I had to read the headline twice to fully grasp what was happening: meteorologists in the U.S. have been inundated with abuse, including death threats, from conspiracy theorists accusing them and the government of manufacturing and controlling hurricanes.
This disturbing trend mirrors the threats scientists faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, when fake news spread claims that the virus was a hoax. Recently, I made the mistake of commenting on an article about the U.S. presidential elections, only to be bombarded with vile remarks and personal insults.
Violent threats are becoming alarmingly common, especially on platforms like Twitter, where safeguards against disinformation have largely collapsed since Elon Musk’s acquisition. Now, anyone with an internet connection can propagate wild conspiracies, with little to no oversight.
A key tactic of right-wing extremists is to vilify both independent and mainstream media, constructing a dystopian reality where truth is distorted into lies and falsehoods are presented as truth. By manipulating reality and eroding public trust in factual information, they create fertile ground for the rise of totalitarianism.
Hannah Arendt, the German-American political theorist and philosopher, best known for her works on totalitarianism, warned as long ago as six years after World War II:
“The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction (ie the reality of experience) and the distinction between true and false (ie standards of thought) no longer exist.”
Arendt’s concern with the fragility of truth in the public realm echoes today’s concerns about the impact of fake news on public trust in media, government, and institutions. When people no longer trust facts, they withdraw from democratic engagement and become vulnerable to authoritarian manipulation.
The reason why MAGA Trumpists and their acolytes such as Musk are targeting “mainstream media” is that Independent media is often at the forefront of exposing corruption, abuses of power, and misinformation, which might otherwise go unchecked.
Investigative journalism plays a pivotal role by digging into stories that powerful entities want to keep hidden. Independent media, free of government control, regularly fact-check falsehoods. Some examples include the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), The Guardian, and ProPublica.
PolitiFact is one of the most well-known fact-checking organizations in the United States. It is widely recognized for its Truth-O-Meter, which rates the accuracy of statements made by politicians, public figures, and media outlets. The ratings range from “True” to “Pants on Fire” for particularly egregious falsehoods.
Basic democratic freedom and liberty are being threatened in multiple countries. Authoritarian messaging is based on negativity and falsehoods to spread fear, anxiety, and division. The existing reality is exaggerated to much worse than it is. It promises the struggling working class a Utopian future. This future will, of course, never materialize.
Here are just a few examples of what you face if you allow authoritarianism to take control of your life:
- Power is mostly concentrated in the hands of a single leader or a small ruling elite. Checks and balances are eroded allowing leaders to act without accountability or transparency.
- Authoritarian leaders use their positions to enrich themselves and their acolytes. Public resources are diverted for personal gain, leading to a lack of investment in essential services like education, healthcare, and infrastructure.
- Political competition is eliminated or severely restricted by changes in laws benefiting the ruling party. Opposition leaders may be imprisoned, exiled, or assassinated as we are currently seeing in Putin’s Russia.
- Authoritarian regimes stoke hatred of “the other,” including ethnic and religious minorities, leading to social fragmentation violence and unrest.
- Authoritarianism prioritizes control over economic liberalization, creativity and innovation. In the long term economies stagnate, and entrepreneurship is stifled.
Happiness is created by mindset and perspective. Foundational is a society with basic freedoms of democracy and expression. Authoritarianism ultimately has a devastating effect on every citizen. You end up being poorer, more desperate and living a life of quiet misery.
As Winston Churchill once summized: “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others that have been tried.”
Reino Gevers – Author – Mentor – Speaker
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