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Conspiracy Theories and What Makes People Believe in Them

__________________________________ Conspiracy theories resist falsification and are reinforced by circular reasoning: both evidence against the conspiracy and an absence of evidence for it are re-interpreted as evidence of its truth, whereby the conspiracy becomes a matter of faith rather than something that can be proved or disproved. Research suggests that conspiracist ideation—belief in conspiracy theories—can be psychologically harmful or pathological and that it is correlated with psychological projection , paranoia and Machiavellianism . Psychologists attribute finding a conspiracy where there is none to a mental illness called illusory pattern perception . Conspiracy theories once limited to fringe audiences have become commonplace in mass media , emerging as a cultural phenomenon of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivati

Unraveling Gaslighting and Other Manipulative Schemes

"Like a sinister fog, gaslighting engulfs the mind, leaving it shrouded in doubt and vulnerable to manipulation." by Michael Corthell 'Gaslighting' is a cunning tactic used by individuals or entities to exert control over others, causing the victims to doubt their own reasoning and perception of reality. Its effectiveness is more significant than one might imagine. Any person can fall prey to 'gaslighting', and it is a commonly employed technique by abusers, dictators, narcissists, and cult leaders. The process is insidious, gradually dimming the victim's awareness, much like slowly reducing the intensity of a light, until they are unaware of the extent to which they've been manipulated. A classic illustration of 'gaslighting' can be seen in the movie "Gaslight" (1944), where a man manipulates his wife to the point of making her believe she is going insane. The primary tactic used in 'gaslighting' is the outright fabri

American Propaganda: Gaslighting, Politics and the 'Big Lie'

'Gaslighting': Warping a human being's sense of what is real. by Michael Corthell 'Gaslighting' is a tactic in which a person or entity, in order to gain more power, makes a victim question their own reasoning and reality. It works much better than you may think. Anyone is susceptible to 'gaslighting', and it is a common technique of abusers, dictators, narcissists, and cult leaders. It is done slowly(like dimming a light), so the victim doesn't realize how much they've been brainwashed. For example, in the movie Gaslight (1944), a man manipulates his wife to the point where she thinks she is losing her mind. The number one tactic in 'gaslighting'? The perpetrator tells blatant lies and makes the victim less able to use reason and critical thinking. The 'gaslighter' creates a very strong delusion. The manipulative tactic of 'gaslighting' is where propaganda blatantly crosses the line because it intention

Propaganda: The Tactic of 'Name-Calling'

Name-calling: abusive language or insults by Michael Corthell Name-Calling is a childish propaganda device that works to make us form a judgment without examining the evidence on which it should be based. Using this tactic the propagandist appeals to our hate and fear.  He does this by giving negative names and labels to those individuals, groups, nations, races, policies, practices, beliefs, and ideals which he would have us condemn and reject. For example, ''Muslims are bigots and full of hate because they supported Proposition 6'' is an attempt at Name-Calling designed to stir up hate and dull reason in individuals who have put little thought into the issue. When you start Name Calling, your argument is lost. The use of Name Calling without presentation of their essential meaning, without all their pertinent implications, comprises is the most common of all propaganda devices. HOW IT WORKS: This propaganda poster, created by the United States in t

WHAT IS PROPAGANDA: 22 Propaganda Techniques Everyone Needs to Know

_____________________________ by Michael Corthell Let the consumer and the voter beware. Yes, politics and marketing have a lot in common. The following list is a primer that will help you become a smart consumer and a wise voter. At the end of this list, I've included a video lecture that summarizes propaganda and also provides a history. Study it and do your own research. Accurate information will keep you from being ripped off and just might help keep you stay free(or realize you are not!). (It should be noted that all of the following share a commonality: dishonesty or outright lies. It should also be mentioned that 'The Big Lie' is also a propaganda technique sometimes used by dishonest politicians and marketers and that False Equivalence  or false balance may be the most deceptive of all the propaganda techniques because it sounds true on its face.) 1. NAME CALLING or STEREOTYPING : The name-calling technique links a person, or idea, to a negative symbol. The

Tyranny and Perjury Go Hand-in-Hand

[Name-Calling]...you for power and money...

“Please keep calling me a snowflake. I like being different than the next person. Every snowflake is unique. They all come from the same place but are able to establish their own identities, free and clear of any other snowflake. Snowflakes make this world beautiful.” ― Ed Krassenstein ''The propagandist's secret in getting the public to believe something false about anyone or anything is to repeat it often enough and with enough passion that it will be regarded as the absolute, Gospel Truth.''   ― Michael Corthell

[Freedom]...Tell Me No Lies

'The Big Lie' is a gross distortion or misrepresentation of the truth, used especially as a propaganda technique: “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” The OSS psychological profile of Hitler described his use of the big lie: His primary rules were: never allow the public to cool off; never admit a fault or wrong; never concede that there may be some good in your enemy; never leave room for alternatives; never accept blame; concentrate on one enemy at a time and blame him for everything that goes wrong; people will believe a big lie sooner than a little one; and if yo

[Propaganda] ...misleading for fun, profit and POWER

“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny  and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” ― George Orwell For propaganda to work and work well it must be pared down to a very simple message. The propagandist then must pound on that message until the last person in the target audience understands what you want them to understand. A current example is MAGA.

[Propaganda] Classical Gaslighting

“There is nothing in the record of the past two years when both Houses of Congress have been controlled by the Republican Party which can lead any person to believe that those promises will be fulfilled in the future. They follow the Hitler line - no matter how big the lie; repeat it often enough and the masses will regard it as truth.” ― John F. Kennedy About 30% of the American electorate are free to do exactly what they are told. “You can sway a thousand men by appealing to their prejudices quicker than you can convince one man by logic.” ― Robert A. Heinlein, Revolt in 2100/Methuselah's Children