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Quote of the Day: Propaganda
Before mass leaders seize the power to fit reality to their lies, their propaganda is marked by its extreme contempt for facts as such, for in their opinion fact depends entirely on the power of man who can fabricate it.
― Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism
As the rhetoric around elections has become more hyperbolic and offensive, I realized the information that is being tossed back and forth reminded me of Hannah Arendt’s work. Her definition of propaganda is precisely appropriate for our time: there is a contempt for facts, and the more powerful a person is, the more adept he will be at convincing others of his lies.