Sinister Ways Podcasters Use to Influence
These days, everything that comes out of the mainstream or social media seems like a psychological operation – better known in internet circles as a psyop. Let’s be honest, since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the entire world into isolation and stoked irrational fear followed by a subsequent cover-up of the virus’ origin, it has been rather difficult to believe the official narrative of any story. Unfortunately, this has spawned a contagious conspiracy theory culture that has gotten out of control. It appears now that no one believes anything anymore.
We use the term “appears” for a reason, as this degradation of our governmental institutions, societal norms, and common sense has its roots in propagandistic language spread by black-pilling actors bent on sowing distrust and despair. We will examine two popular podcasters, Candace Owens and Tucker Carlson, who have been, since the death of Charlie Kirk, spewing hatred against Israel and the Jewish people as well as spreading hopelessness, fear, and lies – in short, the worst kind of propaganda imaginable. Jeremy Boreing, former CEO of the Daily Wire, has identified the various types of manipulation they utilize, and we have summarized these strategies below. If you are interested, you can watch the full video here.
Candace Owens has made an enormous amount of money following the death of Charlie Kirk. For the last ten months, she has been trying to investigate his death using unnamed sources and an anonymous tip line. She has accused, among others, the state of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu, the US military, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) employees, and even Charlie’s widow of somehow being involved. In the meantime, she has not recognized or acknowledged any of the evidence gathered by federal and local authorities, including the suspect’s DNA, various phone records, university security video footage, or even his own confession. Somehow swaths of people still believe the nonsense she is peddling.
Owens is cleverly leading her audience to think that everyone else holds the exact same opinion and she does this by saying things like, “No one believes that Charlie was shot by a .30-06,” or, “We all know that Israel was involved,” or “The whole world knows that Erika Kirk is evil,” or her classic, “We don’t know-know, but we know.” This propaganda device is called social proof, and it is a technique used to convince the listener that the majority of the population, in fact the whole world, agrees with her. You might as well agree too, unless of course you want to be an uninformed, naïve rube. She also intentionally uses the term “we” when asserting these claims, as it fosters a sense of belonging to some kind of bonded community of truth seekers who are trying to right wrongs and courageously seeking justice.
Owens often uses the practice of burden shifting where the burden of proof is no longer on the person making the claim, but on the victim of that claim. She has often asked the members of TPUSA and others who witnessed the assassination to prove they were not involved in the murder of Charlie Kirk. She has called out individuals by name on her show and demanded they provide phone records, flight logs, and other personal information. In short, they must prove to her that they are innocent or she will continue making innuendos that they are guilty of some crime. If they refuse to play along, that is further proof in her mind that there must be something to hide. As a result, many obscure people holding no publicly recognized positions have been thrust into the internet limelight and have been unduly harassed online and have even received death threats.
Owens also makes use of the illusory truth effect. This is the technique of repeating a claim over and over with extreme confidence. The more often one hears it, the more likely you are to believe it. Since September of last year, Owens has devoted nearly every one of her shows to the irrational pursuit of solving Charlie Kirk’s murder. She speaks with authority as someone who has insider information or is in the know. As a podcaster, Owens has absolutely no authority to subpoena, arrest, detain, or try anyone for a crime; nor does she hold any governmental position with top secret clearance. She does not let the lack of credentials dampen her delivery, which exudes certainty and confidence. Unfortunately, her gullible audience not only accepts her wild assertions, but helps to spread them.
Part 2 of this Post will appear on Thursday