Reading recommendation: Rand Corp, "The Russian Firehose of Falsehoods Propaganda Model," includes advice on how to counter a rapid and continuous stream of lies.
https://t.co/1Jg5CvgrJC

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The liar has a “shameless willingness” to tell outrageous lies that lots of people know are lies.

The liar doesn’t care about consistency.
He doesn’t care if it’s obvious he’s lying.
https://t.co/C08paJsKTT
In fact, that's the whole point.

Putin perfected the method.

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It seems to come naturally to Trump.

@TimothyDSnyder tells how reporters were often so astonished by Putin's outrageous lies, that they focused on the lies instead of Putin's latest atrocities.

The lies became the news.
The actual news gets pushed off the stage.

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The goal is the “disruption of truthful reporting and messaging.”
https://t.co/C08paJsKTT

That's why Trump really wants an actual trial, and why he was so annoyed with the Supreme Court (and other courts) refusing to hear the case.

He wants a stage for the lies.

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From the Rand study: The Firehose of Falsehood technique “entertains, confuses and overwhelms the audience.”

I think the "entertainment" part applies to the GOP leadership who know Trump is lying but cheer the lies because they are so destructive.

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OK, so how to we combat this?

From the Rand study: While we must refute the falsehoods, “retractions and refutations are seldom effective.”

“Don’t expect to counter the Firehose of Falsehood with a squirt gun of truth.”(p.9)
https://t.co/C08paJsKTT

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Instead, put raincoats on the population. When people expect the lies, they more easily roll off.

Another remedy: counter the effects of the lies.

The effect of Trump’s lies is to undermine democracy.

So we move quickly to strengthen democracy and institutions.

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That's what Obama was getting at here ⤵️https://t.co/5a15FPqRvQ

There is also @GeorgeLakoff's "truth sandwich." He has a few books explaining.

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Here you go. The Truth Sandwich.
https://t.co/7epc6Ynxn9

Had journalists used the Truth Sandwich before 2016, the lie "her emails" might not have sunk so deeply into the public consciousness that even people who knew it was a lie felt a nagging doubt.

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One debate during the Trump presidency was how much was the application of tactics and how came from mental illness.

Why not both? Trump isn't stupid.

Psychiatric professionals have made the second argument.

I'll argue the other side. . .
https://t.co/QpJ6xQWru5

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Steve Bannon described the method as "flood the zone with shit."

Bannon coached Trump.
Bannon also went to Brazil to coach Bolsonaro (the Brazilian Trump) to do the same thing.

It's not hard to watch Putin and see how well it works.

https://t.co/UIrScw9bZe

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I think there's overlap between the methods of fascism (like the Firehose of Falsehoods) and certain kinds of mental illness: It takes someone sort of unhinged to be able to DO the things that fascists do.

That paragraph was a layperson venturing into psychiatry⤴️

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To embrace the Leadership Principle from the viewpoint of the Leader ("everything I say is the Truth" and "I embody the mythic destiny of the nation") I'd think it's more effective when the Leader actually believes that everything he says is the truth.

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Some lies are comforting. Trump tells the Proud Boys they're at the top of the hierarchy.

But lies in the public sphere destroy democracy.

Some people knowingly want to destroy democracy. Really, they do. Democracy is hard and can be frustrating.
https://t.co/8jaeKqE6h8

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The spread of disinformation is the greatest threat to democracy. It isn't easily solved.

The people who live on conspiracy theories?
For now, we have to just outvote them.

Thanks, Ayelet, for drawing more excellent points from the article⤵️
https://t.co/yx8OdOBabx

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More from Teri Kanefield

This is what he wants to do.

No matter how this trial plays out, the US will remain divided between those who choose truth, Democracy, and rule of law and the millions who reject these things.

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The question is how to move forward.

My mantra is that there are no magic bullets and these people will always be with us.

Except for state legislatures, they have less power now than they have for a while.

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The only real and lasting solutions are political ones. Get Democrats into local offices. Get people who want democracy to survive to the polls at every election, at every level.

It’s a constant battle.

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Maybe I should tell you all about Thurgood Marshall’s life to illustrate how hard the task is and how there will be backlash after each step of progress.

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Precisely. That's why Thurgood Marshall's life came to mind.

We are still riding the backlash that started after the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education.

That's why I keep saying there are no easy
January 6th will be a freak show. Biden will become president because the only way to stop it would be for the House to agree, and that won't happen.

Going forward, the GOP becomes even more dangerous and radicalized.


A few hopeful points:

The GOP could very well lose control of the Senate.

Because these GOP Senators will force a vote, the GOP may fracture, with moderates forced out. While this radicalizes the party, they lose


A few reasons. As @ProfBrianKalt points out, refusing to seat them because they say the election wasn't valid gives credence to the lie that the election wasn't valid.

Moreover, there's no authority to refuse to seat an elected rep for telling lies. .


. . . which is what refusing to seat them would amount to.

The Democrats say, "You are doing really bad things so we won't seat you."

See the problem with that?

(1) It's illegal. The House doesn't get to decide who is seated. The states send their own reps.

moreover . . .

(2) If you say, "The House gets to refuse to seat a person who tells a lie about the election," where does that lead?

If things continue this direction, the political divide will not longer be liberal v. conservative.

The divide will be pro- democracy v. anti-democracy. . .
KM asks why the GOP leadership is terrified of losing.

(Both Lindsay Graham and Matt Gaetz said if the GOP loses this election, they'll never win again.)

GOP is a minority party. If they lose power, they lose the ability to manipulate systems to keep minority control.

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The fear is also explained by Richard Hofstader, who wrote the classic work⤵️

Hofstadter reviewed American politics from before the founding of the nation through McCarthyism. He noticed a pattern among an impassioned minority on the fringes of the political spectrum.

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He called their behavior the “paranoid style” in politics.

Those embracing the paranoid style of politics believe that unseen satanic forces are trying to destroy something larger in which they belong.

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According to Hofstadter, the “something larger” to which they belong is generally phrased as “the American way of life.”

They “feel dispossessed” and that “America has been largely taken away from them and their kind.”

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They therefore adopt extreme measures. They will stop at nothing to prevent what they see as an impending calamity.

Remember, Hofstadter published this in the early 1960s.

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More from Politics

All the challenges to Leader Pelosi are coming from her right, in an apparent effort to make the party even more conservative and bent toward corporate interests.

Hard pass. So long as Leader Pelosi remains the most progressive candidate for Speaker, she can count on my support.


I agree that our party should, and must, evolve our leadership.

But changed leadership should reflect an actual, evolved mission; namely, an increased commitment to the middle + working class electorate that put us here.

Otherwise it’s a just new figure with the same problems.

I hope that we can move swiftly to conclude this discussion about party positions, so that we can spend more time discussing party priorities: voting rights, healthcare, wages, climate change, housing, cannabis legalization, good jobs, etc.

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