#deception-tactics

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Humor
fromSilicon Canals
3 hours ago

People who laugh before they finish telling a painful story aren't handling it well. They're releasing the listener from having to respond to it seriously, which is a skill they learned from people who couldn't. - Silicon Canals

Laughter during painful stories often serves as a social cue to ease discomfort rather than indicating healing.
fromPsychology Today
15 hours ago

When Sliced Fruit Isn't an Apology

In many Asian households, love and repair weren't always spoken-they were implied, indirect, and often left for us to interpret. This isn't what I advise for the next generation of Asian parents.
Parenting
#geese
Music production
fromWIRED
4 days ago

The Fanfare Around Geese Actually Was a Psyop

Geese's rapid rise to fame in 2025 sparked backlash and accusations of being an industry plant, linked to viral marketing strategies.
Music production
fromWIRED
4 days ago

The Fanfare Around Geese Actually Was a Psyop

Geese's rapid rise to fame in 2025 sparked backlash and accusations of being an industry plant, linked to viral marketing strategies.
Relationships
fromSilicon Canals
19 hours ago

I've been with my partner for years and I only just realized that every time I said "let's be rational" during an argument, what they heard was "your feelings don't matter" - and that's what's been quietly pushing us apart - Silicon Canals

Prioritizing logic over emotional validation can undermine relationships and lead to feelings of being unheard and diminished.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
1 day ago

The people who say they don't care what others think are almost never telling the whole truth. What they actually did was move the audience inward, and now they perform for a private version of the same judges they claim to have escaped. - Silicon Canals

Indifference to others' opinions often masks internalized judgment rather than true freedom from social conformity.
fromPsychology Today
1 day ago

The Effects of Media Depictions or Mediaspeak on War

A whole vocabulary of mediaspeak terms applied to real life has gradually emerged. Included here, among others, are: collateral damage, neutralized, canceled, surgical strike, playbook, rules of the game, high-value target, and gamechanger.
World politics
SF parents
fromThe Cipher Brief
2 days ago

Could Your Child Be a Member of the Most Dangerous Online Community? What Every Parent Needs to Watch Out For

The True Crime Community is a dangerous online subculture that idolizes mass shooters and has been linked to numerous violent attacks.
Information security
fromComputerWeekly.com
1 day ago

North Korean social engineering campaign targets macOS users | Computer Weekly

A North Korean campaign targeting macOS users tricked victims into executing malicious files, leading to credential and data theft.
Books
fromSlate Magazine
1 day ago

A New Kind of Scandal Is Growing Online. It's Ruining Careers-and Aimed at the Wrong Target.

A.I. detection controversies highlight concerns over authorship and the impact of technology on writing.
Startup companies
fromSilicon Canals
2 days ago

Psychology says the people who find lasting success in business aren't the ones who mastered the habits productivity culture celebrates - they've quietly figured out that most of what business media treats as essential is noise, and the actual signal is found in a much smaller set of decisions most people overlook - Silicon Canals

Sustainable business success comes from focusing on key decisions rather than following productivity trends and hacks.
Social media marketing
fromAxios
4 days ago

The first AI-era war is a "slopaganda" battle to control memes

AI-generated content is rapidly spreading propaganda, making it easier for influencers to adopt conspiracy theories.
#generative-ai
Marketing tech
fromSFGATE
2 days ago

AI is a gold mine for spammers and scammers, but Google is using it as a tool to fight back

Generative AI tools have intensified online spam and scams, prompting tech giants like Google to enhance their defenses against these threats.
Marketing tech
fromAP News
2 days ago

AI is a gold mine for spammers and scammers, but Google is using it as a tool to fight back

Generative AI tools have intensified online spam and scams, prompting tech companies like Google to enhance their defenses against malicious ads.
Marketing tech
fromSFGATE
2 days ago

AI is a gold mine for spammers and scammers, but Google is using it as a tool to fight back

Generative AI tools have intensified online spam and scams, prompting tech giants like Google to enhance their defenses against these threats.
Marketing tech
fromAP News
2 days ago

AI is a gold mine for spammers and scammers, but Google is using it as a tool to fight back

Generative AI tools have intensified online spam and scams, prompting tech companies like Google to enhance their defenses against malicious ads.
#deepfake
Education
fromWIRED
3 days ago

The Deepfake Nudes Crisis in Schools Is Much Worse Than You Thought

AI-generated deepfake nude images are impacting nearly 90 schools and over 600 students globally, causing severe emotional distress among victims.
Education
fromWIRED
3 days ago

The Deepfake Nudes Crisis in Schools Is Much Worse Than You Thought

AI-generated deepfake nude images are impacting nearly 90 schools and over 600 students globally, causing severe emotional distress among victims.
Real estate
fromwww.housingwire.com
2 days ago

When listings lie: AI staging pushes real estate into an ethics gray zone

The true picture standard in real estate requires accurate representation in advertising and marketing, impacting buyer perceptions and legal claims.
Data science
fromNature
4 days ago

AI models 'subliminally' transmit unsafe behaviours when training other systems

Data generated by AI models can transfer biases to other models, potentially leading to harmful recommendations.
fromArs Technica
5 days ago

Your tech support company runs scams. Stop-or disguise with more fraud?

Tech Live Connect processed fraudulent charges using real customer data, including names and addresses, to make the charges appear legitimate and maintain a low chargeback ratio.
Privacy professionals
#manipulation
fromSilicon Canals
4 weeks ago
Psychology

Research suggests the most effective way to shut down a manipulator isn't arguing with their logic - it's refusing to participate in the emotional transaction they're trying to create - Silicon Canals

fromSilicon Canals
3 weeks ago
Psychology

I'm 44 and the most powerful thing I ever learned about dealing with manipulative people is that silence - actual, sustained, unapologetic silence - makes them unravel in ways that confrontation never does - Silicon Canals

Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
4 weeks ago

Nobody warns you that the fakest people you'll ever meet won't be the obvious ones - they'll be the ones who remember your birthday, ask about your kids, and make you feel seen right up until the moment their kindness stops being useful to them - Silicon Canals

Fake niceness can be a strategic manipulation to create indebtedness rather than genuine connection.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
2 months ago

6 psychology-proven ways to disarm a manipulator without uttering a word - Silicon Canals

Nonverbal neutrality—denying emotional reactions—can disarm manipulators and shift power dynamics without confrontation.
Relationships
fromPsychology Today
3 weeks ago

5 Manipulation Tactics You Might Not See Until It's Too Late

Gaslighting, guilt-tripping, moving the goalposts, and triangulation are manipulative tactics that undermine reality and self-worth in relationships.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
4 weeks ago

Research suggests the most effective way to shut down a manipulator isn't arguing with their logic - it's refusing to participate in the emotional transaction they're trying to create - Silicon Canals

Manipulators seek to dominate rather than engage in genuine dialogue, using emotional reactions as a means to control the interaction.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
3 weeks ago

I'm 44 and the most powerful thing I ever learned about dealing with manipulative people is that silence - actual, sustained, unapologetic silence - makes them unravel in ways that confrontation never does - Silicon Canals

Silence can effectively disrupt manipulative dynamics by refusing to engage in confrontational exchanges.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
4 weeks ago

Nobody warns you that the fakest people you'll ever meet won't be the obvious ones - they'll be the ones who remember your birthday, ask about your kids, and make you feel seen right up until the moment their kindness stops being useful to them - Silicon Canals

Fake niceness can be a strategic manipulation to create indebtedness rather than genuine connection.
Mental health
fromSilicon Canals
2 days ago

Psychology says people who check on everyone else during a crisis before acknowledging their own fear aren't selfless - they learned that being needed is the only form of safety their childhood ever reliably delivered - Silicon Canals

Composure in crises often masks unresolved childhood fears and the need to fulfill others' expectations.
Mindfulness
fromSilicon Canals
2 days ago

Psychology says people who can walk away from an argument without needing the last word aren't passive or weak - they've learned that some people don't argue to understand, they argue to win, and disengaging from a game that was never designed to have a fair outcome is one of the most sophisticated emotional skills a person can develop, even though it almost always gets mistaken for not caring - Silicon Canals

Walking away from unproductive arguments reflects wisdom, not weakness, and is essential for emotional health.
Marketing
fromTheZenParent
1 week ago

20 Sneaky Tactics Advertisers Use To Take Advantage Of You - TheZenParent

Understanding marketing psychology helps consumers recognize subtle tactics that influence purchasing decisions.
fromTheregister
2 days ago

Git identity spoof fools Claude into giving bad code the nod

In a blog published this week, Manifold Security showed how an AI-powered code reviewer built on Claude accepted changes that appeared to come from a legitimate maintainer. By setting a fake author name and email in Git, the team made a commit appear to originate from a trusted source, then passed it through an automated review flow where the model approved it.
Information security
Relationships
fromSilicon Canals
3 days ago

Psychology suggests you will always push away good things if your subconscious mind doesn't believe you deserve them - and most people who do this don't recognize it as pushing, they just wonder why nothing good ever seems to stay - Silicon Canals

Self-sabotage often occurs unconsciously, pushing good things away despite a desire for improvement.
Philosophy
fromPsychology Today
4 days ago

How Storytelling Informs Relationships

Complexity involves understanding interdependence and multiple perspectives, essential for resolving conflicts and nurturing relationships.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
2 days ago

People who research every decision exhaustively before acting aren't thorough - they're trying to build a guarantee in a world that doesn't sell them because the last time they trusted their gut without evidence something expensive happened and the body never forgot the bill - Silicon Canals

Chronic overanalysis of decisions stems from past failures, leading to wasted time and missed opportunities.
Relationships
fromHuffPost
2 days ago

People Who've Been In 'Poly Under Duress' Relationships Share What It's Really Like

Polyamory is often entered into under pressure rather than genuine interest, as highlighted by celebrity experiences.
Privacy professionals
fromWIRED
1 week ago

Men Are Buying Hacking Tools to Use Against Their Wives and Friends

Telegram groups facilitate the sale of hacking and surveillance services, promoting abusive content targeting women and girls.
Philosophy
fromPsychology Today
5 days ago

When Leaders Go to War, Their Psychology Goes With Them

Narcissistic leaders often emerge due to fragile egos, leading to decisions that prioritize self-preservation over the well-being of others.
Marketing tech
fromForbes
5 days ago

How AI Interfaces Are Reshaping Discovery, Trust And Decision Making

The traditional home page is losing its significance as AI assistants reshape how users interact with brands online.
Psychology
fromFast Company
4 days ago

How we make decisions, and how to reach people who've already made up their minds

The Elaboration Likelihood Model explains how motivation and ability influence how people process persuasive information through central and peripheral routes.
#introversion
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
2 days ago

Psychology says the quietest person in a group conversation often isn't the least engaged - they're often the one processing at a depth the loudest voices in the room have stopped bothering to reach - Silicon Canals

Silence in group settings often indicates deep cognitive processing rather than disengagement.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
2 days ago

Not every quiet person is thinking deeply. Some of them are monitoring. They're tracking the emotional weather of every person in the room because they learned as children that a shift in someone's tone was the only warning system available, and the monitoring never switched off even after the danger did. - Silicon Canals

Quiet individuals may not be shy; they can be monitoring their surroundings, analyzing social cues instead of engaging.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
2 days ago

Psychology says the quietest person in a group conversation often isn't the least engaged - they're often the one processing at a depth the loudest voices in the room have stopped bothering to reach - Silicon Canals

Silence in group settings often indicates deep cognitive processing rather than disengagement.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
2 days ago

Not every quiet person is thinking deeply. Some of them are monitoring. They're tracking the emotional weather of every person in the room because they learned as children that a shift in someone's tone was the only warning system available, and the monitoring never switched off even after the danger did. - Silicon Canals

Quiet individuals may not be shy; they can be monitoring their surroundings, analyzing social cues instead of engaging.
#emotional-manipulation
Psychology
fromHuffPost
2 weeks ago

8 Sneaky Signs You're Being Emotionally Manipulated

Emotional manipulation often manifests through subtle control, leading to confusion and anxiety in relationships.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
3 days ago

Have You Ever Met an Emotional Gangster?

Emotional gangsters manipulate others for personal gain, exploiting emotions to enrich themselves socially and emotionally.
Psychology
fromHuffPost
2 weeks ago

8 Sneaky Signs You're Being Emotionally Manipulated

Emotional manipulation often manifests through subtle control, leading to confusion and anxiety in relationships.
Artificial intelligence
fromNextgov.com
2 weeks ago

Old-school spycraft could make a comeback as AI undermines trust

AI may enhance intelligence gathering but also revive traditional espionage methods due to reliability issues with digital communications.
#cybersecurity
Information security
fromThe Hacker News
2 weeks ago

3 Reasons Attackers Are Using Your Trusted Tools Against You (And Why You Don't See It Coming)

Cyber attackers increasingly exploit legitimate tools within environments, making detection difficult and expanding the attack surface organizations must manage.
Information security
fromThe Hacker News
2 weeks ago

3 Reasons Attackers Are Using Your Trusted Tools Against You (And Why You Don't See It Coming)

Cyber attackers increasingly exploit legitimate tools within environments, making detection difficult and expanding the attack surface organizations must manage.
Relationships
fromSilicon Canals
2 weeks ago

Most people don't realize that the dishonest people in their lives rarely lie about facts - they lie about their intentions, and that specific distinction is why you keep feeling confused rather than simply hurt - Silicon Canals

Intention lies involve sharing true facts with hidden motives, making them difficult to detect.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
3 days ago

Psychology says people who replay conversations in their head didn't develop that habit by accident - most of them learned early that saying the wrong thing had real consequences, and now their brain replays every exchange searching for mistakes and misfires like a security system that was installed in childhood and has never once been turned off - Silicon Canals

Replaying conversations stems from early experiences where words had significant consequences, leading to a defense mechanism of constant analysis.
#lie-detection
Television
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 month ago

The secret psychology behind the best backstabs in The Traitors

Scientific research reveals behavioral and physiological indicators that can help identify liars, while also explaining techniques that make deception more effective.
Television
fromwww.scientificamerican.com
1 month ago

The secret psychology behind the best backstabs in The Traitors

Scientific research reveals behavioral and physiological indicators that can help identify liars, while also explaining techniques that make deception more effective.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
3 days ago

Psychology says the people who seem impossible to offend aren't thick-skinned. They decided long ago that showing hurt gives others a map they haven't earned, so they absorb the wound and reclassify it as information - Silicon Canals

Emotional toughness often masks deep sensitivity, leading individuals to absorb pain without showing it, as vulnerability can be weaponized by others.
Psychology
fromwww.theguardian.com
4 days ago

Always in crisis mode? You might be catastrophizing here's how to stop

Catastrophizing is a cognitive distortion where individuals jump to the worst possible conclusions, often leading to chronic distress and mental health issues.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
6 days ago

How Judgments and Opinions Can Make Matters Worse

Misleading thoughts and emotions can disrupt performance, but psychological flexibility allows individuals to pursue goals despite distress.
Psychology
fromEntrepreneur
5 days ago

How Calling Out Problems Makes You the Most Trusted Leader

Effective leadership is defined by how problems are framed and handled, not by the intensity of the issues faced.
Psychology
fromMail Online
5 days ago

The Gordon Gekko effect: Bosses actively FAVOUR manipulative employees

Manipulative employees are favored by bosses seeking personal advancement, despite potential long-term costs for organizations.
Public health
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

The Impact of Fake News on Health and Decision-Making

Fake news deliberately presents false or misleading health claims as legitimate reporting, distorting public understanding and promoting detrimental behaviors through rapid social media spread.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
1 week ago

Psychology says the most damaging people in your life are rarely the obviously cruel ones - they're the ones who were kind just often enough to keep you doubting your own perception - Silicon Canals

Intermittent reinforcement creates confusion and self-doubt, making it difficult for individuals to recognize toxic relationships.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
2 weeks ago

New Research: Some People Really Do Fall for Corporate BS

Employees impressed by corporate gibberish perform poorly in decision-making and confuse it with business savvy.
#gaslighting
Relationships
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

How Gaslighters Con Their Partners into Believing Them

Gaslighting is deliberate manipulation where someone convinces you your memory is wrong, exploiting memory's natural fallibility to control partners in close relationships.
fromSilicon Canals
1 month ago
Psychology

Psychology says people who make you feel small without you realizing it typically use these 8 subtle tactics - Silicon Canals

Relationships
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

How Gaslighters Con Their Partners into Believing Them

Gaslighting is deliberate manipulation where someone convinces you your memory is wrong, exploiting memory's natural fallibility to control partners in close relationships.
fromSilicon Canals
1 month ago
Psychology

Psychology says people who make you feel small without you realizing it typically use these 8 subtle tactics - Silicon Canals

US politics
fromFast Company
2 months ago

'Inoculation' can effectively help people spot political deepfakes, study finds

Text-based warnings and interactive games both improve people's ability to detect political deepfake audio and video and increase willingness to debunk them.
UX design
fromMedium
5 months ago

The Psychology Of Trust In A World Where Products Keep Breaking Promises

Frequent product changes that alter established user workflows erode trust and increase confusion, making adoption harder in B2B/SaaS environments.
Mindfulness
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Why We Ignore Our Own Advice

People easily give advice about difficult decisions to others but struggle to follow their own wisdom when facing personal risk and discomfort.
Higher education
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

Why "Do Your Own Research" Is Bad Advice

Research requires at least a rigorous literature review; reading to inform oneself is educating, not full research, which demands specific review skills and evaluation.
Psychology
fromFast Company
2 weeks ago

Stop trying to 'educate' people into changing. Science proves it doesn't work

False assumptions hinder change; simply providing information does not guarantee behavior change.
US politics
fromPsychology Today
1 month ago

The Destructive Effects of Misinformation on the Human Brain

Misinformation undermines the brain's capacity for accurate reasoning and perception, amplified by Internet and AI, producing cognitive, behavioral, and safety harms.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
3 weeks ago

Do Your Identities Make You Vulnerable to Misinformation?

Tightly overlapping identities increase vulnerability to misinformation, while distinct identities enhance resilience against biased information processing.
fromElectronic Frontier Foundation
2 months ago

Beware: Government Using Image Manipulation for Propaganda

A short while later, the White House posted the same photo - except that version had been digitally altered to darken Armstrong's skin and rearrange her facial features to make it appear she was sobbing or distraught. The Guardian one of many media outlets to report on this image manipulation, created a handy slider graphic to help viewers see clearly how the photo had been changed.
US politics
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
3 weeks ago

What's Behind the Fake Review

Fake content spreads rapidly due to emotional triggers and biases, necessitating critical thinking over social proof in decision-making.
Information security
fromwww.bbc.com
1 month ago

Deepfake attack: 'Many people could have been cheated'

Deepfake technology has increased 3,000% over two years, enabling fraudsters to impersonate executives and manipulate financial markets and corporate security through AI-generated videos and audio.
Psychology
fromSilicon Canals
4 weeks ago

7 phrases that sound caring but are actually a self-centred person redirecting the conversation back to themselves - and the one most people fall for every time is the phrase that begins with "I totally understand because I..." followed by a story that replaces yours entirely - Silicon Canals

Conversational narcissism redirects focus to the speaker, often disguised as empathy, making it difficult to recognize.
Artificial intelligence
fromMedium
2 months ago

What if AI lies about you?

AI summaries improve convenience but can confidently present misinformation about people; interfaces must signal uncertainty and provide correction mechanisms.
#trust
fromSilicon Canals
2 months ago
Relationships

9 phrases that immediately make people trust you less, and most people use at least 3 of them daily without realizing the damage - Silicon Canals

fromSilicon Canals
2 months ago
Relationships

9 phrases that immediately make people trust you less, and most people use at least 3 of them daily without realizing the damage - Silicon Canals

#covert-manipulation
fromSilicon Canals
2 months ago
Relationships

People who seem kind but are actually mean underneath usually display these 8 subtle behaviors - Silicon Canals

fromSilicon Canals
1 month ago
Psychology

Psychology says truly manipulative people rarely raise their voice. They control through withdrawal, through carefully timed silence, and through making you feel like the unreasonable one for having needs at all. - Silicon Canals

fromSilicon Canals
2 months ago
Relationships

People who seem kind but are actually mean underneath usually display these 8 subtle behaviors - Silicon Canals

fromSilicon Canals
1 month ago
Psychology

Psychology says truly manipulative people rarely raise their voice. They control through withdrawal, through carefully timed silence, and through making you feel like the unreasonable one for having needs at all. - Silicon Canals

Psychology
fromBusiness Insider
1 month ago

The 10-second trick to spot a liar, according to a psychopathy researcher

Open-ended and unexpected questions make it harder for people with dark personality traits to lie convincingly.
Psychology
fromPsychology Today
2 months ago

Why Bluffing Isn't Always Just "Harmless" Fun

Bluffing is a widespread psychological tactic that escalates from opportunistic signaling to organized deception, enabling scams and fraud by exploiting trust and cognitive biases.
Psychology
fromBackyard Garden Lover
2 months ago

Modern Day Mind Control: 16 Hidden Ways Society Is Steering Our Thoughts

Subtle influence tactics, from targeted advertising to social proof, shape beliefs, choices, and autonomy, requiring awareness and critical thinking to resist.
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