When Propaganda Becomes Psychological Abuse |
There was a time when even the American press understood that certain accusations required extraordinary evidence.
Not anonymous whispers.
Not activist hearsay.
Not recycled propaganda from organizations openly aligned with terror sympathizers.
Extraordinary evidence.
Especially when the accusations being leveled are the kind historically used to inflame hatred against Jews for centuries.
But apparently, at The New York Times, those standards no longer exist.
Which brings us to Nicholas Kristof.
This week, protesters gathered outside the Times building demanding retractions and calling for Kristof to be fired after his grotesque opinion piece alleging systemic sexual torture by Israelis against Palestinian detainees—including the now infamous and biologically absurd claim involving trained dogs being used to rape prisoners.
Even writing that sentence feels insane.
And yet there it sat, printed beneath the banner of what was once considered America’s newspaper of record.
Now, let’s establish something clearly before the usual suspects start hyperventilating.
If credible evidence exists of abuse anywhere, by anyone, it should be investigated fully and prosecuted aggressively.
Civilized societies do not excuse torture.
But that’s not what this story is about.
This story is about propaganda.
More specifically, one of the oldest and most psychologically manipulative propaganda tactics in human history: accuse the victims of committing the very evil actually perpetrated against them.
Anyone who has studied abusive systems understands this dynamic instantly. Abusers constantly reverse blame. It confuses outsiders. It destabilizes victims.........