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Author of How to Prep When You’re Broke and Bloom Where You’re Planted online course
I noticed a peculiar thing yesterday morning.
My newsfeed was filled with headlines attacking Trump as being horribly racist. Major news outlets were comparing Donald Trump to Adolph Hitler and likening his rally at Madison Square Garden to Hitler’s Nazi rally held there in 1939. Some of them were simply astounding in their toxicity.
So desperate was the left to make sure everyone was well aware that they believe Trump is Hitler and that everyone was running around inside Madison Square Garden in their favorite swastika t-shirts that a group projected onto the exterior wall of the venue.
The media expressed hyperventilating outrage at the opening act of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe for making jokes about Puerto Rico, Latinos, and black people. Do I really think that was appropriate at this time and place? Maybe not. But let’s be realistic here: those were jokes made by a comedian.
Meanwhile, if you want to talk about outrageous, the entire national media was filled with serious proclamations of Nazism. They called the event-goers Nazis. They called people fascists. Racists. Misogynistic. The list of seriously delivered insults goes on and on, but let’s take to task a stand-up comedian for making some dubious jokes.
What is really the most offensive here?
It’s actually a brainwashing technique.
Here’s the thing. This is not as harmless as “sticks and stones” here. This is a last-ditch attempt to brainwash the populace by repeating the same concept over and over. It’s called the “illusory truth effect” and it is a valuable tool in the arsenals of propagandists throughout history.
Hitler, Hitler, Hitler.
Nazi, Nazi, Nazi.
Russia, Russia, Russia.
A study from the Cognitive Research Journal explains:
Repeated information is often perceived as more truthful than new information. This finding is known as the illusory truth effect, and it is typically thought to occur because repetition increases processing fluency. Because fluency and truth are frequently correlated in the real world, people learn to use processing fluency as a marker for truthfulness.
These results have been replicated and studied many times. And speaking of Nazis, who can forget the propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels’s theory?
“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.”
By blasting this comparison everywhere and using very similar wording, the mainstream media is clearly making a coordinated effort to disparage Donald Trump, and by association, every single Trump voter, as one of the worst examples of humanity in the 20th century.
There are many books about this. Here are just a few you may want to read to help innoculate yourself against this tool.
It’s important to remember this instance. Whenever, in the future, you hear the exact same words coming out of the mouths of people across numerous media outlets, it’s probably not true.
Here’s what actually happened.
The Madison Square Garden rally was the biggest political event I’ve ever seen that wasn’t a party convention. It was astoundingly large. The venue was filled to capacity and estimates say that anywhere between 75,000 to 200,000 more supporters didn’t get in. Many of them stayed and watched the event on the big screen outside. Others flocked to local bars, where they watched the event on television. Millions watched it live from their homes.
I was one of those millions watching from home. As I did a few household tasks, I had it on in the background all day.
Did I agree with every single speaker on every single point? No. But when do I ever?
Did a few things make me think, “Welp, that’s going to make headlines,” and cringe? Absolutely.
But for the love of dogs, think about Kamala Harris’s rallies where she deeply insults Trump and Trump supporters, has hot mics catching her saying inappropriate things, and commits faux pas out the wazoo. Her rallies certainly aren’t incident-free.
For the most part, what I saw was a happy group of people who love America. I saw an energy and patriotism that has been missing from our country for a very long time. I saw people from all different backgrounds – rich, poor, White, Black, Asian, and Jewish, just to name a few. I saw Israeli flags – kinda weird for a Nazi rally, yes? I saw signs that said “Jews for Trump,” “Gays for Trump,” and every other iteration you can think of. I saw a black woman sing the National Anthem. (Beautifully, by the way.)
People were coming together – many of whom were not diehard Republicans but people who want our American dream back. I saw no hate in that crowd as the cameras panned.
I saw…well, dare I say it? Joy.
The rhetoric is not only offensive. It’s inflammatory.
For a bunch of people who want to “turn the page” and “unite Americans,” they are indeed doing a heck of a job insulting anyone who thinks differently.
This kind of inflammatory rhetoric makes it a lot easier to depersonalize folks who happen to be voting for Trump. “They’re just a bunch of racist, Nazi fascists.” It makes it a lot easier to justify the attempts on Trump’s life throughout the campaign.
The Republican Party has welcomed many former Democrats, Libertarians, and Independents to join them on this campaign, and they’ve done so with open arms.
The people espousing the hateful views of every Trump supporter being a Nazi are the ones who are destroying America. How on earth do we come back from that after the election? Some things you say just cannot be unsaid. I tend to be pretty forgiving, but being called a fascist and compared to Hitler a thousand times in a day makes it pretty difficult not to hold a grudge.
At the same time, the people being spoonfed this rhetoric believe it, thanks to the repetition and the “illusory truth effect.” Do you think they are going to be able to be okay with those who voted for Trump, whether their candidate wins or loses? People all over social media yesterday were parroting the lines they’d been given, but most of those people didn’t witness a thing.
This spin has done more damage to American unity than anything I can think of in a while.
The media has tried to convince the world that at least half of the country is filled with hatred, racism, and bigotry. Half the country! How do we come back from that?
What do you think?
Did you watch the MSG rally? If so, what was your opinion of it? Do you think this was a coordinated effort to establish an illusory truth?
Let’s discuss it in the comments section.
About Daisy
Daisy Luther is a coffee-swigging, adventure-seeking, globe-trotting blogger. She is the founder and publisher of three websites. 1) The Organic Prepper, which is about current events, preparedness, self-reliance, and the pursuit of liberty; 2) The Frugalite, a website with thrifty tips and solutions to help people get a handle on their personal finances without feeling deprived; and 3) PreppersDailyNews.com, an aggregate site where you can find links to all the most important news for those who wish to be prepared. Her work is widely republished across alternative media and she has appeared in many interviews.
Daisy is the best-selling author of 5 traditionally published books, 12 self-published books, and runs a small digital publishing company with PDF guides, printables, and courses at SelfRelianceand Survival.com You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Gab, MeWe, Parler, Instagram, and Twitter.
