Why Obvious Lies Make Great Propaganda

The Propaganda Puzzle: Firehosing of Falsehoods

At the pinnacle of the 2016 election chaos, a report surfaced, unveiling a peculiar propaganda technique – the "firehose of falsehood." Imagine a relentless downpour of lies, conspiracy theories, and blatant untruths bombarding you faster than you can blink. The aim? To leave you swimming in a sea of confusion. But why the barrage of lies? Strangely, they don't even need to be believable to be effective, as the report highlighted. The power of shaping public opinion lies not in the credibility of the lies but in their sheer volume and audacity.

Russian Firehosing: The Art of Unapologetic Deception

This report, however, wasn't a Trump expose; it was an exploration of Russian propaganda. The question it raised is fascinating: How can a leader benefit from weaving a tapestry of obvious lies? Christopher Paul, a senior social scientist at the RAND Corporation, outlined four key characteristics of Russian firehosing that eerily echo in the realm of Trumpian discourse.

1. High Volume and Multichannel: Russian propaganda inundates from all directions, saturating every possible medium.
2. Rapid, Continuous, and Repetitive: The lies come fast, furious, and don't stop. Repetition is their ally.
3. No Commitment to Objective Reality: Truth takes a back seat; they dance with falsehoods shamelessly.
4. No Commitment to Consistency: Like a shape-shifting illusion, their narrative morphs without warning.

It sounds like Trump, right? Hold on; we're just setting the stage.

Trump Time: The American Adaptation of Firehosing

Since the election, keen observers have noticed Trump wielding the firehose of falsehoods with alarming proficiency. But this isn't about drawing parallels; it's about unraveling the common thread that ties diverse leaders like Putin and Trump. Enter Masha Gessen, a Russian-American journalist who's been sounding the alarm on the uncanny similarities between the two leaders.

They both craft an unmanageable volume of falsehoods, not for persuasion but for power assertion. It's not about convincing you; it's about making you question the very essence of reality. They assert that they are not constrained by the truth, turning even the most obvious facts into battlegrounds of political strife.

Fact-Checking Futility: Engaging with the Absurd

Our knee-jerk reaction to falsehoods is often to fact-check. However, firehosing thrives on our attempts to hold them accountable. It's like a schoolyard bully forcing you to argue with the obvious, degrading you by making you engage with something that shouldn't even be up for debate. Trump's compulsive lying, coupled with his vehement rejection of fact-checks, turns truth into a messy political brawl where no one seems credible.

Robbing Reality: The Ultimate Goal of Firehosing

The ultimate goal of firehosing isn't to pass lies off as truth; it's to strip concepts like facts and reality of their power. When Putin claims no one can be trusted and Trump urges you not to believe what you see or read, they are dismantling the very foundations of truth. In this war of positions, whoever holds more power, not truth, owns reality.

In a world where "truth isn't truth," and reality is about picking sides, firehosing becomes a potent tool. It doesn't just erode trust in information; it reshapes the entire landscape of discourse, leaving us questioning even the most self-evident truths.

So, as we navigate this dizzying web of deception, remember, it's not just about the lies. It's about the power they wield over our perception of reality. The challenge is to resist being swept away and find solid ground amidst the chaos. After all, in a world of firehosing, clarity becomes the beacon guiding us through the storm.