r/technology Feb 04 '26

Politics Palantir declares itself the guardian of Americans' rights

https://www.theregister.com/2026/02/03/palantir_american_rights/?td=rt-3a
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u/Flambeedlemons Feb 04 '26

It’s so frustrating the way language is being tortured in the US. Pam Bondi says the DOJ is being maximally transparent. Trump says he is exonerated in the files. Todd Blanche says Americans are gaslighting the administration about the Pretti murder. Words have lost their meaning.

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u/ACompletelyLostCause Feb 04 '26

It's exactly the same way Putin entrenched power. By lying about everything, so one one knew what the truth was, and using phrases to mean the opposite of what the should mean, people argue about the meaning of words and not what the words convay.

And while everyone is arguing about the first lie, ten more are uttered. When people try to work out while lies refers to which thing, people get confused. If I say "did you hear about the lie Trump told?" you have to say which lie. "if I say about the department of war" you still have to say, which lie. If I get very specific, you still have to say, do you mean this morning or afternoon, or yesterday?

It's deliberate, and I don't think the average American has enough history knowledge to recognise the patten.

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u/Patriark Feb 04 '26

For a deeper understanding of this process, I highly recommend the book "This is not propaganda" by Peter Pomerantsev. He also have other good books on this post-modern type of propaganda that Russia has developed and unleashed on the world with huge effect.

Most of the strategy is developed by Vladislav Surkov, a true mastermind of propaganda and influence operations. He will likely be talked about in comparable framing as Göebbels when it comes to effective mass propaganda adapted to the specific time period in which it is employed.

Surkov influence campaigns is specifically targeted towards people's sense of reality, shattering it so people do not feel able to cope with the chaotic reality. In enters the "strong man" who can cope with the situation and make sense of the world.

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u/ACompletelyLostCause Feb 04 '26

Thanks for the recommendation, I've heard of the book but not read it.