Disinformation – a "How To" Guide

Fausty has found and posted an excellent guide to help one divert, avoid or otherwise duck awkward questions, in 25 rules. It appears to have originated within (or on the fringes of) the American legal profession, but can be applied to politics and politicians equally well in most cases, including in Britain.

Go and read the 25 points in detail if you are into that sort of activity, or if you need to learn how to spot it being done by others; but as a taster these are the headings:

1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil.
2. Become incredulous and indignant.
3. Create rumour mongers.
4. Use a straw man.
5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule.
6. Hit and Run.
7. Question motives.
8. Invoke authority.
9. Play Dumb.
10. Associate opponent charges with old news.
11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions.
12. Enigmas have no solution.
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic.
14. Demand complete solutions.
15. Fit the facts to alternative conclusions.
16. Vanish evidence and witnesses.
17. Change the subject.
18. Emotionalise, Antagonise, and Goad Opponents.
19. Ignore facts presented, demand impossible proofs.
20. False evidence.
21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered investigative body.
22. Manufacture a new truth.
23. Create bigger distractions.
24. Silence critics.
25. Vanish.

Inevitably, I tried to think back to see if I had ever applied any of these techniques during my time on our Council. To be brutally honest, I think I have done a few in my time, but not for the reasons given in Faustie's post.

Most of the time it was to fit everything into the three-minute time slot we had for speaking, so I couldn't go off at too many tangents. Indeed, I had a well-earned reputation for being concise (unlike many who said they were going to be brief, but nearly always overran their time) so didn't necessarily respond to all points others had raised. Fortunately, as a mere back-bencher, I had no obligation to answer any of them!

On the other side of the coin, a number of other councillors did apply one or more of these devices (and still do), from all parties/groups, though it was mainly Labour members, which comes as no surprise.

Anyway, it has been a useful exercise reading through the 25 "rules" and realising where I had encountered many of them before, as well as my self-analysis which was also valuable.