At the end of 2017, one year into the Trump presidency, the familiar begins to escape us.
The Autocrat's Language
"Using words to lie destroys language. Using words to cover up lies, however subtly, destroys language. Validating incomprehensible drivel with polite reaction also destroys language. This isn’t merely a question of the prestige of the writing art or the credibility of the journalistic trade: it is about the basic survival of the public sphere.
In Russia, first they came for the words of politics, value, and passion. Then they came for the words of action, the words that describe buildings, the numbers that denote dates. And then there were no words left to speak. Not that this is a Russian phenomenon.
Here is what Confucius had to say on the topic:
If language is not correct, then what is said is not what is meant; if what is said is not what is meant, then what must be done remains undone; if this remains undone, morals and art will deteriorate; if justice goes astray, the people will stand about in helpless confusion. Hence there must be no arbitrariness in what is said. This matters above everything."
-- Masha Gessen, The Autocrat's Language, NYRDaily
What Donald Trump Says
- Baltimore bridge collapse: A cyberattack, a movie and other false claims about the ship accident March 27, 2024As investigators searched for the cause of a cargo ship’s collision with a Baltimore bridge, social media users filled the void with baseless conspiracy theories. Here’s a few we’ve debunked.
- Instagram posts - No, the movie "Leave the World Behind" didn’t predict the Baltimore bridge collapse March 27, 2024The movie “Leave the World Behind” predicted the Baltimore bridge crash.
- X posts - US warning Russia about a terror attack doesn’t mean the US ordered it. It was the ‘duty to warn' March 27, 2024A March 7 U.S. security alert … means the U.S. was “behind this gruesome terror attack on Russian civilians.”
- X posts - No, the captain of the container ship that hit the bridge in Baltimore wasn’t Ukrainian March 27, 2024“The captain of the container ship Dali…is a Ukrainian.”
- J.D. Vance - Is J.D. Vance right that native-born Americans have seen no job growth under Biden? March 27, 2024Says “100% of net job creation under the Biden administration has gone to the foreign-born.”
- X posts - Pete Buttigieg didn't blame Baltimore bridge collapse on racism. This clip is from 2021 March 27, 2024Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg blamed the Francis Scott Key Bridge’s collapse on “racism.”
- Joe Biden said he commuted by train and car as a senator, including over the Baltimore Key Bridge March 27, 2024President Joe Biden recently said he commuted by both train and car as a senator, including over the Baltimore Key Bridge. Social media posts about his statement omitted context.
- Instagram posts - Footage of Crimea bridge explosion misrepresented as Baltimore bridge collapse March 27, 2024Footage shows explosion on Baltimore bridge.
- Facebook posts - El logo de Nickelodeon fue creado para crear un sentido de nostalgia, no por la isla de Epstein March 27, 2024"El logo del canal de cable de niños Nickelodeon es la Isla pedofila de Epstein”.
- Instagram posts - Angela Chao was CEO of a shipping company, but it doesn’t own the ship that hit Baltimore bridge March 27, 2024Mitch McConnell’s sister-in-law who drowned in a Tesla “is listed as the CEO of the company that owns the ship that hit” Baltimore bridge.
- Instagram posts - A Tennessee bill doesn’t prove ‘chemtrails’ are real March 27, 2024Tennessee bill that would ban the release of chemicals into the atmosphere is evidence chemtrails are real.
- Facebook posts - No, Biden has not signed order to end Social Security and government disability payments March 27, 2024“Biden signs an executive order to terminate Social Security, SSI, bans side hustle.”
- Andrew Tate - Officials still investigating why cargo ship lost power before Baltimore bridge crash March 26, 2024The ship that struck a Baltimore bridge “was cyber-attacked.”
- Nicole Shanahan - No, Nicole Shanahan wouldn’t be the youngest vice president in history March 26, 2024If elected, “I will be the youngest vice president in American history.”
- Facebook posts - No, Walmart no regala laptops de la marca Dell en EE.UU. March 26, 2024"Walmart está regalando los portátiles Dell del año pasado a todos los mayores de 35 años en EEUU para deshacerse del exceso de inventario y despejar el stock para los nuevos modelos".
- X posts - Edited Wikipedia entry doesn’t prove Israel caused the Baltimore bridge collapse March 26, 2024Edited Wikipedia entry provides proof that “Israelis deployed Talmudic network to take out” Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
- António Guterres - Fact-checking UN secretary-general’s remarks about catastrophic hunger in Gaza March 26, 2024Gaza has “the highest number of people facing catastrophic hunger ever recorded by the Integrated Food Security Classification system — anywhere, anytime.”
- Instagram posts - Findings on short-term heat exposure had no relationship to COVID-19 vaccines March 26, 2024A study that found sunbathing can increase the risk of heart disease is a cover-up for the “side-effects of the vax.”
- X posts - Maryland bridge collapse a false flag event? No, authorities say it was an accident March 26, 2024Maryland bridge collapse was a false flag operation to distract from other events.
- Instagram posts - No temas, no se esperan catástrofes a nivel global debido al eclipse solar del 8 de abril March 26, 2024Reportaje sobre "Eclipse solar 8 de abril 2024" habla sobre una fase del sol que "podría desatar catástrofes a nivel global y hambruna".