25 rules of disinformation
This is an election year. It's a notable year because Donald Trump has broken through the self-censoring barrier of political correctness. Political candidates and political parties are being forced to discuss the overwhelming national, state, and local issue that no one would otherwise talk about: mass immigration.
The media similarly is being pressed to discuss issues they would rather sweep under the carpet, including such items as the Clinton email security breach and the Benghazi attack.
This raises the question as to how focus on important issues like these has been diffused. Here's a fun and informative read. See the complete article for all 25 rules:
25 Rules of Disinformation, Propaganda, “PSYOPS”, Debunking Techniques, Activist Post, May 27, 2016:
1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Regardless of what you know, don’t discuss it — especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it’s not reported, it didn’t happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.
2. Become incredulous and indignant. Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the “How dare you!” gambit.
3. Create rumor mongers. Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such “arguable rumors.” If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a “wild rumor” which can have no basis in fact.
4. Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent’s argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad...
5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary attack the messenger ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as “kooks”, “right-wing”, “liberal”, “left-wing”, “terrorists”, “conspiracy buffs”, “radicals”, “militia”, “racists”...