*** THREAD ***

Please read this thread all the way. Thanks.

(1) We USED to call it PROPAGANDA. In the digital age, it became DISINFORMATION. A serial liar became president and spewed FALSE NARRATIVES. It's all LIES!! (2) It's actually MORE than LIES ... it's UNTRUTHS. Projections. And THIS is our TRUE enemy. With 3 weeks to go before the election, it's clear we're in a war over what is reality. Too many are too susceptible to untruth. And this election hinges on what's received and believed.

(1/8) EVERYTHING about Trump, is FAKE, FRAUDULENT, and FALSE. His secrets and lies go back decades to his grades in school and size of inheritance, to more recently staged bodega/Chick-fil-a visits and fake crowd sizes.
Fraud permeates EVERYTHING HE IS and EVERYTHING HE DOES. (2/8) When you see people standing behind him in rallies, they are pre-selected and paid. When he posted that thousands of people were turned away from the courthouse to support him, the true number is closer to ...ZERO!
When he hasn't rigged the location, he gets booed.

THREAD
(1/5) Psychologists increasingly use Addiction Theory to explain the cult of Trump. The premise: Trump supporters engage compulsively, pursue rewarding stimuli, ignore adverse consequence. Like addicts. Explains why they often adopt arguments that work against their own interests. (2/5) One example of Trump supporters adopting an argument or action that works against their interests was not getting vaccinated. Another is sending him $. The former is defiant. The latter is compulsive. Many MAGA are addicted. The reward is a perception that they're owning the libs. The drug is dopamine.

THREAD
1/11 - I spent 20 minutes today watching Fox News cover Trump jury deliberations, and I swear - trillions of brain cells murdered in real time. I understand the 1'st Amendment, but it's astounding they're able to advertise themselves AS NEWS! It's a sea of disinformation! 2/11 - That's really our most formidable foe, of course - DISINFORMATION. It emotionalizes people with fear and blame, which morphs into rage and hate. They get addicted to it, and to the validation. They stop wanting information, because the validation becomes their fix.

THREAD
(1/6) Trump enters this week a very frightened man. As we've often said, malignant narcissists live in fear, using bluster to counter it. The driving fear is falsities being exposed, and grandiosity destroyed. This is HUMILIATION. Trump dances pretty close to it now. (2/6) Very few malignant narcissists are more steeped in falsities than Trump. When I converse with colleagues, the degree of his falsities, his effort and prior success at protecting them, is a frequent subject of wonderment. Think how many there are, and how far they go back!

THREAD
1 - It's both interesting and frustrating that the Trump criminal trial is centered partly around the lies told by a key prosecution witness in a case where the guy being prosecuted IS ARGUABLY THE BIGGEST PATHOLOGICAL LIAR IN HUMAN HISTORY. 2 - Trump learned from Roy Cohn. Cohn learned from reading Goebbels. It's the same playbook. Lie. Repeat. Admit nothing. Lie bigger. Go all in. All the time. Double down. Turn it into a Big Lie. Then repeat it. Deflect. Distract. Repeat again - and AGAIN - for all eternity.

(1/4) Malignant narcissists lack behavioral regulation. They lie a lot. When facing a threat, they tell bigger lies. When desperate, their lies are often projections - the opposite of truth. "The judge is corrupt" means HE'S corrupt. "I did nothing wrong" means he's GUILTY. (2/4) The emotion driving malignant narcissists is fear. They try to ram home their reality, and when they can't, they feel dread, then terror. Each time they lose or fail, they try to invent new reality. When THAT fails, it's desperation, then panic. We're watching Trump panic.

1 - You knew it - originally - as PROPAGANDA.
With the advent of social media algorithms, it became DISINFORMATION.
When a pathological liar and conman ascended the political ladder, it became FALSE NARRATIVES.
At the end of the day - it's all LIES. BULLSHIT. UNTRUTHS.
AND - it's our #1 public and private enemy.
We're making a film about it, aptly named #UNTRUTH - and we've got news. 2 - #UNTRUTH is a follow-up film to #UNFIT - which was released in 2020 and seen by millions. (You can still watch it free, on Prime.) #UNTRUTH will put psychological (and sociological) science above politics; facts above feelings; information above judgmentalism. It will educate and inform.

1- EVERYTHING about Trump, is FAKE, FRAUDULENT, and FALSE. Secrets and lies - going back decades to his grades in school and the size of his inheritance and continuing through to those recently staged bodega and Chick-fil-a visits, permeate everything he is and does. 2 - When you see people standing behind him in rallies, they are selected (even demographically) and paid. When he posted a week ago that thousands of people were turned away from the courthouse to support him, the true number is closer to ...ZERO!

THREAD
Sunday Rant on: Normalization, the Media, and Truth

(1/10) History will speak to the cult; how easily they were gaslit; how they embraced the most flawed cult leader ever; rallied around his grievance; railed against their own interest; relied on an obvious con. But the true disaster was AND IS widespread normalization of a madman. (2/10) That disaster continues to ratchet. And after Trump, there will be Trump residue. The Republican Party is dug into the commitment to avoid inclusion, so they know that if they don't regain power now, they'll not regain it for some time. Beyond personal gain, THIS is what drives their cravenness, and willingness to discard our current form of democracy for Minority Rule.

THREAD
(1/13) When we roll our eyes at MAGA, I think we're often asking the wrong question. Instead of asking: "How can they believe this nonsense," or "how can they follow and support the worst human being ever," I think we should ignore what they say they believe, and even put Trump aside long enough to instead ask: "What IS it about being in MAGA that endears them to it, and makes them so willing to suppress reasoned thought?" 2- Put aside judgmentalism for a minute. There are a lot of answers to the question of what they get out of being part of MAGA. First and foremost is "the need to belong." They can share and do stuff together - it's a brotherhood of purpose. Second is "the need to believe." Some people are wired to believe things, like the "faith" part of religion. AND - let's face it - it's easier to "believe," than to think.

THREAD
1 -
Propaganda ... Disinformation ... False Narratives ... UNTRUTHS ... Lies for Power ... Lies for Profit ...
THIS is our #1 enemy!!! 
Trump is being normalized and Biden is being demonized.
And it's risking Democracy! 2 -
Do Trump supporters really believe what they say they believe?
Why are so many Americans susceptible to false narratives?
How can so many Americans follow such a flawed leader?
Why do so many distrust and eschew science, experts, and authority?

***UPDATE ---- #UNTRUTH ---- UPDATE***

1 -
We've received many requests for an UPDATE on our film #UNTRUTH. This THREAD updates the film, the content, who's in it, when it'll be released, why we think it'll be so important, PLUS a link to a trailer we hope everyone watches. 2 -
#UNTRUTH is a follow-up film to #UNFIT - which was released before the election in 2020 and has been seen by millions. #UNFIT, as many know, was about the Psychopathology of Trump. It introduced Malignant Narcissism into the lexicon.
#UNTRUTH is about 2024 - today - the rampant disinformation we face - the Psychology underlying TrumpISM and the cult -- and the War for Democracy.

*** ANNOUNCEMENT ***
1 -
You knew it - originally - as PROPAGANDA.
With the advent of social media algorithms, it became DISINFORMATION.
When a pathological liar ascended the political ladder, it became FALSE NARRATIVES.
At the end of the day - it's all under the umbrella of.... UNTRUTH. It's our #1 public and private enemy.
We're making a film about it, aptly named #UNTRUTH - and we've got news.
(I've been waiting eagerly to be able to finally post this.) 2 -
#UNTRUTH is a follow-up film to #UNFIT - which made a difference in 2020 and has been seen by millions. (You can still watch it free, on Prime Video.)
#UNTRUTH will put psychological (and sociological) science above politics; facts above feelings; and information above judgmentalism. It will educate and inform.

THREAD
What to watch ...

(1/8) Today is going to be VERY interesting. Trump has rallies in Wisconsin and Michigan. He hasn't had rallies lately. Even though he's had many opportunities for them, he's chosen to golf instead, which tells us some of what we need to know. (2/8) Trump NEEDS his rallies. They provide narcissistic energy to offset the narcissistic beatdown he's taken in court and elsewhere. Narcissistic energy is what toxic individuals, such as Trump, feed off to prop up their false constructs. It's the fuel for their controlling behavior, and the mechanism whereby they prove to the universe that they're strong, smart, successful ... grandiose. We tweet often about how crucial narcissistic energy is for Trump.

THREAD
Malignant Normality

(1/4) With all the MAGAs being triggered, defensive, and defiant today over the upcoming criminal trial (and boy, are they ever) - it's a good day to speak to MALIGNANT NORMALITY. Psychologist Robert Jay Lifton coined the phrase: a degenerative societal phenomenon where mass numbers of people view reality through a skewed lens of a "leader", adopting his traits. When Trumpers act LIKE Trump, see him as speaking truth, and even seem to be reacting as if they are feeling exactly what Trump says HE feels, THAT'S WHAT IT IS. (2/4) "Cult" is a simpler word, easier to process. But "malignant normality" is more accurate. Trump is a narcissist AND sociopath. His supporters, by and large, are not. They ARE imitative. They are emotionalized. They have been fear-mongered. They were susceptible. Why? Many reasons. For some, it was the lure of the crowd, or what they saw as the movement, or the brotherhood. Many other reasons. Then they got opinion disguised as information in echo chambers, and got dopamine rushes every time a world view that was placed upon them got validated. They tell themselves it's about winning and doing something noble, but it's really about beating the other side, and getting that next rush, even if it means adopting a position that works against their own interests.

THREAD
Although I've posted most of this before, it seems like a good day to post it again, as something to keep in mind while watching Trump face his first criminal trial:
(1/8) Trump is terrified. But not all the fear emanates from the criminal trial. In fact, malignant narcissists like Trump practically LIVE in fear. They are insecure; they desperately crave respect and legitimacy. Trump can't command that, not from the people he wants it from. So, he compensates for insecurity with bluster and bravado, AND he builds false constructs, which becomes HIS reality. He then force-feeds that reality, repetitively and with all his strength. (2/8) Trump is unique in that he has built an edifice of false constructs over decades; all based on secrets and lies. His grades ... his inheritance ... his success ... his wealth ... his acumen ... his health --- it's ALL contrived or enhanced. He's also unique in that he commands an extra-large audience upon whom to force feed his reality.

THREAD
(1/6) HAVE YOU NOTICED? Trump's limitations borne of desperation and dementia have become increasingly pronounced. He can still make a short in-house video, because we won't see how many takes it took him to enunciate the words without gaffing. (2/6) He can still speak in very friendly environs and field softball questions for very short periods of time.
He can still sit in a courtroom and say nothing. He can still go outside the courtroom, rant for two minutes, not take questions, turn around and leave.

(1/3) Looking back, it was the Sharpie weather map incident that was truly a missed opportunity to speak to Trump's pathology. He doctored it - IN PLAIN VIEW. Sat there on TV ranting. This should have been seen as concrete evidence of how uncontrollably dysfunctional he is. (2/3) Sharpie is ALSO an example of an incident where mental health pros could and should have been engaged on TV for opinion and expertise. Back then, ANYONE criticizing him for ANYTHING got retaliated against. Many colleagues were willing - and didn't care about backlash.

THREAD

(1/6) Trump enters this weekend a very frightened man. As we've said umpteen times, a malignant narcissist already lives in fear, using bluster and bravado to counter it. A malignant narcissist's driving fear is that their falsities will be exposed. Their GREATEST fear is HUMILIATION. Trump is dancing pretty close to it these days. You see his franticness in his posts. He is not only more desperate to force-feed his false narratives BUT - he's now ALSO desperate to reclaim his grandiosity. (2/6) Very few malignant narcissists have been more steeped in falsities as Trump. When I have dialogue about Trump with colleagues, the degree of his falsities, and his effort and (to an extent), his prior success at protecting them, is a frequent subject of our wonderment. Think of how many there are, and how far they go back!

THREAD
(1/4) There is a pattern of events emerging that could indicate Trump is getting closer to narcissistic collapse. He's already been narcissistically pummeled. We can see when there IS narcissistic energy (like a rally, a friendly interview, or anything where he gets a "win"), he desperately tries to feed on it like oxygen. And when there's more narcissistic injury, as there has been lately, he deflates and/or attacks in a repetitive and flailing manner. (2/4) NARCISSISTIC COLLAPSE is when someone with narcissistic personality disorder can no longer uphold their grandiose self-image and feels threatened, belittled, made fun of, targeted, disrespected, and enraged ... AND ... that then gets combined with a near-total absence of validation.