphasize that an authoritarian is only as powerful as their followers, and their followers tend to be people whose biases have been exploited by said authoritarian.
The more loyal a useful fool becomes, the more they will double down on any perceived “attack” to their “dear leader.” Why? Because they feel as though that attack to the “dear leader” is an attack against THEIR own person. Unsurprisingly enough, if you read or heard any of the “official message” from the “dear leader” – at some point they told them exactly that “an attack on me – your adoring leader, it's an attack on you – my beloved followers.” I’m here to tell you that is categorically untrue. You are your own person, and your decisions as your own. And so it is your accountability for those decisions.
Let me give you an example. J6 had a bunch of people who were prosecuted for crimes related to the insurrection. The people who stormed the Capitol on that day were under the impression this was an “official and justifiable” act – to defend the country, in the name of their “dear leader” Donald Trump. How do we know? Because their court testimonials stated something along their lines of “Trump sent me, that’s why I went to the Capitol on J6.” Yes, every case articulated it with their own words, but the message was the same. Also, there are truckloads of evidence to prove Trump’s involvement, which is pending litigation and was the reason Trump was impeached for a second time.
If you remember the aftermath of J6 – immediately after the insurrection failed, Trump categorically denied that those violently breaking into Capitol where their own people, and the MAGA lie propagated as though these Trump supporters were ANTIFA or Black Lives Matter wearing Trump disguises. Many GOP leaders, to include Trump at some point – officially disavowed the J6 folks (look it up), but eventually – and unsurprisingly – Trump changed his tune when enough time moved forward, calling the same people from J6 “political prisoners” and “prisoners of war.” What Trump did not do - EVER - was helping them legally in anyway. All the defendants had to fend for themselves, and many are still serving prison sentences because of their actions during J6.
This is important, because many of those who were not directly affected will still lie about J6. Others who were prosecuted did get the epiphany and left MAGA and became advocates against his gaslighting. Yet, there are few others who went to prison or remain there who still believe the big lie, despite any consequences. There is a reason why some people stubbornly stick to a demonstrably false narrative. Let’s explore how this works with a quick thought exercise.
Measuring Naïveté, and lowering the bar
Let me give you an illustrative analogy for this thought exercise. Let’s say that a very wealthy person invites an economically underprivileged person to eat at a very expensive restaurant for the first time in their entire life. The meal includes a very expensive steak and a very expensive red wine at a five-star restaurant. The humble guest although very grateful, responds to the host’s generosity with a comment that equates this very expensive meal with the time he had a T-Bone steak and eggs at his local Waffle House, because on his world this was the fanciest meal he had prior to this five-star invitation.
Author's notes. There is nothing wrong with Waffle House, I love it too – and tends to be one of our go-to spots if my daughter is craving waffles. That said, I have been lucky enough to dine in five-star restaurants around the world, and very much appreciate the intricacies of cuisine no matter the price point.
Ponder about the given scenario for a little while, I’ll meet you I the next paragraph.
Keep pondering for a bit. Read that short scenario again and put yourself in each person’s shoes. This paragraph is designed to elicit a lot of emotions. If you had several thoughts – positive or negative, or even neutral as in “I can see both sides.” Think about why and how these emotions apply TO YOU, and how they would apply to OTHERS outside your immediate social circle.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Welcome back. This illustrative example is meant to convey different emotions depending on your experiences, your socio-economic status, your self-identity, your proclivity to feel equal – inferior – or superior to others (even if unconsciously), or any other myriads of emotions based on the person you are today.
In fact, a simple scenario could elicit so many emotions depending on the same underling factors that would take a full book just to describe in any sort of detail. The point for this thought-exercise is that each person will have a unique set of experiences that will resonate or not resonate with them personally. However, there will be similarities on how this resonates to certain groups of people. That’s the key.
When a demagog spews a lie that is well crafted, it is like a wide casting net. From there the lies will become less coherent, because they will realize that some of those who are in that net are happy to be snared, while there were a few who were struggling to break free. Then it becomes a matter of filtering more and more who are those easily manipulated individuals who will not only be happy to be stuck in that net but will prevent others from breaking free.
Those who will be snared on the net, and preventing others from escaping will become prime targets for further manipulation. They are already convinced that this trap is a good place to be, so they will likely be enticed to not only remain there but disparage anybody who is trying to escape. Yes, I am being redundant on purpose. Those who are happy in the net will not need much convincing to remain loyal to this trap.
However, some of those trying to break free, might need an additional method to be snared. Maybe another lies the demagog says with a wider casting net – hopefully having enough wiggle room for people to be snared, but not realize where the edge of this trap lies – hence look like they are free, but indeed confined. Much like free range chicken. They have a lot of room to move, but they are nonetheless confined.
In the thought example that I gave you, this wealthy person would have realized that the more expensive steak and wine was unnecessary to make this person happy and have this as a one-off because in this example, the guest’s palate did not quite understand the difference between these two meals. In fact, for this wealthy person, it would be just as easy to keep this person happy by giving them a gift-certificate to waffle house, instead of paying many more times that price for a meal at this five-star restaurant.
For an authoritarian propagandist it would be very similar. If a person finds out that you’re happy getting a less elaborate lie, they will stop trying harder to convince you. Using the example above, it would be akin as the host saying – “I agree with you, that Waffle Steak is far superior to this one – this is just overpriced because they have to justify paying for this expensive-looking place.” Yes, I am being more on the nose on this scenario to drive the point.
Let’s recap on the point for this example. If the host realizes that this person was unable to fully appreciate this meal, for whatever reason, instead of spending so much money in a fancy steak, next time instead of inviting the person they would be happy enough with sending them a gift certificate for Waffle House. Notice that they won’t be mingling anymore in this example either. The wealthy man will continue dining those expensive meals in a five-star restaurant, the other person will be happy with their modest meals.
And that is fine, by the way – don’t lose track about the example. I’m attempting to demonstrate how to read more between the lines to find the crux of the argument, because there are many potential tangents that are also part of authoritarian propagandistic traps. If my example is hitting a nerve on you, even though I am making it perfectly clear that it is an example, then please realize that could very well be a proclivity for exploitation.
A propagandists would have already seen what are YOUR trigger points (meal related or not), and exploit those with ease. They just tend to be subtle at first. This is a technique to measure your level of obedience towards them. This might not even be seeing as such, because as they are inciting you to be an obedient follower, they will make you feel like YOU are in charge. You’re not, they have already decided the outcome several steps ahead of you – if you’re already repeating talking points verbatim or wearing vulgar merchandise that disparages their “enemies.” That means they already have found your biases and are playing you like a full-on orchestra.
If you happen to be a victim of all this, don’t get mad at me, I am not the one exploiting you. I’m the one who is actually telling you – to your face what is the game being played against you. I am the one who is trying to set you free from their trap. Because when a person believes the shoddiest lies, they are only pawns on the demagog’s eyes and their acolytes – you’re not one of their acolytes – you’re just a number with hopefully a wallet.
However, they will make you feel like you are part of the same team. Not so, if you try to mingle with their “pseudo celebrities” unless you have deep pockets and influence, they will kick your happy ass out of the venue, just so you “re-learn your place” in that hierarchy. Your role is only to give them undivided attention, money, and run errands for them. Your opinions are unimportant, even if you loyally parrot their talking points.
However, most of the folks who fall for the trap would not even “dare” showing up uninvited to their “dear leader’s” events and black-tie galas. They see the dear leader as “superior” and this “superior being” is “humble enough” to grace his obedient followers with tokens of is appreciation – generally for a nominal fee. Such as merchandise, trinkets, “limited edition” products, or whatever is it that they are offering to make you feel like you are part of the “dear leader’s” team.
This of course will make the obedient followers to be “uniformed” while “individual” with a wide array of merchandise options that prominently display the dear leader’s name and disparage the opposition. It’s all a sick game. The cash cow for the dear leader is first their adoring fans on the lowest echelons. They will grift out of them like crazy. This includes but it is not limited to undivided attention, time, money, and even calls for arms in defense of the “dear leader” – while risking life, limb, freedom of movement, or even burning bridges with their support system and loved ones.
Just so you know, those who can afford the more “expensive” trinkets or merch, or whatever the “dear leader” grifts that is way above your budget – they are not buying the item. They are actually buying placement, access, and influence on the “dear leader’s circle of trust” – you’re only part of the circle of obedience. By the way, anybody in the circle of trust is also disposable the very second that they become inconvenient.
It is insidious, and it comes full circle to how I opened this article. It is because the demagogs do not respect the intelligence of his or her followers. And in order to keep them convinced that they are in the “same team,” they have already set a course of action that is hidden in plain sight, and many schemes that are out of view. These hinge on their follower’s emotional response, biases, and proclivity to anger. It is easy to identify when you realize how the game is being played.
Their goal is for you to disparage any fact checking whatsoever. And inculcate the base to believe only a very narrow set of carefully selected talking points, and not only ignore the rest – but attack anybody who says something contrary to their “approved” talking points. Yes, because “talking points” will shift if they expire their usefulness.
And yes, useful fools very much follow this lead. They will attack any person on social media, on the street, in public, or wherever they are. Never mind if those bridges that they burned in order to defend the “dear leader” mean that they are to close or destroy ties with family, friends, lovers, co-workers, employers, social circles, neighbors, etc. Demagogs demand obedience, while making the person feel like they are the smartest person in the room – because their obedient followers are able to regurgitate those very easy to remember talking points issued to them.
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How do you break free?
It depends on the person, for some it is very easy, and for some it is very hard. The pivotal point is when a person marries critical thinking with intellectual honesty. Both of these factors – because they are multipliers – must come hand in hand. Because otherwise a person is still very vulnerable to manipulation.
A demagog is ok to a point with a person’s critical thinking, because without intellectual honesty, the “keen observations” are more aimed toward cynicism than actual fact-checking. Also, they breed a sense of narcissism on their target audience, so they can feel a lot more compelled to perpetuate any lie that was issued to them. Further, they tend to also throw a few “breadcrumbs” for them to follow as “research” and “figure out the” truth” – which in reality are talking points placed in areas the propagandists knew they would find – even if they “dig a little.”
What do I mean? Let me give you an illustrative example. In the grocery stores, they tend to put certain products they want you to see first at eye level. So, when you’re searching for what you are looking for, it will be right in front of you. So yes, you “found it” – but somebody place it there so it would make it very obvious for you to see and feel compelled to get it. With propaganda is very similar, but a lot more elaborated in scope and complexity.
Your first step is realizing that if you are loyal to any politician – understand why are they indeed against the opposition? Look at it from YOUR friendly outlets, and THE OPPOSITION’s Friendly outlets point of view. Have an open mind, because what you could find might very well contradict the information being fed to you or could shed light on a blind spot that your own friendly media was not affording you. And opposition could very well mean a former loyalist that went awry. There is another layer to this.
Your Second step is to understand that either the opposition or your own team is straight lying to you. Therefore, do not just take at face value what you see from somebody you “trust” when “interpreting” the facts presented to you by a talking head or outlet. Remember, that some of those talking heads have also their own agendas. Sponsors, need for clicks, lack of scrupulous, special interests, conflicts of interests, etc. They might not tell you any of those handicaps to your face, but they can very well exist.
In fact, if those exists, they are most likely not going to tell you about them. With this beware, because being skeptic for the sake of cynicism is not the same as being pragmatically objective. It is ok to be skeptic about what is around us, but we also have to realize that not everybody who is out there is trying to take advantage of you. However, there is no shortage of many folks who are trying to get into your good graces to exploit you. To summarize this second step then – be objective.
Your Third step. Realize that nobody knows everything, and we all have blind spots. The “dear leaders” will pose as though they are never wrong and will double down on any controversy – no matter how heinous. Why? Because if a person who is conning you admits to ONE mistake, that opens the door to the fact they are indeed fallible and could have committed a lot more faults. For you, this will be a catalyst for marrying that critical thinking with the intellectual honestly that I was speaking of. This is very inconvenient to an authoritarian propagandist and the demagogs. Therefore, they will double down no matter how big or small the lie. This lie will become more and more erratic. An upstanding person knows they are fallible and will admit and own to their mistakes. We all have blind spots.
Your Fourth step. If you figure out that you’ve been swindled, don’t freak out! The propagandists want you to cling to an error in order to protect your ego, and the dear leader’s fragile ego. Remember, all authoritarians, no matter how “strong” they pose to be, or how “strict” they are ruling with an” iron fist” – have many things in common. One of those is that they are very thin-skinned, and they entice their followers to be thin-skinned too. Whilst ironically calling anybody else something akin to a “snowflake” – yet these “Strong” demagogs will have a tell-tale sign of only accepting interviews on friendly networks, and if they go to an “unfriendly” network, it will tend to be a disaster.
Your Fifth step. Don’t keep it to yourself. We all have blind spots, if you were snared on a trap and were able to get out – THAT takes courage. You should be very proud of yourself. Doubling down on a mistake only makes the authoritarian propagandists and the demagogs stronger. Because when people erroneously think that the doubling down on a falsehood is the correct course of action – it is not. It only helps those who were gaslighting you in the first place. But the fact is that you, no matter how loyal, how much time and effort you’ve given, how much merch you’ve bought, or in how much trouble you’ve gotten to support a demagog – in the end they see you as disposable. And they will get rid of you the very moment you are inconvenient to them.
I’ll finish today’s article by reminding everybody that we are more similar than different. Similar to even those with whom we are very much pinned against one another. If a demagog would fess up and tell you the entire truth in full context, then you would not be following them either. It is that simple. They know it, and many of those who did not fall for their lies know it. However, those who were snared in the trap are often the last ones to realize it. That is by design.
Please keep in mind that if somebody is engaging in a conversation with you to answer a question you have – even if that question or comment was already guns-blazing, demeaning, or even impolite – it they are answering to you, although they have zero obligation in validating your opinion, it is because they want to help you. You might feel offended if their answer challenges you, because you’re fed a diet of talking points that is very limited in scope. But the truth is that the world is a lot more complex than a narrow set of talking points.
I’ll end this article as I started. The truth no matter how complex it is, or how many variables it has, or how extensive the narratives – the math will always add up automatically. Conversely, a lie, no matter how well crafted, the math will not add up somewhere. And when fact-checking occurs, hostility will follow, because they know that the jig is up if you as their obedient follower learns the full truth in context. We will be exploring more about this complex topic in following articles as we did in many previous articles. HLC