Are You Ready? We are About to Get Hit With a “Disinformation Tsunami”!

Understanding the Real Purpose Behind all the “Crazy Talk”

Sep 05, 2024

On Information Overload

With the 2024 presidential campaign in its final sixty-plus day sprint to election day, there is so much being said about it. So much so, that it easy to either be overwhelmed by all the statements, or simply to decide to ignore them. However, the real danger is how we misinterpret the candidates’ intentions regarding what they say. So, get ready America- we are about to get hit with a “disinformation tsunami.”

When President Biden withdrew from the 2024 Democratic Party presidential ticket and was replaced by his Vice President Kamala Harris, many of us thought we were already immune to Trump’s fantastical and voluminous lying. Yet, some noticed something new. Trump’s lying and wild statements were now even more blatant and worse. It was a signal that with Election 2024, “we ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Lies From the Ridiculous to the Not Sublime

With Trump realizing he has an altogether different type of opponent in this race (Harris) than the one he was prepared to campaign against (Biden), we now hear a plethora of new lies and falsities flowing unimpeded from him. We now hear Trump’s fabrication that photos of Harris’ crowds at her rallies are manufactured by artificial intelligence.[1]

We now hear his untruthful claims that Harris had only recently, when declaring her presidential candidacy, claimed that she was Black instead of Indian (as she had supposedly previously declared).[2] The fact is Harris’ mother emigrated from India, her father from Jamaica. Trump falsely claims Harris lied about working at McDonald’s, a job she held while attending college, because she did not have it listed on her resume (never mind that many people do not put jobs like that on their resume when seeking career type employment).[3]

Now Trump descended even into crassness about Harris when, as the New York Times reported:

“Former President Donald J. Trump used his social-media website on Wednesday to amplify a crude remark about Vice President Kamala Harris that suggested Ms. Harris traded sexual favors to help her political career.”[4]

With this constant “river of crazy” flowing from Trump’s fantasy land of half-truths and conspiracies, it is easy to dismiss them as nothing more than political hyperbole. Or to see them as statements that were made simply to get votes, or the incoherent musings of someone whose mental acuity is diminishing, as some in the media have posited.[5] Some or all of those conclusions may or may not be true, making it understandable how one could quickly dismiss these statements. But beware- it is best not to dismiss them out of hand. There is something else at work when Trump says this stuff- something much darker and dangerous.

A Disinformation Plan is being Unfolded

As the Latin poet Phaedrus wisely observed, “Things are not always what they seem; the first appearance deceives many; the intelligence of a few perceives what has been carefully hidden.”[6] And so it is with Donald Trump. The first impression of his lies is not their real purpose. Something much bigger and more serious is at work.

But for things to “not always seem to be what they seem,” a specific approach is required- the use of disinformation. According to the Aspen Institute, disinformation is false information knowingly shared to cause harm.[7] Author Lee McIntyre lays all this out clearly in his book On Disinformation.[8]

Trump’s Disinformation Strategy is a “Borrowed Strategy”

According to McIntyre, Donald Trump and his MAGA “…is not just a political movement- it’s a good old fashioned denialist campaign. Fifteen years ago, cognitive scientists discovered that all science deniers follow the same flawed reasoning strategy.”[9] (emphasis mine) The strategy which Trump and his MAGAs rely upon today they took from science denialism. It is fivefold:[10]

(1) cherry-pick evidence.

(2) believe in conspiracy theories.

(3) engage in illogical reasoning.

(4) rely on fake experts (and denigrate real experts).

(5) have impossible expectations for what the other side must believe.

McIntyre argues this is the same “corrupt pattern of logic” that lead science deniers to deny climate change despite overwhelming scientific evidence for it. It allows “flat earthers” to believe the true shape of the earth is being withheld by all government leaders, officials, and astronauts. It allows those opposed to government public health protections in a pandemic to believe that breathing into an N-95 mask can give you Covid, or that injecting hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin is a better response to Covid than the vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer.[11]

How Disinformation Becomes Effective

As McIntyre explains, there are some key factors necessary in order for a disinformation effort to be effective. Effective disinformation requires three components: it must be created, it must be amplified, and it must be believed. It must also have an objective, which is not just to delay the truth, but to kill it.[12]

To kill truth, the disinformation campaign must create distrust. Not only must distrust be created, but it must also involve creating “new trust”- trust in those fomenting the disinformation. Some of Trump’s favorite tactics to conduct disinformation are taken directly from Russian disinformation campaigns such as the “firehose of lies” and “whataboutism” (changing the subject to something unrelated when an opponent’s argument is making too much sense).[13] Coincidental, is it not, given Trump’s affection for all things Russian and Putin?

We saw this during the pandemic where, with thousands of Americans sick and dying, Trump not only worked to create trust with his voters in the midst of this chaos, but he also worked to create a special kind of trust:

“…as sole beacon of truth- amid a sea of corrupt, lying scientists and doctors- drawn on those of cult leaders, self-proclaimed healers, and wellness charlatans as much as those of authoritarian demagogues.”[14]

Trump has used and still uses what is called “identity fusion” to pursue the trust his disinformation efforts require. Psychologists William Swann and Michael D. Buhrmester explain this in Current Directions in Psychological Science, defining the term saying:

“Identity fusion is a visceral sense of “oneness” with a group of its individual members that motivates personally costly, pro-group behaviors…[15]

Disinformation relies on identity fusion to get results, and Trump uses the concept well to create “oneness” with his followers. Their identities are fused with him. Trump can say anything, and they will believe it, despite any evidence to the contrary they encounter.

The Psychology of Disinformation

Belief in the incredulous is a goal of disinformation efforts. But why, asks McIntyre, do believers of the incredulous believe the incredulous in the face of “overwhelming refutatory evidence”? McIntyre argues that the answer is that denialists’ beliefs are not based on facts. Instead, their beliefs are rooted in “identity.” This is the “social nature of identity” that social psychologists’ studies have studied and verified. It that melds beliefs with a sense of “conformity and tribalism.”[16]

This is a powerful psychological insight into much of what is happening in this nation now. There is what McIntyre describes as “the genius of disinformation.” That genius is “…that it doesn’t just to get you to believe a falsehood, but to distrust (and sometimes even hate) anyone who does not believe the same falsehood.” Plus, the disinformation campaign becomes highly effective because of its ability to “…exploit partisan enmity, not just doubt.”[17] As McIntyre describes it, those that receive the disinformation are encouraged to:

“…Don’t just lie, polarize. Create a news silo. Exploit any preexisting grievance and resentment. Make it “us against them.” The other side is not just biased, they are lying to you. These are evil people. Perhaps they even deserve to be physically assaulted or thrown in jail.”[18] (emphasis mine)

The Disinformationist’s Measure of Success

With the environment the “disinformationist” has created, McIntyre asserts that now “…one can sell an alternate narrative of reality even when there is no evidence to support it, and a mountain of evidence to suggest it’s not true.” The disinformation continues to “work” as long as it appeals to the emotions of your “team”- the emotion to want to believe and have been conditioned to believe. Thus, disinformation relies not just on doubt, but it must also have distrust because “…Mere doubt can be overcome with evidence, but distrust cannot.”[19]

The Disinformation “Danger Zone” Today- “Flooding the Zone”

So, when you hear Donald Trump engage in his relentless ramblings about the “late great Hannibal Lecter,” whether or not he prefers to be electrocuted or eaten by sharks, or getting rid of low water usage toilets, we cannot lose focus. Understanding the psychology of disinformation, we cannot, for the sake of our democracy, lose focus on the gravity of the disinformation by which Trump is at this moment attempting to engage American voters with. He is deliberately disseminating dangerous disinformation with the intent that it be absorbed by as many of his “believers” as possible. All this is going on while we speak. Trump is doing exactly what his advisor Steve Bannon calls “flooding the zone with sh*t.”[20]

Examples of this are everywhere if we are willing to see them. Trump has asked Americans to vote for him this time and after this, this will be the last election they need to vote in because “It’ll be fixed.”[21] It is easy to grasp the meaning of this in terms of his intention as president to eliminate the need for future elections. Here Trump is also doing what strongman expert and historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat says all authoritarians do- work to undermine citizens’ faith in their democracy’s elections.[22] Additionally, Trump seems now to have focused his disinformation plan not on arguing policy issues in this presidential campaign but by launching a “… broad assault using the insult-driven politics with which he won power in 2016… trying to frame Harris as a communist and a “Bolshevik.”[23]

But take a closer look, and one finds what pundit Dean Obeidallah describes as “…something far more sinister at play.” It is in the least, sinister. It is evil, and it’s criminal. Obeidallah goes on to say:

The focus of most has been Trump’s baseless claim the crowd images were fakes, but what they are ignoring is what Trump wrote after that which is the real point of his post. That is when Trump told his followers that the only way he could lose in 2024 is if Democrats cheat. He wrote about Harris, “She’s a CHEATER,” adding ominously, “This is the way the Democrats win Elections, by CHEATING - And they’re even worse at the Ballot Box. She should be disqualified because the creation of a fake image is ELECTION INTERFERENCE. Anyone who does that will cheat at ANYTHING!”[24]

The Desired Result for this Disinformation Campaign

Trump is using disinformation to sow the seeds of attempting to overturn another presidential election if he loses. By predicting Democrats cheating in this election, it justifies in his mind and his followers’ minds doing whatever he must to win. That of course involves overturning the 2024 election if he loses, just as he tried in 2020. He is saying today what he said in 2020 at the Republican National Convention, “The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election.” [25]

By the way, Trump went even further with his disinformation for 2024 when he said recently in a Fox News interview that “he had every right” to interfere in the 2020 election.[26] He is trying to normalize his illegal conduct related to the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. We are truly in the midst of a disinformation tsunami.

The Disinformation Disinfectant

Forewarned is forearmed, and Trump is definitely forewarning us with his disinformation as to what he plans to do to our democracy if he loses the 2024 presidential election (i.e., steal it). Further, he has been plainly “telegraphing” what he will do to our democracy if he is elected vis a vis his Project 2025 plan to replace the American presidency with an authoritarian “unitary presidency”. This will eliminate many of our government’s existing Constitutional checks and balances by centralizing many of the Federal government’s functions under the President’s direct control, becoming the most powerful president in our history.

McIntyre lays out a detailed plan for counteracting our current disinformation environment. The first step he calls for is this- when you are in an information war, admit it. Don’t deny it is going on, or make excuses for it, or expect someone else (especially the corporate media) to deal with it. Next, we must take this disinformation war as seriously as those who are waging it against us. The key to doing that is using your truth telling knowledge at every opportunity. Multiple truth tellers should be utilized to do this, and they must identify and target the multiple audiences that need to hear the truth, rather than the lies which have been doled out to them by Trump and his minions.[27]

Already the DOJ is filing charges against Russian officials involved in a $9.7 million Kremlin financed social media 2024 election disinformation scheme intended to get Trump elected.[28] Figuratively speaking, it’s time to “buckle up and put our tray tables and seats in their upright position” for it will be a “bumpy flight” at least until November 5^th. The question for us now is, how will we respond to this threat to our democracy? There’s just a little over two months left to the 2024 election. Carp diem and prepare for the tsunami. Truth must prevail if democracy is to prevail.

[1] Trump falsely claims Harris' campaign used AI to alter photo of crowd size - ABC News (go.com)

[2] Fact check: Trump’s lie that Harris ‘all of a sudden’ embraced a Black identity | CNN Politics

[3] Trump’s latest obsession with Harris: claiming she lied about working at McDonald’s | The Independent

[4] Donald Trump Reposts Crude Sexual Remark About Kamala Harris on Truth Social - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

[5] Watch: Trump Struggles to Keep Track of His Thoughts in Weirdest Rant | The New Republic

[6] Quote by Phaedrus: “Things are not always what they seem; the first...” (goodreads.com)

[7] The Report of the Knight Commission on Trust, Media, and Democracy, from Crisis in Democracy: Renewing Trust in America, Copyright 2019, The Aspen Institute, https://cspreports.aspeninstitute.org/Knight-Commission-TMD/2019/report/details/0287/Knight-Commission

[8] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee C. McIntyre, 2023 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, pp 1-161.

[9] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee C. McIntyre, pp 15-16, Ibid.

[10] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee C. McIntyre, pp 15-16, Ibid.

[11] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee C. McIntyre, pp 16-17, Ibid.

[12] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee C. McIntyre, pg. 22, Ibid.

[13] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee C. McIntyre, pp 32-33, Ibid.

[14] “How Trump Sold Failure to 70 Million People”, by James Hamblin, The Atlantic, November 10, 2020, Ibid.

[15] “People With “fused Identities Are Willing to Die for Their Social Group,” Association for Psychological Science, August 18, 2010, https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/people-with-fused-identities-are-willing-to-die-for -their-social-group.html

[16] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee C. McIntyre, pp 22-23, Ibid.

[17] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee C. McIntyre, pp 24-25, Ibid.

[18] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee C. McIntyre, pp 25-26, Ibid.

[19] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee C. McIntyre, pg. 26, Ibid.

[20] This infamous Steve Bannon quote is key to understanding America’s crazy politics | CNN Business

[21] Trump says this will be the last election if he wins – People's World (peoplesworld.org)

[23] Trump’s hardline new quest to destroy Harris’ momentum | CNN Politics

[25] The 9 most notable comments Trump has made about accepting the election results - POLITICO

[26] Has Donald Trump Confessed to a Crime in TV Interview? What We Know - Newsweek Has Donald Trump Confessed to a Crime in TV Interview? What We Know - Newsweek

[27] On Disinformation, How to Fight for Truth and Protect Democracy, by Lee C. McIntyre, pp 103-133, Ibid.

[28] Office of Public Affairs | Two RT Employees Indicted for Covertly Funding and Directing U.S. Company that Published Thousands of Videos in Furtherance of Russian Interests | United States Department of Justice

Democraticus- The Democratist

Discussion about this post