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Distraction Used As A Gaslighting Technique

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On April 3rd, 2019, news outlets reported that a Chinese woman, Yujing Zhang, was arrested when she tried to enter President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort with electronic devices, Chinese passports, and a thumb drive containing malware. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated that the government was investigating whether the arrest was related to Chinese espionage. On April 4th Donald Trump posted eleven tweets, including an altered video of former vice president Joe Biden.  He brought up the border, railed against "There were no mentions of the Mar-a-Lago incident.  On April 5th, he tweeted twenty times.  He hyperfocused on the U.S.-Mexico border and railed against "The Crazed and Dishonest Washington Post." He still has never mentioned the possible Chinese espionage.

These distractions are common for Trump, and also for other gaslighters.  They will post and say the most outrageous things to take your focus off of something else.  For the most part, this manipulation technique serves is very effective at changing people's sense of reality.

On April 2nd, Trump tweeted, "The best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico is President Donald J. Trump.He also added a false statement about the amount of funding Puerto Rico received in aid News outlets ran with his tweet.  Besides Trump referring to himself in the third person, it can be solidly argued that Trump is most definitely not the "best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico."  On that same day, Trump stated that his father was born in Germany.  This is an easily checked statement—Trump's father was born in The Bronx, New York City.  If you argue that Trump accidentally said "father" instead of "grandfather," consider that he has made this false statement about his father at least three times.  Ironically, April 2nd was International Fact Checking Day.

News outlets can help prevent the spreading of false statements by not repeating those statements verbatim.  In regards to Trump falsely stating that Puerto Rico received a certain amount in aid, news outlets should instead state the difference between the actual amount of aid to Puerto Rico and Trump's claim, rather than giving a direct quote from Trump.  For example, "Trump overestimated the amount of aid Puerto Rico received by $X."  When news outlets repeat Trump's direct quotes, they are unwittingly causing the falsehood to eventually be accepted as fact.  Gaslighters do not care if a statement is false—they just want it repeated enough so it is believed.  Repeating a false statement enough that it is accepted as true is a form of propaganda.

Practice due diligence on social media by not retweeting or sharing stories headlined with false statements.  Also, verify your sources.  One way to determine if a source is not credible is to search Aston Bright's 12-page researched banned sources list for his Facebook political discussion group Off the Grid.  The Pulitzer Award-winning PolitiFact provides fact-checking and proof of the validity (or lack thereof) of political statements.

The media needs to continue calling out these falsehoods and attempts at distracting the public.  For example, The New York Times has a "Trump's Lies" list, updated through November 11th, 2018.  They also published "Mueller Exposes the Culture of Lying That Surrounds Trump," on December 1st, 2018.

How does this relate to you in the workplace?  When a gaslighter spreads false information in the workplace, it needs to be addressed immediately and exposed for what it is—a form of manipulation intended to distract. A classic gaslighter move at work is to violate a rule of the workplace, then create an entirely new crisis or even perform praiseworthy behavior.  The employer's energy is now diverted to this new behavior rather than the original misdeed.  Consistency is key—if a policy has been violated, the gaslighter needs to be held accountable for the behavior—regardless of his behavior following his violation.  By holding the gaslighter accountable, you provide a role model for other employees—you are sending the message that this behavior is not acceptable, and you will answer for it even if you provide a distraction.  Gaslighters tend to be workplace bullies, so by holding the gaslighter accountable, you are also validating the experiences of your employees.

 

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