History Listory

A chronological record of major political events in modern American history.

☰ Menu

Strategies

Comment

What are some examples of these strategies in the current administration?

Flood the Zone (PRIMARY)

2018-01-30 Steve Bannon said to Michael Lewis “The Democrats don’t matter. The real opposition is the media. And the way to deal with them is to flood the zone with shit”.

Frontiers in Political Science: “The fascist authoritarian model of illiberal democracy”.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/political-science/articles/10.3389/fpos.2022.907681/full READ

https://kikiskyeai.substack.com/p/finding-your-footing-in-the-flood

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/1/16/20991816/impeachment-trial-trump-bannon-misinformation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flood_the_zone

Controlled Opposition

Controlled Opposition: Controlled opposition is a strategy where an authority or power base secretly controls, influences, or leads the very movements meant to oppose it. By managing the opposition, the ruling entity creates an illusion of dissent while neutralizing real threats, preventing structural change, and steering public frustration into safe, ineffective outlets

Illusory Truth Effect

Illusory Truth Effect: the tendency for any statement that is repeated frequently – whether it is factually true or not, whether it is even plausible or not – to acquire the ring of truth. Psychology Today

Purposeful Obfuscation

Purposeful Obfuscation: the deliberate act of making communication, data, or information unclear, confusing, or intentionally complex to hide the truth, mislead others, or hinder understanding. It involves using jargon, ambiguity, or “Fedspeak” to obscure meaning. In computing, it transforms code to be unreadable to humans while maintaining functionality.

Intentionally Dividing People

pending ~ see category “Civil War”, category on “Racism”, subcategory on “Antifa strategy”

Stoking Fear & Confusion

pending ~ see category “Conspiracies”, category on Immigration and demonizing races, category on “Racism”

Weaponizing Religion

pending ~ see subsection “Religion”

Weakening Safety Nets

pending ~ see subsection on DOGE, category on Economy, and dismantling Education

Manufactured Consent: the theory that corporate-owned mass media manipulates public opinion to support elite political and economic agendas. It argues that news media acts as a propaganda machine, using selective coverage, framing, and filtering to make the public “consent” to policies

Crisis Leverage Politics

Crisis Leverage Politics: the strategic use of high-stakes situations, such as financial crashes or pandemics, by political actors to reframe events, expand executive power, and enact structural policy changes that might be impossible during normal times. It involves turning crises into opportunities for political transformation, agenda-setting, and consolidating control.

Problem Reaction Solution Dynamics

Problem Reaction Solution Dynamics: Problem-Reaction-Solution (PRS) is a manipulation technique, often described as “order out of chaos,” where a deliberate problem is created or exploited to trigger a specific public reaction. This reaction creates a demand for action, allowing authorities to implement a pre-planned solution, usually involving increased control or policy changes