It’s the oldest trick in the scamming book, highlighting certain favorable points and hiding the negative points. The end result is a flawed “logical” response.
They are lying on your face
Every con artist has something in common, they will create misdirection. For that misdirection to work they need to influence your trust, noticed I did not say “earned” – because sometimes depending on how shrewd the scammer might be, this misdirection will have a double cross here and there to disorient you.
Most people who become loyal followers of a swindler were given some sort of narrative that sparks their attention enough to come back for more. Depending on the type of scam, some might have a call for action very quickly, others might take a long time – even years to reach that call for action point (on purpose). Propaganda is a sinister art form; I’ve dedicated an entire chapter on my book Authoritarianism & Propaganda the Puppet Master Tools for that very reason.
The propagandists, or any scammer for that matter will redact the truth. Why? Because if you had the full context then you will realize you’re about to get scammed or that they are lying to your face – and you would not fall for it. But if a lot of people have been convinced of the same lie, then they reinforce the false narrative. It is exceedingly frustrating to see this collective scamming from the sidelines. And yes, it is happening in America. A lot of obedient scammed people are repeating all those propaganda points.
When it comes to propaganda, they are seeking your outrage! Why? Because when people are angry or frustrated, their emotions have a higher proclivity of overwriting their rationality. In fact, given the factors as presented to them, the “wrong” answer will make perfect sense, and the correct answer will seem counterintuitive.
If you’ve fallen for this trap, don’t beat yourself up, because a trap is specifically designed to snare you without you realizing it, and even enjoying your new cage. You might not even realize you’re caged, much like a free-range chicken does not realize they are in fact confined – with just enough room for them to live happily until they become somebody’s dinner.
AUTHORITARIANISM & PROPAGANDA The Puppet Master Tools
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This is how it works:
A propagandist knows that you’re likely to walk away if you have the full context on the argument, therefore they deliberately manufacture an alternate context – and this redacted context might seem like it makes perfect sense based on the information they give you. And by the way, that is why they will call anything they don’t like something akin to “fake news” – and urge you discard it without doing your due diligence of subjecting these “fake news” to proper scrutiny.
Why do you think that is? It is because the propagandists very well know that if you get all the data points, then their narrative cannot hold to a scrutiny that is more than a few inches deep. That is why you will see people who are victims of propaganda, and who have been indoctrinated star parroting talking points, and they struggle whenever a follow up question is made to their cherrypicked talking points.
These talking points make a lot of (not always perfect) sense inside the echo chamber, but once they are outside this echo chamber where the full context is available – then they struggle a lot when justifying or endorsing them. And the struggle is also because now their cognitive dissidence will kick in – that response is also by design. Because it is traumatic for a person to realize they have been lied to. That is why a lot of times people who were fed talking points and can’t answer the follow up questions tend to get visibly frustrated and often aggressive at whomever “dared” questioning them.
They are actually angry at the realization that they were naïve and trusted somebody who lied to them. Much like if your boo cheats on you with your cousin Timmy. It is literally painful – the propagandist knows, that is why they have ways to redirect them to the cozy echo chamber. It is a vicious circle, and that again is why they prefer to teach their followers to “scoff” at dissenting arguments rather than actually doing proper scrutiny.
Let me basically illustrate how this swindle works. Let’s say that the subject in contention has six data points. They will only give you a few correct data points, add falsehoods on others, hide other points, and add a seventh that has nothing to do with the topic to throw you off… and essentially create a conspiracy theory.
Propaganda example:
1. Statement of Truth (to pass the smell test)
2. Falsehood (to discredit the opposition)
3. Statement Truth (to validate step 1)
4. Hide information (because it would derail their plan)
5. Hide information (same as step 4)
6. Falsehood (to spin anything leaked from steps 4 & 5)
7. Conspiracy Theory (to confuse you and misdirect you)
Hence if you take steps 1 and 3 on face value, and believe the lies from 2 and 6, then whatever conclusion you reach “on your own” will make PERFECT sense to you. And by adding the 7, you can start believing a different set of lies that were also redacted and make you reach “your logical” conclusion.
I’ll be talking more in depth about how these propagandistic narratives work. Obviously, a propagandist might have a much more complex strategy for how they will misdirect you. But I hope this helps you understand the premise of the propagandistic narrative. Let me end this article by saying that if you’ve fallen trap from propaganda – it is ok, hopefully this will help you escape, and help others escape also.
The fact is that once a propagandist gets a group of people who are naïve enough to get their misdirection at face value, they will get sloppy and less sophisticated over time. That is why a lot of times some people realize it and exit that group – because the lies are just that shoddy. But no matter how sophisticated a falsehood might be crafted; math will never add up. The propagandists know this, that is why they redact the key data points. They are lying to you, stop giving them permission. HLC