POLITICAL RHETORIC PRECEDING AUTOCRATIC RULE

Many of us were legitimately confused on January 22, 2017 when Kelly Anne Conway uttered the phrase "alternate facts." President Trump's Senior Counselor during his first term of office dutifully defended Press Secretary Jean Spicer's factually inaccurate statement that Trump's inaugural had drawn the "largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, both in person and around the globe." Photographic evidence indicated undeniably that President Trump's audience was significantly smaller than President Obama's in 2009. Little did we know at the time that we would be exposed to overwhelming rhetorical manipulation. Shortly after assuming office in January, 2017, President Trump accused the press of being the "enemy of the American people." by doing so, he entered dangerous territory. Multiple 20th century dictators, notably Stalin, Hitler and Mao, all habitually denounced their critics, especially the press, as "enemy of the people" to create confusion about what is real and what is not. Trump conveniently adopted the moniker "fake news" to describe any news or media he disliked. He habitually dismissed negative coverage as unfair, inaccurate, anti-American and a threat to democracy. Donald Trump was by no means alone in characterizing unfavorable and unsupportive news coverage as an affront to the ruling regime. the phrase "fake news" functions as a rhetorical weapon and a symbol of authoritarianism used by political leaders to delegitimize independent journalism and erode public trust in democratic institutions. Page one of the autocratic playbook recommends to seize control of national television and radio channels, and cut access to internet and social media. Emerging autocrats seize or pressure broadcast, print and digital infrastructure to project disciplined, pro regime messaging. News media in their regimes are forced to transition from being an independent watchdog into an instrument of control, used to shape public reality, suppress dissent, and monitor internal governance. During the Russian Revolution, newspapers Pravda (Truth) and Izvestia (News) became the primary source of information, used not as an instrument of objective truth, but as an instrument of class struggle to spread socialist values and build support for the regime. While Trump appears intent on labeling unsupportive coverage as "fake news," Hitler identified his opposition as "lugenpresse" (lying press), Stalin referred to them as bourgeois or counter revolutionary press. Others came up with "enemies of the state," "western puppets," "subversives" or "economic saboteurs" intent on destabilizing the nation or to sabotage national unity. Autocratic inclined political actors seek to replace "verified truth" with "authoritative truth," truth based on their own authority. They are increasingly adopting more autocratic approaches to information and truth. Instead of promoting facts and rational debate, they encourage citizens to place their their trust in charismatic figures "who they hope will save the nation, in the process granting them the power to dictate reality as they see fit." (Martin Moore and Thomas Colley, "Dictating Reality: The Global Battle to Control the News." Columbia University Press, 2025). Some autocrats don't shrink from the ultimate method to control dissemination of unwanted news. They may not hesitate to cut the release of information at the source. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), a specialized agency of the U.N., which maintains a registry of killed media workers worldwide, reported that between 1993 and 2024 124 journalists were killed, and between 330 and 533 were imprisoned. Trump has not yet sunk that low. His most recent attack on the press involved revoking media access to the White House and to Air Force One from CNN, MSNOW and Politico, a move Attorney General Todd Blanche defended as a response to negative reporting of which Mr. Trump is "sick and tired, and which "therefore had to be inaccurate. He cautioned that the targeted reporting raises security concerns. When District Court Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, issued a 14 day temporary restraining order in support of a federal lawsuit filed in response to the ban, the president called him "disloyal" to the administration's interest." Donald Trump has a significant record of attempting to manipulate the media. Decades before entering politics he used multiple pseudonyms like "John Barron" and "John Miller" to plant flattering stories about himself in New York tabloids. He uses several tactics, including empty words, misleading spectacles and gaslighting to emphasize his opinion. Although Trump has occasionally proclaimed his affinity for the power of autocratic leaders, considering he has exhibited a diminished ability to organize, process and articulate his thoughts it is questionable that he understands that his use of a specific lexicon resembles in many minds notable precursors to a developing autocracy. However, chances are that some of his advisors, like Stephen Miller and Susie Wiles know exactly what they are doing. There have been repeated calls for a revived dedication of constitutional knowledge, the principle that society must preserve and respect rigorous, time tested processes that determine what is true and what is not. The procedure used by academics, journalists, scientists and lawyers to establish facts. However, hopes that politicians will turn away from story telling and renew their respect for logic remain aspirational. In the mean time, let's remain vigilant about the intent behind the process. Theo Wierdsma