How demagogues manipulate people

Demagogue (noun) – a political leader who seeks support by appealing to the desires and prejudices of ordinary people rather than by using rational argument.

– Oxford Languages

Our political discourse today is filled with demagogues. There is much power to gain, and money to be made, by cultivating a mass following of devoted fans. And nothing can build one a fan base faster than telling people what they want to hear. This technique is as old as time, yet people still fall for it.

Fear is an enemy to reason

Humans are creatures of habit and emotion. We are born lazy, selfish, and, self-centered. Reason, logic, and even morality, are higher functions that we must learn, and learn to apply, as we grow up. This is why a civilized society needs high quality, well-funded, schools and honest, ethical, virtuous churches. Yet, even reasonable and moral adults are susceptable to manipulation.

We all can fall quickly back to our childish self-centeredness when faced with perceived danger. This is why demagogues constantly stoke fear, resentment, and tribalism in their followers. They want to create a sense of danger – an “us versus them” climate. It is all emotion and fear based. They cannot afford for their followers to stop cheering and ask, “Well, what does the evidence actually show?” Logic and reason are the enemy of demagogic manipulation.

Taking the easy way

It is interesting to consider what the opposite of demagogery might be. Here is what Google AI has to say:

There is no single exact antonym for “demagogue,” but suitable options include statesman, peacemaker, uniter, mediator, and conciliator, all of which describe leaders or individuals who bring people together through rational argument, ethical leadership, and a desire for reconciliation, in contrast to a demagogue’s manipulation of prejudices and emotions.

-Google AI

Most leaders say they intend to be uniters and peacemakers, but, frankly, what is easier? Rational argument or stirring up fear and anger? Ethical leadership or simply lying and cheating? Reconciliation or name calling and blaming? Is it any wonder there are so many demagogues?

And, for the followers, it is much easier to get angry, or be outraged, and believe the first thing you hear than to be skepitcal, examine the facts, and think critically. It takes effort to be patient, kind, and understanding with people. It is much easier to criticize, blame, and judge them. Blindly following the demagogues is the easier path.

Deceiving Christians

Surprisingly, the people who seem to be the most susceptable to modern political demagoguery are the professed “Christians.” This is despite the fact that the political policies, and the personal behaviors, of the MAGA demagogues are diametrically opposite to what Jesus taught. How is it possible that so many Christians actively support politicians who are so strongly anti-Christianity?

The first trick, of course, is that demagogues use disquises. It is the old “wolves in sheep’s clothing” trick. Many of the worst demagogues in America today are those pretending to be the most devoted Christians. This trick blinds many people because Christians are taught to not judge. If someone claims to be a Christian, we tend to take them at their word.

The deeper trick, however, is the skilled use of manipulative rhetorical techniques. Rhetoric is the ancient art of persuasion. Greece and Rome both collapsed because they allowed rhetoric to replace reason, logic, science, and civility. The United States is currently on the same downward path.

Plausable deniability

Here is how the manipulation works:

1. Inflammatory statement. The demagogue will often start with an outrageous statement. This serves as a dog whistle to his most extreme followers and also serves as an anchor for him to refer back to later.
2. Immediate softening. The opening statement is then immediately followed by a softening of that statement. This tactic is called inoculating. It gives the demagogue plausible deniability. The trick of making an outrageous statement followed by a softening statement is called moral laundering. This give the demagogue’s followers the ability to weaponize the first statement while providing an escape route with the second.

Dictator Donald uses this plausible deniability trick all the time. He rarely takes ownership of his own statements. Instead he says things like: “Many people are saying that …,” and “It could be, or maybe not, who knows?”

This moral laundering trick was also used by the infamous Rush Limbaugh. He would make outrageous statements and then back off with his “I’m just a harmless little fuzzball” schtick.

This is why demagogues are often said to be, “Talking out of both sides of their mouth.” They say contradictory things to different people, or in different situations, in order to maintain their image and hide their true intentions.

This “have it both ways” trick allows the algorithms of modern media to feed completely different versions of a demagogue to different audiences. For example, most of Charlie Kirk’s fans have, quite literally, never heard him make his most offensive remarks about women, blacks, immigrants, and others.

3. Rationalizing. After setting up, and inoculating the outrageous (racist, misogynistic, homophobic, or anti-immigrant) idea, the demagogue will then rationalize the original statement by doubling down on logical fallacies and empty arguments.

Logical fallacies

Some of the tricks demagogues use are listed below. It would be well worth anyone’s time to learn more about these rhetorical tricks so as to be less susceptable to them. (See links below).

• Labeling
• Authority framing
• Straw man
• False claim
• Zero-sum narratives
• Scapegoating
• External villain
• White victim inversion
• Implication
• Innuendo
• Loaded example
• Poisoning the well
• Specificity illusion

The rhetorical tricks listed above are always presented in a self-assured, confident voice, and are often spoken so quickly that it is difficult for even an experienced scholar of rhetoric to catch them all without listening to a recording later. Demagogues rapidly put down a layer of lies and fallacies that reinforce the original outrageous anchor statement. This trick is done with such confidence that listeners often believe that the demagogue is “logically” (and “brilliantly”) defending his point of view.

Actually, the demagogue has sent up a huge cloud of words that obscure the fact that he has not made a single verifiable statement.

People need to stop listening to demagogues

This type of language is not reason. It is not logic. It is deliberate deception. It is manipulation. It blinds people to the truth and causes naive “Christians” to support people and policies that are very clearly anti-Christian.

Demagogues are NOT patriotic. They DO NOT work to make people’s lives better. They think only of themselves, their power, their co-conspirators (they don’t really have friends), and money. Do not support them – or even listen to them. They will mess with your head and corrupt your values.

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Resources:
What turns logical fallacies into a rhetorical trick is when they are used deliberately (and often in quick succession) to obfuscate the truth.
Here is an interesting 10 page, downloadable pdf describing 20 logical fallacies.
Here is Wikipedia’s extensive list of both formal and informal fallacies with clickable links to detailed explanations of each.

Partial List:
Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Father Charles Coughlin, Joseph McCarthy, Juan Peron, Pol Pot, Ferdinand Marcos, Slobodan Milosevic, Hugo Chavez, Narendra Modi, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Rodrigo Duterte, Viktor Orban, Jair Bolsonaro, Nicholas Maduro, Benjamin Netanyahu, Kim Jong Un, Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, JD Vance, Elon Musk, Stephen Miller, Russell Vought, Tom Homan.

Note:
It should be clear from this list that demagogues often become dictators.