This is number ten in Timothy Snyder’s book On Tyranny, Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. He says that the truth dies in four modes.
Mode One: Lies are Presented as Facts
You only need to read about and hear all the lies Donald Trump has told. And as a reminder, Trump followers don’t care if he lies. It’s almost like they thrive on it.
Mode Two: Endless Repetition
Talking points and words that are repeated. DeSantis does this a lot with the word “woke”.
Search the internet for “DeSantis woke” (without the quotes), and you’ll get a ton of search results you can read about and watch. And again, a strong follower base gets sucked right into words like this. Because now they too can go around and say the same thing, making them feel empowered.
Trump liked to use nicknames for people and repeat them, like “Crooked Hillary” and “Crooked Joe Biden”.
Mode Three: Open Embrace of Contradiction
It’s magical thinking and the abandonment of facts.
Jordan Klepper is a master at shining a light on this. You can follow that link to watch how he works.
Here’s an example:
Klepper to MAGA person: “We treat women with respect here.”
MAGA person: “Yes, we do.”
Klepper: “That’s an American ideal.”
MAGA person: “Yeah.”
Klepper: “Tell me about your shirt. What’s it say?”
MAGA person: “It says, Hillary sucks, but not like Monica.”
Mode Four: Misplaced Faith.
Not believing facts and being loyal to a leader regardless of the truth. Here’s Keppler again.
MAGA person 1: “Read the transcript. Right?”
Klepper: “Have you read the transcript?”
MAGA person 1: “I have not read it.”
Klepper: “Look at the transcript. Right?”
MAGA person 2: “Yeah, look at the transcript.”
Klepper: “Have you read the transcript?”
MAGA person 2: “I trust the word of our president.”
Believe in truth and defend it.