It is important to understand that a less critically-minded individual, and therefore more easily manipulated, is, unlike more aware, educated, and critical people, a rather simple creature who cannot manage their aggression and easily falls into ecstasy from emotions like “unity,” “collectivism,” “common purpose,” and so on. In general, the less intelligence and awareness one has, the more primal instincts and animalistic behavior they exhibit. So, if one is to be manipulated, it should be precisely this type—someone simple-minded. Filtering By mobilizing precisely the “suckers,” the propaganda operator gains the most convenient audience, especially in terms of their internal impulses. Anyone can fall victim to propaganda, not just the “simple-minded.” At some point, something in a person switches off. awareness He starts living on “autopilot” and “gobbles up” propaganda, and after that, he just needs to be lightly fed.
The “critically minded” part of the audience automatically becomes the “enemy” of the “suckers.” Mobilized With the propaganda of the “suckers,” seeing that there is an audience that completely disagrees with what they believe, they become even more united due to the inherent group behavioral reactions of humans in the presence of an external enemy. They start to a) behave like a cohesive collective with its characteristic internal altruism and self-sacrifice, and b) behave aggressively, automatically assuming that the “critically minded” part of the audience wishes them personal harm, that they are enemies, and that it is better to punish them, as destroying them is somehow forbidden.
Around each “fool,” an information bubble forms—people cut off all their connections with those whose viewpoints do not align with theirs, which they believe to be the only correct one. In turn, they gather like-minded individuals and create the illusion in their minds that most normal people think the same way they do. As a result, society becomes polarized. People argue with relatives and sever ties with old friends. The propaganda operator successfully implements the strategy of “divide and conquer.”
At the same time, the “critically thinking” individuals are not mobilized; each of them has their own perspective on what is happening and their own level of courage. None of them have a “enemy image” in their minds, and they have fewer motivators for collective altruism and cohesion. The “suckers,” on the other hand, are united and mobilized. If a “critically minded” person thinks twice before sacrificing themselves to go against the system and prefers to remain a “freeloader,” a “sucker” will be ready to single-handedly shield the front lines for the common goal. The propaganda operator now only needs to gradually direct the aggression of the “suckers” against certain subgroups of the rest of the population that are “harmful” to the propaganda operator. In the initial stage of mobilizing the “suckers,” more or less real images of the enemy were needed, whose existence contradicted the lifestyle of the “sucker.” Now, the crowd, pre-filtered by lies, goes wherever they are told.