Proving a conspiracy document a forgery only strengthens its propaganda value

Evidence

The fact that the Protocols were a forgery was irrelevant for propaganda purposes. The Russian publicist S. A. Nilus who published the second Russian edition in 190S was already well aware of the doubtful character of this “document” and added the obvious: “But if it were possible to show its authenticity by documents or by the testimony of trustworthy witnesses, if it were possible to disclose the persons standing at the head of the world-wide plot …then…‘the secret iniquity’ could be broken…” Translation in Curtiss, op. cit. Hitler did not need Nilus to use the same trick: the best proof of their authenticity is that they have been proved to be a forgery. And he also adds the argument of their “plausibility”: “What many Jews may do unconsciously is here consciously made clear. And that is what counts” (Mein Kampf, Book I, chapter xi). — Hannah Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 2636

Categorization

• DEFINE: Captures the antisemitic propagandist’s core maneuver: forgery exposure reframed as evidence, plausibility offered as authority.
• XREF: Connects to later Islamophobia readings on how discredited ‘documents’ and conspiracy claims circulate and gain authority precisely through debunking. — connects to: The NDAA legalized undisclosed pro-government propaganda aimed at US citizens; Conspiracy believers justify their knowledge through claims of leaked authentic documents — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic…, 97
• SEED: Article angle: how debunking itself becomes fuel — the rhetorical logic where ‘it was proved a forgery’ converts into ‘that proves it’s real’.