Most gullible people are too gullible to realize that they are indeed gullible – and that is awesome news for authoritarian propagandists. Are YOU naïve? Find out.
Destroying Misconceptions
Spoiler alert – we all can be naïve about something at some point of our lives. Being naïve is not an insult, but it is indeed a vulnerability. Especially when naïve people are cynical about limited understanding of a subject, and further are so enamored with their “version” that they will discard any diverging facts outright. In other words, they are afraid they will be found wrong, so it is easier to double down to what “many” in their cozy echo chambers seem to agree as true – even if it isn’t.
This article will not be easy to read for people who are so called “snowflakes” or are afraid of having their “feelings hurt” so let me issue a quick warning before continuing any further. However, I am sure my readers have the fortitude of character to read it objectively.
WARNING: this article is intended to push you out of your comfort zone. And if you’re indeed naïve and have been exploited by your echo chamber, regardless of whether you’re on the right or left side (or anywhere in between) in the political spectrum) some of this will hit you like a ton of bricks. You’ll be fine, get some coco and a blanket and read it in little chunks while taking some breaks. I’ll be telling you what others who are indeed manipulating are hiding from you. You’re welcome!
There are a few realities that we cannot escape. One of those is that a lot of times the enemy is within our own ranks. I recently wrote an article about the Insider Threat, and it goes to elucidate that most people tend to ignore the fact that THEY are themselves the aforementioned insider threat. This is what I called an “unwitting insider threat” – we all can become one, and this is highly exploitable for authoritarian propagandists.
The situation is that while most people blissfully live their live thinking that they are in control of their existence, the fact is that there are special interest groups at a macro and micro level that have already predestined you to go on a certain direction. Yes, it is possible to break free, but in order to do so you need to realize if you’re confined already or not.
Most people won’t’ realize it, because much like a free-range chicken happily moving about the yard, they don’t realize they will eventually become somebody’s dinner – often by the same hand that is feeding them. But since that is often the only reality that they recognize as normal, this does not seem out of place. Likewise, we all have blind spots, and if we remain confined inside our own bubbles, then we lose that important vantage point. That vantage point is inconvenient to a propagandist.
In fact, the propagandist just wants people “smart enough” to be enraged about something, but dumb enough as to not ask relevant questions. And the system includes adding other gullible people who happen to be very obedient, and who will lash on to anybody who dares to ask a relevant question. The obedient acolytes have been issued several easy-to-remember talking points and are expected (and directed) to go out and defend the “official narrative.” Regardless of if the narrative makes sense or not.
But there is another layer. This official narrative – if nefarious – will not pass any level of scrutiny that digs more than a few inches deep. People defending a false narrative tend to quickly become frustrated, and their first reaction is to regurgitate all the “approved” easy-to-remember talking points in rapid succession – like a Gish gallop to see what sticks. It often backfires if they happen to attack a person who actually knows what the hell they are talking about.
But the propagandist already thought about that. There might be a back and forth where the gullible person will keep pushing more talking points to see what sticks – often in a “what about” or non sequitur scenario that is divorced from the facts. The only constant is that it goes back to “defend” their dear leader. There is always one. In politics they might be the person at the top of the ticket, in other circumstances they might be the object of their mistake – for example people falling for a pyramid scheme scam.
The principle is similar – get people who might very well be good individuals so fired up that they will react emotionally. They will have no shortage of contradictions in their arguments – and for folks like me – this tends to be very entertaining, although it can get old pretty quickly. The bottom line is that people will get defensive if they are pointed out that what they are saying is erroneous. And depending on their level of “investment” on this error, their reaction will be more incendiary than if they did not have so much invested in it.
This perception of value and investment can be traumatic to some people, and naturally – the path of least resistance is to gravitate back to the echo chamber where everybody else who got scammed by the same thing seem to be happy about it – or are able to do some mental gymnastics as an attempt to justify their decision. And if many people seem to agree – even if they are all scammed – it is ok for them, because this group thinking is cozy, and people will talk about what is convenient to them to feel cozy, and discard anything that hurts their feelings.
And yes, this happens to people regardless of political party. Not just to those who happen to be in opposition to what YOU seem to subscribe to. In fact, thinking that it cannot happen to YOU makes YOU gullible, and hence highly exploitable. As you become an easier target, it is easier for a propagandist to make you believe you and your peeps are correct while they continue to collectively gaslight you.
Are YOU Naïve?
Regardless of whether you’re on the left or the right side of the political spectrum, if you’re inclined to see the other side as lesser human, idiots, malignant, or any other derogatory, insulting, demeaning, or divisive epithet as a blanket term to make you feel “superior” to them on any strata you deem acceptable – then yes, you’re naïve. By the way, calling someone naïve or gullible is not an insult, but rather a condition that can be fixed by understanding facts.
And this factual portion is where people have trouble with. For a situation to be factual it must meet this trifecta: Be logical, measurable, and demonstrable. This applies even if the fact happens to be abstract instead of concrete. For example, quantum physics is factual, but you cannot independently count all numbers one by one. Another example let’s say you’re counting a million dollars on $1.00 bank notes (one-dollar bills) by hand, it will take you a very long time to physically count it all. So, let’s say if you count one bill per second to ensure it is not torn or fake, that is $60.00 per minute. But you also have to count breaks, the stacking of bills, etc.… the point – there is a reason for each process.
And the process is what I want you to think about whenever you’re defending or attacking any wedge issue in the political discourse. Wedge issues are these incendiary topics that get people all spun up for or against it. Often these topics are emotionally charged, and although they could warrant an actual level of discussion or debate – lately they have been so polarizing that it automatically places people in a for-or-against team. And debating is futile, because people (especially those who are wrong) tend to cling to their talking points instead of addressing the issue pragmatically in order to analyze if their perception is indeed correct or they are defending an erroneous position.
To clarify, a debate is supposed to help get a better common ground and ensure that the blind spots we have can be addressed, resulting in mitigating those blind spots. When people are too stubborn to “change their mind” in light of the facts, then the entire process becomes futile. That is exactly what we’ve been seeing growing in America and many western countries. The question you should be asked is: WHO wins when we are divided? The answer, adversarial forces who want to divide us – because our polarization is CONVENIENT to THEM – not to us.
And division is the key to push for gullibility. An adversarial force (being at a strategic level such as an adversarial regime) or a smaller scale example such as a conman or a swindler, realizes that you’re a softer target if you’re entertained fighting others, or are not paying attention to the game being played against you. This is nothing new, but it does find fertile ground on the USA, because among other things “American exceptionalism” gives many people a false sense of security that they are not vulnerable – we are all vulnerable. To maintain exceptionalism, that means that whoever is in the driver seat is in the vanguard and helping everybody else follow suit.
Telltale signs
An authoritarian propagandist wants to make you think you’re in decline, while simultaneously convince you that you’re the only one who is correct – and the reason why you’re not doing well, although you’re doing ok, is because somebody else outside your immediate is the responsible foe who is messing up your life. I know, it seems convoluted and counterintuitive, but when people get snared into propaganda the words and concepts get so jumbled up that it becomes practically impossible to make heads or tails of their arguments. And generally, is because there is no coherent argument – only issued talking points that they were instructed to obediently repeat.
A person helping you wake up will afford you and encourage you to seek information outside your bubble for you to juxtapose the narratives and compare. They will also give you official examples and sources for you to continue your research. This is very contrary to the authoritarian propagandist who will be peddling a divisive “us against them” rhetoric. Remember, an actual leader is a unifier – even if you don’t see eye to eye with every situation. In other words, WELCOMES debate.
I see this being a problem both with the Right and the Left in the USA. While there are “two opposing teams” fighting on the ground, there is an overarching entity who benefits from the division. That is what is known as the “puppet master” – who is playing both sides. Yes, even the responses they are likely going to follow have already being factored and laid out. Of course, that there can be wild cards sometimes added to this already volatile mix, and those will also be exploited as targets of opportunity. And yes, they happen more often than we wish.
I’ve often seen righteous people attacking their opposition – but they do so in a way that is demeaning, thus creating a greater level of friction. What do you think is going to happen if a person already realizes they are wrong, but the people point that to them is an as*hole about it? Well, a lot of people will likely double down to their mistake just out of spite rather than principle. In other words, the person who could have gotten an opportunity to shed light on a blind spot instead handed this person right back to the echo chamber – where people don’t make them feel like they are a moron for believing whatever is it that they are believing – even if that belief is categorically wrong.
And when it comes to belief, whatever you’re already subscribing to will also be exploited exponentially. For example, if you have a strong religious bias, or you happen to be very active on your congregation or you happen to be the religious leader – if somebody comes out and challenges your “deep held” religious believes, you’re likely to go ape-s**t even if you are able to control yourself on the surface. But if this doctrine (whichever of the 4,000+ religious in the world) already convinced you of some very fantastical outcomes, then it won’t be a bridge too far to take you somewhere that this existing belief could exacerbate your emotional response.
And yes, that happens – religion is a huge catalyst for political affiliation, voting, or proclivity to be in favor or against any extreme of a certain wedge issue – and likely a lot of those wedge issues will be complied in order to ignite your rage even further – thus making you double down onto whatever conviction you seemed to have. It does not matter what it is… Abortion, climate change, women’s rights, schools’ lunches, baseball… seriously – anything can become a wedge issue if there is enough kindle to start a firestorm.
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How to Stop being Naïve
LISTEN to LEARN, and not to respond. Understand that sometimes you are going to be wrong about something, and that is ok. We all have blind spots, but when we learn something new, then we’ll have fewer blind spots. It is important to be especially cautious if somebody does not want you to learn more. If somebody is refusing to let you see more information it is because there is likely something they want to hide. And if you figure it out, then the jig is up – that is inconvenient to them. If you find yourself emotionally involved to the point that you care more about winning (and wining) than for “why” you might have lost, then you’re likely a very attractive candidate for exploitation.
I converse with a lot of people who are extremely naïve, and their arguments have plot holes big enough to fly jumbo jets through them, and it is inevitable that they always cling to some logical fallacy, or a deity that is akin to their environment. As I said, religion is highly exploitable. I don’t say that YOUR congregation is exploiting YOU, I am saying that many people have been exploited by THEIR congregation.
Part of interacting on a social media platform is that you’ll find some people who are trolls, and others who will attack you for a reason they find as their righteous right to chime in – even if their comments are divorced from the topic at hand. As I said before, naïve people who are parroting talking points have been mandated to interact with others – and interact is often a euphemism for harassing people in other social media accounts, on the street, or wherever they feel vindicated to push their “truth.”
Understand what the SOURCE is of said “truth,” because there is a huge possibility that whoever is pushing a narrative has a vested interest in that idea, and sometimes there is going to be a vernacular that is associated to those – so it will sound more legitimate. But it is easy to spot if you understand the different factors that compose the argument, even if you don’t have a full knowledge of everything – at least you will know what you know, and most importantly understand what you DON’T know, so you can seek for clarification.
And that part is key, because it is very hard to ask a question you did not know you were supposed to ask in the first place. People do sometimes get confused from the get-go, because questioning is not a simple process. It can be, but it can also be a catalyst to insert biases based on the way a question is being framed. For example, a leading question, or a question that has some underlining term. Let me give you a couple of examples.
-When are you going to stop beating up your spouse?
This type of question has a lot of emotional charges, inferences, assumptions, and could create a visceral response in the person – even if they have not ever beaten up their spouse. But it will be a lot worse if they have ever had a heated argument with the spouse at some point.
-What is your favorite color, red, or purple like mine?
This type of question already implants a bias and gives you a binary choice even if you like another color other than red or purple – but based on the hierarchy of that person, the fact they say they like purple might prompt you to agree to like purple so you can get in good graces with that person of higher influence.
At some point I want to write an article that is about questioning, because this is a very broad topic and could very well be a book. For now, I want you to remember that we all can become very naïve about something – especially when our guard is down. And if we do fall in a trap, remember that traps are meant to snare you with ease, and even hold you captive while giving you the illusion that you’re free.
If you absolutely forget everything I’ve said today, please remember this. There are different adversaries out there, from everyday swindlers to state-sponsored propagandists. If somebody is posing an “us against them” rhetoric, that is likely problematic. If the narrative is about helping those who are astray to get more information and help them understand the facts by seeing inside and outside their echo chambers, that is a sign that they are a more trustworthy group.
However, remember that every guideline has an exception. Always be vigilant. So, with everything we’ve spoken up about today, are you naïve? You don’t need to answer that to me, you need to know the answer for yourself. Because if you are indeed naïve, somebody is manipulating you already while making you feel like the smartest kid in the room. HLC