“…. this was inspired by the principle – which is quite true in itself – that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.”

Yes, I am going to ruin your perfectly fine Monday with a quote from a source that until January 2016, could not be purchased in Germany: Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Why would I dare to cite an early autobiographical statement made in reference to Jews and lies before he came to power, but perfectly applied for his own agenda once he was in power?

Because I am thinking through issues of free speech, fake news and the consequences of trying to make the truth irrelevant for a talk tomorrow sponsored by the Leo Baeck Institute and the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education that I was asked to join as a panelist. The topic of the evening is a comparison between the similarities and differences of fake news now and in the 1930s, and before you can say “That sounds interesting,” the event is sold out. I feel the pressure already….. what you read today, then, is an attempt to sort my thoughts at a snail’s pace into some semblance of a structured argument. Thank you in advance for your patience! (Never mind that snails’ slime triggers associations to fake news…)

I think we have to distinguish, first of all, how the term “Fake News” and “Big Lie” can be construed. Fake news is often used in the context of the press, when the powers that are do not like what is reported in the media. This started in Germany even before the Nazis came to power, with efforts to discredit the international press during WW I. Lügenpresse was a term and a concept then happily adopted by the Nazis, often in association with conspiracies that the press was ruled by Jews who were trying to usurp power. Creating the impression of a lying press led to first restrictions and eventual a shut-down of the critical media, and worse fates for individual journalists.

The Big Lie on the other hand, is what regimes have used since time immemorial to manipulate or confound public opinion. I do not need to give examples of our own recent history here in the US that confirms the conscious use of lies to promote political goals.

A take-over of the press, in turn, allows an easy spread of state propaganda. Not that we, in 2019, need official state outlets (although we have one that is one but in name, Fox News, and maybe being an official news channel lends gravitas to its lies): the internet channels offer a free-for-all that allows lies and incitement of hatred to spread at the speed of light and in numbers comparable to that of the stars, to stick with metaphors borrowed from the universe.

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The psychological factors why people might fall for the Big Lie are likely the same for then and now, the assumption that people would not believe anyone would dare to lie BIG being the least of them. Cutting edge psychological research shows that the belief in Fake News (here interchangeably used with big lies) is associated with delusionality, dogmatism, religious fundamentalism, and reduced analytic thinking. See details in the link above.

Some of these personality variables are of course linked to structural factors: if public education is systematically weakened and so no longer teaches analytic or critical thinking skills, people are more easily manipulated. If religious schools are preferred to run-down public schools, fundamental values are more easily transmitted.

If a loss in status through unemployment, or an ascendance of previously less valued groups like women or minorities, threatens identity, a motivated belief in lies about the causes of the threat can keep you going. If the 16 billion (!) dollar Advertising business on something like YouTube allows for relentless flooding with lies, the repetition alone will make it hard to question the core of the messages.

Another general psychological factor might be our wish to defend ourselves from an unwanted truth, and so we buy into a lie because the truth is unacceptable. Many 1930s Germans thought themselves to be “the good guys”, from a line of poets and thinkers (Dichter und Denker) dedicated to enlightenment values, simply not willing to acknowledge that something insanely inhumane and atrocious could happen in their country. I fear the same is true for all of us here, who have bought into the concept of American exceptionalism, the shining beacon on the hill, or, to put it more simply, the wearer of the white cowboy hats…. we could not possibly have prison camps for children here, deny legal assistance and adopt out to childless Christian couples before you blink, could we? We are not the kind of people who put people behind bars for 20 years because they distribute water and food to starving refugees in the desert, are we?

And I think this is the core motivator for the relentless onslaught of lies told in public by government officials while simultaneously questioning the truth of reports critical of them: if there is so much falsehood out there, so many conspiracy theories, how could we possibly discern what is truth and what not? If we want to avoid knowing the truth because it would be too horrific to know, all we have to do is tell ourselves we can’t possibly know what is true or not – case closed, propaganda succeeded. Motivation to believe what we want to believe is also exploited by the fabricators of lies in the ways that they choose the content of those lies: it is no coincidence, for example, that lies are told about migrants taking away your jobs, when you fear unemployment and have already been steeped in racist sentiments. I’m sure you can think of plenty of those kinds of examples.

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Last point today (and yes, this will be continued tomorrow): perhaps now more so than during the Weimar Republic some people are aware of the Big Lies – and perfectly happy to run with it. “Let them spread those lies if it serves a larger goal: keep us in power for just a bit longer, stop those fetuses from dying, allow us basking in reflected glory of those who so brilliantly give the finger to our enemies…and accumulate capital while it lasts. ”

Photos by iPhone walking as slowly as thinking….

Music today is a musical lie, a big one, indeed, in response to the threat by an authoritarian ruler, a symphony seemingly contrite and yet full of subversive hints, if I can trust the experts. So hard to know the truth these days. Joke.