Contemporary America—and she is hardly alone—is awash in lies and obfuscations perpetrated by society’s most powerful institutions, public and private. “This constant lying is not aimed at making the people believe a lie, but at ensuring that no one believes anything anymore,” writes Hannah Arendt in The Origins of Totalitarianism (1951). “A people that can no longer distinguish between truth and lies cannot distinguish between right and wrong. And such a people, deprived of the power to think and judge, is, without knowing and willing it, completely subjected to the rule of lies.” She concludes, “With such a people, you can do whatever you want.”
Totalitarian regimes do not simply disseminate falsehoods to deceive the public about specific issues or policies. Their propaganda is designed to create a pervasive atmosphere of distrust and uncertainty. By constantly lying, these regimes aim to erode the very concept of objective truth. In doing so, they foster a climate where individuals become skeptical of all information, rendering them more susceptible to manipulation and social control. The incessant flow of contradictory and false information confuses people, making it difficult for them to discern reality from fabrication. Even the faculty available to all of, common sense, becomes disordered under the welter of lies and distortions.
Contemporary examples of manufactured uncertainty abound: the Putin-Trump nexus hoax, the portrayal of Hunter Biden’s laptop as Russian disinformation by high-ranking intelligence officials, arbitrary coronavirus pandemic protocols (lockdowns, masks, social distancing, vaccines), the queer project to transgress child safeguarding norms by denying the immutability of the gender binary—all these if not by design at least function to prepare the people to accept authoritarian arrangements, or at least to be equanimous towards them, by undermining their capacity to tell truth from lies and right from wrong. The corruption of our sense-making institutions is in any case intentional because the embrace of the post-truth (dis)order is a choice made by operatives of the corporate state. Disinformation by the intelligence community about the Biden laptop, and the Iraq War before it, gaslighting the public about Joe Biden’s cognitive decline—these were not errors of analysis or judgment. They were and are instances of purposeful deception.
The deliberate erosion of truth has profound implications for critical thinking and public trust. In a landscape where facts are constantly in question, individuals struggle to form coherent and informed opinions. The capacity for critical analysis is diminished when the baseline of factual information is rendered unstable by propaganda. Totalitarian regimes, including the inverted ones Freedom and Reason has devoted itself to exposing, exploit this vulnerability to maintain control, as a populace that cannot think critically is less likely to challenge authority or recognize oppressive practices. When people can no longer trust the information they receive, they become cynical and disengaged. Cynicism undermines the social fabric, as trust is a fundamental component of healthy interpersonal and societal relationships. In such an environment, individuals may withdraw from civic engagement and political participation, disillusioned, disaffected, and disempowered.
Arendt’s insights highlight the danger of allowing truth to be a casualty in political discourse by falling to challenge falsehoods. Democratic societies rely on informed citizens to function effectively. The deliberate or intentional spread of lies by totalitarian regimes undermines the democratic process by making informed decision-making difficult if not impossible. In democracies, the free exchange of ideas and information is essential for the formulation of sound policies and the election of competent leaders. When truth and its pursuit are compromised, the foundation of democracy is weakened. In contemporary contexts, we see this with the rise of “fake news” that those who are often the victims of, most prominently Donald Trump, have warned the public about for years. The spread of false information polarizes societies, fuels conflict, and destabilizes democratic institutions.
That combating fake news often exacerbates these problems is yet another one of its consequences. But we have to challenge lies. To counteract the erosion of truth, it is crucial to hold those in power accountable for their words and actions. This accountability must extend to politicians, media outlets, and any individuals or institutions that have significant influence over public opinion. Upholding standards of honesty and transparency is essential to preserving the integrity of public discourse and maintaining a healthy democracy. Mechanisms for accountability include robust independent fact-checking and transparent communication practices. Fostering media literacy among the public can empower individuals to critically assess the information they encounter and resist manipulation. I established Freedom and Reason for this purpose.
But be wary. Because totalitarian regimes use the cover of accountability to censor and marginalize dissenting views, it’s crucial to take care that the fact-checking is not another manifestation of totalitarian control. When the lines between preventing harm, even if we accept that on principle, and controlling narratives blur, the mechanisms designed to hold entities accountable can be used to silence dissenting voices and unpopular opinions. This danger becomes particularly pronounced in highly polarized environments, where the power to define “misinformation” may be wielded by those with vested interests in suppressing opposing viewpoints. This is why it is so important to correctly identify the character and source of power. The pursuit of truth and transparency must be balanced with robust protections for free expression, ensuring that efforts to combat misinformation do not devolve into tools of authoritarian control. Crucially, legal frameworks that penalize deliberate misinformation must be regarded with suspicion, since the suppression of dissent may and often does encompass lawfare by the corporate state.
Hannah Arendt’s analysis of the intent and function of totalitarian propaganda underscores the insidious nature of constant lying and its devastating impact on society. By ensuring that no one believes anything anymore, totalitarian regimes aim to create a disoriented and pliable populace. This erosion of truth undermines critical thinking, democratic integrity, and public trust. To safeguard against these dangers, it is imperative to uphold accountability without government and corporate censorship and promote a culture of honesty and transparency. That means it’s on us, and in meeting the challenge, indeed the obligation, was can resist or at least slow the slide into authoritarianism and preserve the democratic values that hinge on the existence of objective truth and its open pursuit.
freedom and reason 