~ ‘OA-IITAOT-IOOPH-IWBOOICCTNITMHOH’ ~ “Our Age – Is Indeed The Age Of The – Intellectual Organization Of Political Hatreds – It Will Be One Of Its Chief Claims To Notice In The Moral History Of Humanity” ~ Julien Benda ~ The Betrayal Of The Intellectuals ~ [La Trahson Des Clercs] ~ 1927

~ A-FT-IT-FPAWRO-CT ~ A – Full-Time – Internet Troll – Fanatically Promoting A Whole Range Of – Conspiracy Theories

~ TRIM-MIETE ~ They Repeat Its Mantras – Make Its Enemies Their Enemies

~ GTRCASCTAD-I-IHIATGB-AOOSEW ~ Given The Right Conditions Any Society Can Turn Against Democracy – Indeed – If History Is Anything To Go By – All Of Our Societies Eventually Will

~ APSBOLAR-AARFAOOTI ~ Any Political System Built On Logic And Rationality – Always At Risk From An Outburst Of The Irrational

~ IIH-T-FOLD-IOOT-WNLAIDIT1920SO1930S-B-IWSRA-NE-A-NGOC-TBIA ~ If It Happens – The – Fall Of Liberal Democracy – In Our Own Time – Will Not Look As It Did In The 1920s Or 1930s – But – It Will Still Require A – New Elite – A – New Generation Of Clercs – To Bring It About

~ TATRODSTTNLP ~ To Alter The Rules Of Democracy So That They Never Lose Power

~ HDW ~ How Demagogues Win

~ SD-DNRMVTSIP-IIRUA-COE-TR-TB-TSM-TC-A-ISP-SC ~ Soft Dictatorship – Does Not Require Mass Violence To Stay In Power – Instead – It Relies Upon A – Cadre Of Elites – To Run – The Bureaucracy – The State Media – The Courts – And – In Some Places – State Companies

~ T-M-DC-UTR-WIT-DTL-HDTS-HGTC-A-HDTIOOPAI-IC-TKTTWB-RAA ~ These – Modern-Day Clercs – Understand Their Role – Which Is To – Defend The Leaders – However Dishonest Their Statements – However Great Their Corruption – And – However Disastrous Their Impact On Ordinary People And Institutions – In Change – They Know That They Will Be – Rewarded And Advanced

~ ATW-TAMVOT-IO-PS ~ Around The World – There Are Many Versions Of The – Illiberal One-Party State

~ NATTCDOHMIAA ~ No Acknowledgement That The Constant Drumbeat Of Hatred Might Inspire Another Assassination

~ B-NE-CBF ~ But – New Enemies – Can Be Found

~ TEAOACTIIIS-I-EACP-AFCAA-OTBTSSOHSPATTT ~ The Emotional Appeal Of A Conspiracy Theory Is In Its Simplicity – It – Explains Away Complex Phenomena – Accounts For Chance And Accidents – Offers The Believer The Satisfying Sense Of Having Special Privileged Access To The Truth

~ FTWB-TO-PS-G-TROTCTABAR:P ~ For Those Who Become – The One-Party State’s – Gatekeepers – The Repetition Of These Conspiracy Theories Also Brings Another Reward: Power

~ TFON ~ The Future Of Nostalgia

~ WPHR-A-NLBTLIIAB-NLATTRCIEBG-TAAWGTR-WITE0INO ~ When People Have Rejected – Aristocracy – No Longer Believe That Leadership Is Inherited At Birth – No Longer Assume That The Ruling Class Is Endorsed By God – The Argument About Who Gets To Rule – Who Is The Elite – Is Never Over

~ DAFM-CPUO-EWBROWNTTROWPAETCFVDSP-TLOTCWA-SOL-GTCTVOTCI ~ Democracy And Free Markets – Can Produce Unsatisfying Outcomes – Especially When Badly Regulated Or When Nobody Trusts The Regulators Or When People Are Entering The Contest From Very Different Starting Points – The Losers Of These Competitions Were Always – Sooner Or Later – Going To Challenge The Value Of The Competition Itself

~ TDOST-BTASC-AUC-ASC-CHI-TOAMSDITW ~ The Desire Of Some To – Belong To A Special Community – A Unique Community – A Superior Community – Can Happen In – The Oldest And Most Secure Democracies In The World

~ TIB-NRTR-IWV-515,000-T ~ Though It Bore – No Relation To Reality – It Was Viewed – 515,000 – Times

~ OWBH-EEWSHTA ~ Oligarchs Would Be Happy – Everyone Else Would Simply Have To Adjust

~ COF ~ Cascades Of Falsehood

~ WALTARSITWPTARPI-ETSOCRTHHPPCITP ~ We Now Are Living Through A Rapid Shift In The Way People Transmit And Receive Politic Information – Exactly The Sort Of Communication Revolution That Has Had Profound Political Consequences In The Past

~ TRSIAMTICH-WAD-SDTAOBNABTCAPI ~ The Rapid Shift In Advertising Money To Internet Companies Has – Within A Decade – Severely Damaged The Ability Of Both Newspapers And Broadcasters To Collect And Present Information

~ PHA-HDO-N-THDF ~ People Have Always – Had Different Opinions – Now – They Have Different Facts

~ TSMATEFPOTW-PCOTNTWTH-TARTWUTT-BTHBDTKYO-TAAFE-E-AAF-A-BTSAA-TAPIWTDE-ABAH-DBN-PHMFTOWIR ~ The Social Media Algorithms Themselves Encourage False Perceptions Of The World – People Click On The News They Want To Hear – The Algorithms Radicalize Those Who Use Them Too – Because They Have Been Designed To Keep You Online – The Algorithms Also Favor Emotions – Especially – Anger And Fear – And – Because The Sites Are Addictive – They Affect People In Ways They Don’t Expect – Anger Becomes A Habit – Divisiveness Become Normal – Polarization Has Moved From The Online World Into Reality

~ W-PTB-LNS ~ Websites – Purporting To Be – Local News Sites

~ HIAND?-WGTDI?-AAW?-FALT-WHITSQWS-B-WSTEB? ~ How Is A Nation Defined? – Who Gets To Define It? – Who Are We? – For A Long Time – We Have Imagined That Such Questions Were Settled – But – Why Should They Ever Be?

~ M-NIT-WCT-UC-DPF-A-IP ~ Maybe – New Information Technology – Will Continue To – Undermine Consensus – Divide People Further – And – Increase Polarization

~ B-A-A-D/P/SP-I-WC-TFATR-NC-TWCFBALAL ~ Because – All – Authoritarianisms – Divide / Polarize / Separate People – Into – Warring Camps – The Fight Against Them Requires – New Coalitions – Together We Can Fight Back Against Lies And Liars