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Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
LEARN ^ | DCDave

Posted on 10/01/2009 9:53:42 AM PDT by kaizen

Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a government. When the government lacks an effective, fact-based defense, other techniques must be employed. The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.

Dummy up. If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen. Wax indignant. This is also known as the “How dare you?” gambit. Characterize the charges as “rumors” or, better yet, “wild rumors.” If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through “rumors.” (If they tend to believe the “rumors” it must be because they are simply “paranoid” or “hysterical.”) Knock down straw men. Deal only with the weakest aspects of the weakest charges. Even better, create your own straw men. Make up wild rumors (or plant false stories) and give them lead play when you appear to debunk all the charges, real and fanciful alike. Call the skeptics names like “conspiracy theorist,” “nutcase,” “ranter,” “kook,” “crackpot,” and, of course, “rumor monger.” Be sure, too, to use heavily loaded verbs and adjectives when characterizing their charges and defending the “more reasonable” government and its defenders. You must then carefully avoid fair and open debate with any of the people you have thus maligned. For insurance, set up your own “skeptics” to shoot down. Impugn motives. Attempt to marginalize the critics by suggesting strongly that they are not really interested in the truth but are simply pursuing a partisan political agenda or are out to make money (compared to over-compensated adherents to the government line who, presumably, are not). Invoke authority. Here the controlled press and the sham opposition can be very useful. Dismiss the charges as “old news.” Come half-clean. This is also known as “confession and avoidance” or “taking the limited hangout route.” This way, you create the impression of candor and honesty while you admit only to relatively harmless, less-than-criminal “mistakes.” This stratagem often requires the embrace of a fall-back position quite different from the one originally taken. With effective damage control, the fall-back position need only be peddled by stooge skeptics to carefully limited markets. Characterize the crimes as impossibly complex and the truth as ultimately unknowable. Reason backward, using the deductive method with a vengeance. With thoroughly rigorous deduction, troublesome evidence is irrelevant. E.g. We have a completely free press. If evidence exists that the Vince Foster “suicide” note was forged, they would have reported it. They haven't reported it so there is no such evidence. Another variation on this theme involves the likelihood of a conspiracy leaker and a press who would report the leak. Require the skeptics to solve the crime completely. E.g. If Foster was murdered, who did it and why? Change the subject. This technique includes creating and/or publicizing distractions. Lightly report incriminating facts, and then make nothing of them. This is sometimes referred to as “bump and run” reporting. Baldly and brazenly lie. A favorite way of doing this is to attribute the “facts” furnished the public to a plausible-sounding, but anonymous, source. Expanding further on numbers 4 and 5 (e and f), have your own stooges “expose” scandals and champion popular causes. Their job is to pre-empt real opponents and to play 99-yard football. A variation is to pay rich people for the job who will pretend to spend their own money. Flood the Internet with agents. This is the answer to the question, “What could possibly motivate a person to spend hour upon hour on Internet news groups defending the government and/or the press and harassing genuine critics?” Don't the authorities have defenders enough in all the newspapers, magazines, radio, and television? One would think refusing to print critical letters and screening out serious callers or dumping them from radio talk shows would be control enough, but, obviously, it is not.


TOPICS: Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bob152; repository
This sounds a lot like a summary of the playbook for the left. We should all read up on the Alinsky Method, so we know what they are puling and how to deal with it. Interesting info here also http://www.learn-usa.com/transformation_process/roa018.htm
1 posted on 10/01/2009 9:53:42 AM PDT by kaizen
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To: kaizen

Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

by DCDave

 

Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a government.  When the government lacks an effective, fact-based defense, other techniques must be employed.  The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.

 

  1. Dummy up.  If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen.
  2. Wax indignant.  This is also known as the “How dare you?” gambit.
  3. Characterize the charges as “rumors” or, better yet, “wild rumors.”  If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through “rumors.”  (If they tend to believe the “rumors” it must be because they are simply “paranoid” or “hysterical.”)
  4. Knock down straw men.  Deal only with the weakest aspects of the weakest charges.  Even better, create your own straw men.  Make up wild rumors (or plant false stories) and give them lead play when you appear to debunk all the charges, real and fanciful alike.
  5. Call the skeptics names like “conspiracy theorist,” “nutcase,” “ranter,” “kook,” “crackpot,” and, of course, “rumor monger.”  Be sure, too, to use heavily loaded verbs and adjectives when characterizing their charges and defending the “more reasonable” government and its defenders.  You must then carefully avoid fair and open debate with any of the people you have thus maligned.  For insurance, set up your own “skeptics” to shoot down.
  6. Impugn motives.  Attempt to marginalize the critics by suggesting strongly that they are not really interested in the truth but are simply pursuing a partisan political agenda or are out to make money (compared to over-compensated adherents to the government line who, presumably, are not).
  7. Invoke authority.  Here the controlled press and the sham opposition can be very useful.
  8. Dismiss the charges as “old news.”
  9. Come half-clean.  This is also known as “confession and avoidance” or “taking the limited hangout route.”  This way, you create the impression of candor and honesty while you admit only to relatively harmless, less-than-criminal “mistakes.”  This stratagem often requires the embrace of a fall-back position quite different from the one originally taken.  With effective damage control, the fall-back position need only be peddled by stooge skeptics to carefully limited markets.
  10. Characterize the crimes as impossibly complex and the truth as ultimately unknowable.
  11. Reason backward, using the deductive method with a vengeance.  With thoroughly rigorous deduction, troublesome evidence is irrelevant.  E.g.  We have a completely free press.  If evidence exists that the Vince Foster “suicide” note was forged, they would have reported it.  They haven't reported it so there is no such evidence.  Another variation on this theme involves the likelihood of a conspiracy leaker and a press who would report the leak.
  12. Require the skeptics to solve the crime completely.  E.g.  If Foster was murdered, who did it and why?
  13. Change the subject.  This technique includes creating and/or publicizing distractions.
  14. Lightly report incriminating facts, and then make nothing of them.  This is sometimes referred to as “bump and run” reporting.
  15. Baldly and brazenly lie.  A favorite way of doing this is to attribute the “facts” furnished the public to a plausible-sounding, but anonymous, source.
  16. Expanding further on numbers 4 and 5 (e and f), have your own stooges “expose” scandals and champion popular causes.  Their job is to pre-empt real opponents and to play 99-yard football.  A variation is to pay rich people for the job who will pretend to spend their own money.
  17. Flood the Internet with agents.  This is the answer to the question, “What could possibly motivate a person to spend hour upon hour on Internet news groups defending the government and/or the press and harassing genuine critics?”  Don't the authorities have defenders enough in all the newspapers, magazines, radio, and television?  One would think refusing to print critical letters and screening out serious callers or dumping them from radio talk shows would be control enough, but, obviously, it is not.

 

Sorry...it was kinda hard to follow without the paragraphs or outline.

2 posted on 10/01/2009 10:01:13 AM PDT by AreaMan
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To: kaizen

18. Use paragraphs.


3 posted on 10/01/2009 10:01:18 AM PDT by Pearls Before Swine (Is /sarc really necessary?)
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To: kaizen

Interesting! Thanks.


4 posted on 10/01/2009 10:01:35 AM PDT by cvq3842 (I don't ask what my country can do for me - I ask my government to STOP doing things TO me!)
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To: AreaMan

Beat me to it...


5 posted on 10/01/2009 10:07:39 AM PDT by null and void (We are now in day 253 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: kaizen
The money quote:

The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.

It's okay folks, we're safe...

6 posted on 10/01/2009 10:20:11 AM PDT by null and void (We are now in day 253 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: Fred Nerks; null and void; stockpirate; george76; PhilDragoo; Candor7; GOPJ; BP2; MeekOneGOP; ...

Off topic?

You be the judge...


7 posted on 10/01/2009 10:21:14 AM PDT by null and void (We are now in day 253 of our national holiday from reality. - 0bama really isn't one of US.)
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To: kaizen
Omitting paragraphs is also part of it, apparently.

A good read nonetheless.

8 posted on 10/01/2009 10:29:18 AM PDT by domenad (In all things, in all ways, at all times, let honor guide me.)
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To: null and void

Interesting.


9 posted on 10/01/2009 10:29:38 AM PDT by EternalVigilance (If you're not a Personhood Pro-Lifer, you're a holocaust enabler, either actively or passively.)
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To: AreaMan

They forgot my favorites: “racist” and “teabagger”.


10 posted on 10/01/2009 10:39:59 AM PDT by moovova (More coffee please...make it a double.)
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To: null and void

I’ve seen some of these tactics used against freepers on threads... KOS agents... Vs Jim Thompson!


11 posted on 10/01/2009 10:42:12 AM PDT by Freedom2specul8 (I am Jim Thompson............................Please pray for our troops....)
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To: AreaMan

So, I might say that the reference to “Vince Foster” makes this old news, and tainted with conspiracy theory.

Never mind all those problems with the forged suicide note, the absence of dirt on the bottoms of his shoes, the mysterious color change in the pistol used and the strange way it moved around, the absence of much blood under his head, and all the rest of that nonsense.

It’s old new. Move on. Oh, sorry, is there now a trademark on that phrase?


12 posted on 10/01/2009 10:48:09 AM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: AreaMan

Thanks - that’s much easier....


13 posted on 10/01/2009 10:54:40 AM PDT by GOPJ (MSM BIAS: the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell)
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To: null and void
The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.

You're right null - without those "keys" none of the rest of it works.

14 posted on 10/01/2009 10:55:49 AM PDT by GOPJ (MSM BIAS: the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell)
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To: AreaMan
Call the skeptics names like “conspiracy theorist,” “nutcase,” “ranter,” “kook,” “crackpot,” and, of course, “rumor monger.” Be sure, too, to use heavily loaded verbs and adjectives when characterizing their charges and defending the “more reasonable” government and its defenders. You must then carefully avoid fair and open debate with any of the people you have thus maligned.

Hmph. Left out "birther".

15 posted on 10/01/2009 6:26:54 PM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly. Stand fast. God knows what He is doing.)
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To: AreaMan

Bookmark!!


16 posted on 10/02/2009 12:19:22 PM PDT by musicman (Until I see the REAL Long Form Vault BC, he's just "PRES__ENT" Obama = Without "ID")
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To: kaizen

bump to the top


17 posted on 10/04/2009 10:48:39 AM PDT by GOPJ (MSM BIAS: the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. George Orwell)
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To: combat_boots; null and void; aragorn; EnigmaticAnomaly; kalee; TWhiteBear; Salvation; ...

Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

Check out # 3 on this old thread for another list of techniques used by trolls site pests.

18 posted on 07/06/2016 6:19:54 PM PDT by LucyT
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To: LucyT

(sorry I haven’t been posting lately, been feeling not so good)


19 posted on 07/06/2016 6:57:32 PM PDT by Mr Apple (Everyone must go to the polls in Nov .......or we'll be Outvoted!)
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