Authoritarian propaganda exploits cognitive biases while hiding the manipulation itself

Evidence

This takes things pretty far. But even if one disagrees with Stanley, and sees fake news only as intentional deception for some monetary reward (which perhaps had an unfortunate political influence) we would be foolish to ignore the historical parallels, which suggest that such control of information can be a serious political threat. Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s propaganda minister, was a master at exploiting cognitive biases like “source amnesia” and the “repetition effect.” Goebbels said that “propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated are confident they are acting on their own free will.” Deception, manipulation, and exploitation are recognized tools to create an authoritarian political order. — Lee McIntyre, Post-Truth, 225

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s knowledge of Nazi propaganda techniques and cognitive bias literature (source amnesia, repetition effect) from memory books — connects to: Platform algorithms delivered foreign propaganda to its most receptive audiences — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 203; Psychological manipulation targets cognitive biases as its weak point — Sander van der Linden, Foolproof: Why Misinformation Infects…, 485
• SHARE: The Goebbels quote about propaganda working best when the manipulated believe they act freely is a tight addition to a conversation about disinformation with someone studying persuasion.