Because we all want to be gullible.
I believe this is just human nature. We all want to believe in good. We also believe that we are good. I think I am a good person, having some drawbacks, of course, but generally, I am on the bright side.
Yet, I 100% know people who don’t think like that about me. Exactly the opposite. Based on their personal experience communicating with me in various life situations, they probably think I have been doing them wrong. Yet, I stubbornly think that I’m a nice person!
When I see how propaganda works, I am bewildered. I know people here in Russia, men and women, who I think are intelligent individuals. Yet, they fall to Putin’s propaganda about Ukraine, believing (or mostly believing) his false narratives.
There are two reasons for us being gullible.
First, we all want to hear good news every day. And when propaganda says that black is white, you subconsciously start to think this is true simply because you want to feel comfortable in this everchanging and sometimes dangerous world.
The other reason is what Dr. Joseph Goebbels said – or what was at least attributed to him saying: “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.”
This Big Lie definition is pretty close to what Mr. Putin says about what is happening in Ukraine now. And other things, as well. I understand such a comparison can be dangerous for me as a Russian citizen living in today’s Russia, but this is true as my country is now very close to a fascist, though not a Nazi, regime.
These two factors—the desire to comfort ourselves and the Big Lie phenomenon—make us gullible.
Why are so many, so gullible?
Mostly, gullibility is brought on by a feeling of being vulnerable, whether that is social, economical or emotional.
The explosion of misinformation and fake news on social media platforms makes it simple for people to find and then spread false information, particularly the poorly educated, who lack basic critical thinking skills. Any form of social upheaval can make people more likely to cling onto simple explanations, or to find scapegoats provided by unscrupulous charlatans.
Emotional appeals and sensationalism in the media with outrageous claims are more attention-grabbing than boring old truths. British people recently encountered this, helping them to make one of most damaging decisions in recent history – Brexit – the removal of Britain from the European Union.
The “leave” campaign was divided into two, run by two charlatans. One was Boris Johnson, that galvanised part of the electorate by lying his fat arse off, over and over again, saying that the billions of pounds saved by not being in Europe would all go to the struggling National Health Service. Those that considered themselves as respectable and conservative of thinking were completely duped by this ridiculous claim.
The other was Nigel Farage, who skilfully played the racist card, and appealed to those who felt left behind and who needed a scapegoat to feel better about themselves. This divided campaign worked a treat and Britain voted to leave. Twats.
I can best sum up the state of the nation by giving you one reason for a voter wanting to “leave”. She just wanted Britain to be what it was like when she was young and when she could eat fish and chips out of a newspaper again. Gullibility plumbing new depths.
Why are so many, so gullible?
This is a topic that fascinates me. Think about it, how in hell do you convince someone who is Communist Chinese that stealing land from almost all your neighbors isn’t old school imperialism? Or how do you convince an American that Donald Trump didn’t hang out with pedophile Jeremy Epstein? There are pictures of them together and Trump has commented on his old friend. In fact, not only was Trump a friend, he was also may have been a customer. We know this from Epstein’s records but Trump’s followers believe they barely knew each other. I can go on and on but you get the idea.
In country after country all around the world you will find honest, well-meaning people who believe things that seem almost goofy to an outsider. These folks want to believe certain things are true and will gladly consume any emotion-based arguments that confirm their beliefs. The most famous of these mass lecture series came about ninety years ago. I’ll simply quote the entire first paragraph from Wikipedia: “The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship of Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation of Nazi policies.”
By my count, the world currently has thirteen wannabe, semi, and actual dictators. All these men have certain things in common. I think eight are actual dictators of nations.
- I would argue the first and most important is a media outlet that is comfortable knowingly telling lies for the benefit of the man at the top. Example: Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Machines for $787.5 million dollars for lies told. Tellingly, Fox never mentioned this on the air to their viewers: Not once. These, honest people, viewers, still believe the 2020 US election was stolen.
- Joseph Goebbels said you need to tell the lie again and again. We see this advice taken to heart by these men… uniformly.
- Of course, you need a receptive audience. There has been an enormous transfer of wealth from the former Middle-class to the top over the last few decades. We are victims! Everyone is angry and wants to focus that rage.
- Keeping the above in mind, they need an enemy. The others who must be defeated at all cost. The very heart and soul of the Nation must be under siege. The enemy is strong and has vast resources, we are weak and need our strong leader to triumph. He is the only one who can save our way of life; the stakes cannot be higher.
- Into this toxic smog a shining savior steps, ready to defend those who have been wronged. He says, to quote Donald Trump, “I alone can fix it.”
Of course, absolutely none of this has to be true. Perhaps the most powerful single group in American Politics over the last twenty years has been Evangelicals. They are quick to point out they are weak victims. Lambs under the sword and defended by God’s ambassador on this Earth, Donald J. Trump.