Big Brother Is ReTruthing You

"The model of an authoritarian leader that the 20th century instilled in the Western imagination is a master of lies. Big Brother commands a machinery of propaganda that bombards his subjects with relentless projections of strength, combined with savaging of enemies real or imagined."

"Donald Trump resembles this archetype in many ways, both superficially (the obsession with building new monuments to his greatness or renaming existing structures after him) and substantively (pressuring media and business into capitulating, turning the power ministries into organs of vengeance). But he differs in one key aspect: The president is a recipient and victim of propaganda as much as he is an originator of it."

"From 10:15 to 10:53 p.m. EST, he shared more than two dozen posts on his Truth Social account alleging a blizzard of conspiracies. Roughly half of them centered on Barack Obama, whom the posts accused of having committed treason, having attempted a coup, having personally used Hillary Clinton's email server under a pseudonym, and having personally collected $120 million from the Affordable Care Act."

"These messages, collectively, do not alter our understanding of Trump's mindset. His accusations against Obama, as is typical, seem like reflected confessions. Obama never ordered investigations of his rivals, tried to overturn an election, or used the presidency as a vehicle of profit (the ACA charge, which appea"

An authoritarian leader archetype in Western imagination is described as a master of lies who uses propaganda to project strength and attack enemies. Donald Trump is said to resemble this model through efforts to build monuments to himself and pressure media and business to capitulate, while turning government power into instruments of vengeance. A key difference is presented: Trump is portrayed as both a producer and a recipient of propaganda. His Truth Social activity is cited as evidence, including posts alleging conspiracies during a specific time window. The posts target Barack Obama with claims of treason, coup attempts, and personal involvement in Hillary Clinton’s email server, along with accusations about collecting money from the Affordable Care Act. Other posts attack figures such as Mark Kelly, James Comey, Jack Smith, and Hillary Clinton, and include demands for faster arrests by the Justice Department and videos depicting Black people misbehaving.

Read at The Atlantic