THREAD:
1 - We need to take aim at our TRUE FOE! It's not Trump. It's not Putin. But it's a thing we HAVE to defeat! We call it TRUMPISM, because it echoes his malignancies, but it's a much larger thing than TRUMP himself. It keeps metastasizing. It's now a full-on apparatus.
2 - Enablers. Amplifiers. Grifters. Opportunists. Fox News. Talk radio. Right wing podcasts. Performative elected officials. Foreign actors, like Putin. Social networks like Facebook. It's spread like a plague, largely through fear mongering, to millions of our most susceptible.
3 - TRUMPISM emotionalizes, starting with fear. Then it places blame. Then it demonizes who it blames. And this produces hate. Lies become false narratives and then conspiracies. Projections. False equivalencies. We ALL know some people who were manipulated and co-opted.
4 - The principal weapon of TRUMPISM is propaganda. It's everywhere. Propaganda blurs facts, creates doubt. Disagreements ensue. Trust erodes. Tribalism is enhanced. Laws are disrespected. Winning is everything. In history, when governments change, it usually involves propaganda.
5 - Culture wars. Nationalism. Xenophobia. Chaos. Addiction. Perversion of words. (Does any Trump cultist understand the meaning of the word "evidence"?) TOTAL politicization of EVERY issue. Lies that are shameless. In an echo chamber; with mass repetition. This - is TRUMPISM.
6 - #UNTRUTH is a film that will make sense out of where we are and why we're here. It's a behavioral perspective we don't ever get in the media. It will speak truth to ANYONE who watches. It explains, clearly, what we face, the underlying reasons, and how we make sure to prevail
7 - The film will be released before the midterms. It's psychology over politics. And independent, the only way a film like this can be made. We think it can/will make a difference. Please read more here, watch the trailer, consider supporting the effort. bit.ly/34DmQZP
THREAD 1- Trump supporters validate who they are by "their beliefs." Well, that makes it easier! If you say you believe something and a lot of others say they believe it too, you think it's real. And who can tell you what to believe? Belief is emotional, requiring minimal thought
2 - Think about it - why work so hard to discern information and knowledge when it's simpler to seek validation for feelings? And it's so easy to mov from that to false equivalencies. "I don't believe in vaccines or masks" becomes equal to "I don't believe in Bigfoot."
3 - Once you adopt a belief system not anchored in truth, and you assign more importance to the belief than you do to fact, it becomes easy to do it again. And AGAIN. Before you know it, you're addicted to the validation you get from whatever media source confirms your beliefs!
THREAD
1 - In days leading up to Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Biden and Blinken were AWESOME and ON POINT combating Putin's FALSE pretexts for invading - WITH specificity, IN ADVANCE. This, along with compelling heroism from Zelensky and Ukrainians, created LOTS of global unity.
2 - Meantime, here at home, while most of the GOP changed their pro-Putin stance to a pro-Ukraine stance - purely and temporarily in response to polling data, there's still Trump, Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, and a few others parroting and amplifying various Kremlin talking points.
3 - For our part as behavioral psychologists, we are continually awestruck by similarities between Russia (as to Ukraine), and the GOP (as to America). It's autocratic fetishization. And winning being everything. And rampant disinformation. In America, it's morphed into a cult.
THREAD 1- When we marvel or roll our eyes at Trump supporters, we're often asking the wrong question. Instead of asking: "How can they believe this nonsense?" Better we ask: "What do they get out of being part of Trumpism that makes them so willing to suppress reasoned thought?"
2- There are a lot of answers to the question of what they get out of Trumpism. First and foremost is "the need to belong." They can dislike and defy the same people, share common grievances, do stuff together. It's a brotherhood of purpose. It's easier to "believe" than think.
3 - We're often asked if Trumpism is a cult. The short answer: YES, it is. A cult is defined by an unusual, unwavering interest or belief in a particular personality or goal, where devotion transcends reasoned thought. And when you do that, you transcend science, math, and facts.
1 - REMEMBER THIS and REPEAT IT often: The GOP is the party of Putin! Go back to the day of the invasion. Trump, the useful idiot, spewed Putin-friendly fuel on the fire. So did Pompeo! Carlson STILL does. Russian state media plays Trump/Pompeo/Carlson ON VIDEO LOOPS!
2 - Thank God for Biden and Blinken! They created solidarity in NATO. And the Ukrainians showed bravery. Putin stumbled and polls showed support for Ukraine. ONLY THEN did the power-crazed GOP change tune. Humanitarian reasons? No! POLLS made them flip TO Ukraine AWAY from Putin.
3 - The GOP cares for NOTHING above power! Oaths? Hah! Constitution? Double hah! Even though they act against Putin now, they know Putin probably isn't going anywhere, and they're thinking they'll wait this out and assuredly welcome his help interfering with US midterm elections!
THREAD
1 - Thank God for Biden! Because of him there was solidarity in NATO. And Putin stumbled. Then, political calculus by the power-crazed American GOP changed. Not for humanitarian reasons! They read the room, knew their best play was to flip TO Ukraine and AWAY from Putin.
2 - REMEMBER THIS: The GOP cares for NOTHING above power! Their oaths? Hah! They'd sell their own mothers out in a flash. And even though they act against Putin now, all Putin needs to do is wait this out with them, and they'll assuredly welcome his help with US midterm elections
3 - Whatever happens in Ukraine, America HAS to vanquish its TRUE foe. It's not Putin. And it's not Trump. It's PROPAGANDA. Authoritarianism can ONLY grow in an environment of DISINFORMATION. Disinformation and propaganda are everywhere now. It's constant. Relentless. Amplified.
THREAD
1 - Before invading, Putin made assessments. One of them was that America was fractured, heavily divided. Of course, Putin intimately experienced four years of Trump. What a godsend for him! Without his assessment of America's division, this war would NOT be happening!
2 - Reconstructing the USSR? It's a talking point. Putin's real goals extend further. He's been unchecked for so long, they've morphed into obsessions. Putin's three major obsessions: America, democracy, and NATO. His goal? TO DIMINISH THEM. If he can, the rest falls into place.
3 - Putin saw the great arrogant America elect a moron. He's seen the GOP's unbridled lust to regain power. He's seen millions of Americans buy into false narratives and strongman propaganda. OF COURSE he saw potential for American democracy itself to be altered or compromised!