The article explores how authoritarian leaders, exemplified by Donald Trump, undermine independent journalism to create confusion and reshape societal narratives. By attacking established media outlets, like the Associated Press, these leaders aim to break the public's trust in factual reporting. This tactic, rooted in historical precedents like Mussolini's propaganda machine, targets the intermediaries who help the public interpret factual information. Without these trusted sources, the ability to challenge power erodes, leading to a society where truth is obscured and dissent is silenced.
Authoritarians thrive not by persuading a majority, but by confusing it. By overwhelming the public with contradictions, distortions, and doubt, would-be strongmen don't need to win the argument.
In that chaos that results, power becomes hard to challenge because facts become fuzzy in the absence of the institution that exists to establish and communicate facts.
This is not just about silencing dissent but reshaping reality. Most people don't even have time, much less the training, to parse legislation or verify statistics.
Mussolini first rose through establishing a fascist newspaper called Il Popolo d'Italia (The People of Italy) which became the official voice of the Fascist movement.
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