Avoiding The Cognitive Dissonance Mudslide

The opposition attacks, in-fighting, and shills have increased exponentially over the past couple of months, creating disconcerting levels of cognitive dissonance across the board. There is good reason for this. Truth is rising to the surface at rapid pace, and disinformation and misinformation is being launched from all sides in order to control it, manipulate it, and in some cases, put a lid on it. The goal is to create enough doubt, that fear and rage become the driving force, to distract, destroy and divide, so that confusion becomes the new normal. Cognitive dissonance has set in stronger than ever before, and people from all walks of life are caught up in it. How does one ride this wave and maintain focus, clarity, and discernment? How does one recognize the manipulation tactics being used so as to make calculated decisions without falling into the traps?

Picking it Apart: Storytelling Versus Evidence-based Stories

A story consists of characters, with the narrator being the storyteller. The narrator has both desire and motive to paint the characters as they want the readers to perceive them. Creating a compelling story requires invoking emotion, connecting with the audience, and feeding them information that they find of interest. There is always a “hook” to get their attention. A story rarely includes actual evidence, cites sources, and displays the facts. If the intention of the storyteller is to convince people of something, and they don’t have evidence to back it, they will oftentimes include elements from another story in order to invoke emotion and bolster their narrative. Always question the storyteller, and do not accept vague generalities and inadequate explanations, or allow them to dismiss you, shame you, or guilt you. If the story is confusing or ambiguous, it is likely done that way intentionally, and they are unable to backup their allegations.

Evidence-based stories, on the other hand, include actual data. Not just any data, very specific data, that backs up and supports the narrative. This data may consist of verifiable timelines, statistical reports by trusted organizations, compelling photographs pertaining specifically to the narrative, video proof (not hearsay), financial transactions and grants, tax documents, and court documents. It may also cite press releases and articles that help establish a timeline and whereabouts. This data makes the connections that are attributed to the narrative itself.

Sometimes storytellers take one fact, spin it into an expansive narrative that is not evidence-based, and project the opposite of the truth. Oftentimes they can be very persuasive, especially if they have people believing they are coming from a more vulnerable state. All of this is witnessed daily in the MSM and across social media. In most cases it is done with intention, yet in other cases, individuals have reached a state of cognitive dissonance and can no longer assess truth with any level of certainty. Those individuals tend to repeat opinion-based stories that lack evidence because it seems like a plausible story. In most cases, people do not do their own fact-checking. This is incredibly necessary in this day and age as the manipulation tactics increase.

Common Manipulation Tactics

Classic Baiting

This is a key tactic used often across social media. Someone will bounce into a thread and post what would appear to be an innocent question. Pay attention to the exact words used. Are they stating the obvious? Are they asking your feelings about content within the thread? Are they giving a very slight dig to provoke you? These are all baiting tactics to create a debate and either consume your time, invoke anger, or get you to say something ornery so they can report you.

Sympathy Baiting

This style of baiting is when someone approaches another with some level of suffering they are experiencing. They play on ones emotions while trying to earn their trust and get them in a more vulnerable state. This is done in order to get someone to say or reveal something they feel they can utilize to spin against the person in order to discredit them.

Triangulation

A method requiring at least 3 individuals. One is the spinner, one is the baiter, and one is the target. Once the baiter grabs a piece of information they deem useful, they flip it to the spinner. The spinner picks up a pack of baiters to persistently attack the target. They also have baiters that pretend to be kind to the target so they can grab additional info to flip back to the original spinner.

Building an Army Pack

As seen with the MSM, George Soros, numerous politicians, and Hollywood elites, these individuals are famous for building armies to push their narrative. There are many people on social media who have mirrored these actions, for purposes of building their own armies to attack what they consider to be the competition, and discredit them. Same model, different players. When groups of individuals are all shouting out the same narrative, based from opinion, with little to no evidence, this is a form of mind manipulation by those building the packs. This is a “groupthink” effort. Once the pack is formed, the individuals become afraid to leave their pack and think for themselves for fear the pack may turn on them.

Persuasion & Intimidation

Persuasion is a very big game happening right now. Despite whether or not an individual believes their own lies, if they project strong levels of confidence in their stories though communication and body language, they come across as stable, sane, and even credible. This can be very dangerous because they will pretend to be your ally, act as though they have mutual interests and concerns as you, and begin seeding you. They will then ask for assistance with something small, such as blocking someone on social media, but gradually move up to bigger asks, such as blocking people from eating in a restaurant. Don’t ever believe that anyone is more powerful than yourself, that you should do as another says, or give them that level of control over you. Speak, think, and act with your own convictions.

Projection & Smears

This is probably the most utilized manipulation tactic on the market. In fact, this tactic is so well known and learned throughout the years, that it’s often used in relationships as well. Projection goes far beyond the realm of politics, but politics is more than likely where it was devised. When an individual or a pack all project onto others the very reality about themselves, this is called projection.

Deflection

If someone refuses to provide evidence when asked, becomes aggressive and rude, and shouts “do your own research,” that is deflection 101. If the snippet of evidence or so-called evidence they did provide, causes one concern or doubt for its validity, there is good reason for that. Confusion is the name of the game. If an individual further references other material instead of the one in question, this is clear-cut deflection.

Shaming and Guilting

This is another big one seen daily throughout the MSM. Pretending to care about something or someone, when there is really an ulterior motive in play. They will go to great lengths to shame individuals as well as groups of people, going so far as to segregate their attacks toward entire genders or races. This is also reflected in social media, which has been gaining a large momentum of false victims, set out to shame and guilt their followers in order to feed their narrative for various agendas. For all parties pushing the shaming and guilting, it is so they will not be challenged or questioned. This is an easy slide tactic to get around answering questions directly, resulting in a rebuttal, rather than an answer.

Those That Scream The Loudest

Shouting is probably the biggest giveaway these days, with all of the hate and anger claiming the stage. They scream loudly, while oftentimes encouraging violence, pack attacks on individuals, and harassment. This can be witnessed from some of the corrupt individuals that fear they may be charged for criminal actions. But more so, this is observed across social media platforms where individuals are instigating others to harass and attack individuals who are trying to do good in this world. When folks spend the majority of their time attacking others, instead of focusing on positive missions to help others, one must question their true motives. There are certain politicians that likely spend 90% of their time attacking, fighting, and inciting violence, as opposed to performing their job and helping this country.

The Spin

The spin is simple, and it’s done all the time. Someone takes a tiny piece of information, builds a false “story” around it, and delivers it to their audience with incredible enthusiasm and confidence. Altering and distorting truth to fulfill their agenda. It’s important for people to step outside of emotion when evaluating information so that it can be processed and analyzed with critical thinking, as opposed to swallowing it hook, line, and sinker because it seems persuasive.

Money Myth

This is by far one of the most widely pushed misconceptions of all time that still has people scratching their heads. It is an old school manipulation tactic that is the very basis of the money enslavement system that has been forged into society for decades. Citizens are mere pheasants who are supposed to spend countless hours a week working so as to have little time to observe what they are witnessing, and recognize truth. Therefore, if people are to observe truth and report truth, they must be stopped. What is one of the easiest ways to discredit them? Make the claim that those that ask for donations for their countless hours of time to research and bring that truth to the forefront, are pure evil. Though they provide the information for free, they must be child traffickers, pedophiles, or deep state shills. Surely they are CIA. This is an attempt to discredit, divide, and prevent the information from coming out, as well as prevent those actively on the ground from being able to carry out their due diligence in helping others.

It’s quite simple when you break it down. Those full-timers that make the argument that they do not make any money or ask for any money to support their work, while comparing themselves to those that also do this full-time with a donate button, would be incorrect in their statement. Someone is supporting them. Not everyone has that luxury. The real question is, who is supporting them? There are 3 options:

• If they are able to spend countless hours a week on their computer, someone else is in fact paying their way and supporting them by putting a roof over their head and feeding them, as well as taking care of all other expenditures. Otherwise, they would be on the street without a computer and internet.
• If they do not have someone else financially supporting them, then they inherited a nice sum of money along the way. Again, someone else is in fact supporting them.
• If option 1 and option 2 are not the case, that leaves option 3. They are paid opposition.

Imagine if everyone who is capable of doing deep research, exposing corrupt individuals, fighting against child traffickers, and fighting for survivors, all left the scene of the crime to take on full-time jobs so they can put a roof over their heads and pay their bills. Imagine what that would look like. Mere fractions of the truth would be exposed. Hundreds of thousands of people in this fight would no longer carry a voice or produce the information. The pressure on the government would slow to a roll. The public would be far from woke.

Here’s the reality. Those that have certain skill sets and were impassioned to fight this battle, sacrificed a lot to step up. Many are scraping pennies in the name of truth. The majority of the truth fighters could care less about fame. In addition to that, hundreds of thousands with full-time jobs have also stepped up to fight this battle within the time frames available to them. Everyone is working their butts off, and everyone deserves to eat and have a roof over their head. This is not only a battle for our country, but a spiritual battle for our souls. But at the end of the day, if they promote a “donate button”, they are vilified. It is a manipulative tactic that has seeped into the minds of many, and it is the one tactic everyone should be able to spot on a dime. It’s the money enslavement “how dare you” system to prevent truth, that has been in place for decades. Those that spend a great deal of time pushing this narrative, should be asked who’s paying for all of their bills, if they are doing this full-time?

Discernment & Perception

Have you ever wanted to believe in something so badly that you convinced yourself it was true?

The reality is, truth isn’t always pretty. Sometimes truth comes in a very complex package. Try to remove yourself from the emotion around it, take a step back, and see it through a scientific lens. You are combing for facts. You cannot pick and choose truth based on how you feel about it, or whether you like someone or not, or even if you know someone or not. Facts speak for themselves. Not a partial fact, but the complete facts. Circumstantial evidence paints a picture, providing itself is in fact solid evidence, but it does not provide the entire reality. It lends itself to future discoveries that may eventually lead to the entire reality, so it’s always wise to keep it in your back pocket until enough facts are revealed. If these facts are not backed with solid evidence, and are the makings of a twisted narrative from a potential fraction of truth, it should give one pause as to what motives lie beneath.

If one really wants to have a fuller comprehension of just how deep the level of distortion within social influence is, this 1979 essay on “Resisting Social Influence” from Standford University is well worth the read. It not only dives into social influence, but covers ways to combat the control and confusion by using critical thinking. It was unclassified for the Office of Naval Research – Organization Effectiveness Research Programs. Here is a very brief intro to what it discusses:

“Resisting social influence becomes important when such influences can be appropriately thought of as “mind control.” When information is systematically hidden, withheld or distorted it is impossible to make unbiased decisions. Under these circumstances, people may be subtly led to believe they are “freely” choosing to act. The thesis of this essay is that “mind control” exists not in exotic gimmicks, but rather in the most mundane aspects of experience. Because it does, it is possible to reduce our susceptibility to unwanted coercive control by increasing our vigilance and learning to utilize certain basic strategies of analysis.”

Their Goal: Distraction, Destruction & Division

This has been the goal all along, and everyone should be aware of this by now. Whereas this began decades ago, and has been carried out under the guise of caring for people, it has reared it’s ugly head in full transparency for all to see. In fact, it’s pushed in everyone’s faces on a minute-to-minute basis, and it has moved way beyond the usual suspects. The concept has seethed its way into countless individuals who are utilizing these tactics on a regular basis. It seems easy to pinpoint for most people, when it comes to known nefarious actors, but not so easy when dealing with vast amounts of people across social media platforms. Some do it for attention, some want to obliterate what they deem as their competition, some like to play that junior high school game of being in “clicks” which somehow makes them feel special, and some get paid to do it. Unfortunately, all of this confusion has resulted in a staggering amount of individuals who are doing it subconsciously without even being aware of the destruction and division they are creating. Don’t fall for their tactics. Learn to spot them.

Remain Steadfast

• Question everything
• Always fact-check – knowledge is power
• Trust in yourself
• Never underestimate your worthiness
• Doubt stems from fear – intuition stems from truth
• Do not invest in what others think about you
• Do not idolize others, exposing yourself to be exploited
• If you are confused, step away and return with clarity
• Do not jump to conclusions or make assumptions
• Don’t engage in the rage
• Avoid groupthink and think for yourself
• Don’t stand for shaming or guilting
• Never give up, but find balance
• Know their tactics

Pull up your boots, put on your thinking cap, and avoid the cognitive dissonance mudslide.

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