Accusation in a Mirror: Propaganda That Got the U.S. Into This Mess
It's Way Past Time We Talk About It.
Putin’s $1.6B Information Warfare Campaign Would Make CBS Blush
Editor’s Note: This originally published in February 2024, and is being removed from behind the paywall following the attempted assassinations of Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and convicted felon former President Trump. We are also republishing due to his pick for Vice President, Sen JD Vance (R-OH), and the Republican National Convention.
The Upshot
AiM/Mirror Propaganda undercuts the adversary's arguments by convincing the public that they're hypocrites.
By constantly showing, however falsely, that adversaries are hypocrites, AiM bestows a false sense of moral superiority onto the public.
AiM's long-term objective isn't to undercut your adversary's arguments, nor is it to impeach their credibility. It's to destroy any sense among the public that your adversary is moral and worthy of life.
When the public is convinced they're facing amoral subhumans, it's easy to weaponize their indignation by converting it to violence. The public believes they're acting in self-defense. The converted violence is built on a mountain of lies.
Why were Americans contacting their Senators and Representatives during Super Bowl weekend — widely viewed as an unofficial national holiday — so Congress votes for a bill so obviously in the United States’ interest? Why did it take two more months for Congress to respond to the greatest crisis in foreign relations since before World War I?
The answer is complex. But two people played an outsized role: the former US President, convicted felon, and presumptive 2024 Republican nominee for President Donald Trump, and the long-reigning dictator of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.
Trump and Putin share a perceived enemy: the democratically-elected government of the United States and its democratic allies. Some call collectively call it the geopolitical West. Trump perceives democratic systems of government — and the rule of law on which they rest — as threats to his liberty. He’s not wrong; Trump will likely spend the rest of his natural life in state and/or federal prison unless he becomes President again. So, Trump has two options: win the election in November 2024, or seize power through a coup d’état.
Putin also correctly perceives the West as an existential threat. At his orders, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, starting the largest war in Europe since World War II. He promised his coterie of elites and the Russian people a swift, “Three Day Special Military Operation,” now in its third year.
Trapped by the mythology of the glorious Russian Empire that he himself helped saturate the country with, Putin cannot lose the war. The mythology espouses that the Russian Empire is the Third Great Empire: the rightful inheritor of the Greek and Roman Empires, and defender of Orthodoxy. In the same way the Romans venerated Greek culture, but also ruled over them, the Russians venerate the seat of Slavic Orthodoxy, Kyiv, and must lord over Ukraine.
Given the importance of this mythology, no Russian leader could survive the loss of Crimea (Qırım) to Ukrainian forces and their Western allies. Losing Qırım, the northern edge of the Greek Empire, would mean almost certain deposition, and very likely his life. Qırım has strategic military value as well, of course, but it’s hard to overstate its value. The war started in Qırım and will end in Qırım.
Trump and Putin, therefore, are playing for keeps.
With their interests aligned, it may be more interesting — indeed, more empowering — to explore how, rather than why, Trump and Putin undermine Western democracy and the rule of law. Both use violence, propaganda, and coercion: Trump incited the January 6th insurrection; Putin invaded Ukraine. Understanding these tactics means developing a vocabulary to identify, describe, and react to them in vivo. For a liberal democratic society, that’s far more empowering than simply focusing on the why.
Let’s dive into a specific type of propaganda: Accusation in a Mirror (AiM), or Mirror Propaganda. You might have heard the phrase, “accuse your enemy of that which you are guilty.” It’s often attributed to Hitler’s chief propagandist, Joseph Goebbels, who never said it. The closest Goebbels came to describing AiM in the known historical record was during his 1934 speech at Nuremberg.
The cleverest trick used in propaganda against Germany during [World War I] was to accuse Germany of what our enemies themselves were doing.
-Joseph Goebbels, Chief Nazi Propagandist
Dr. Fiona Hill, a former senior member of the National Security Council and Russia expert, begged Republicans to stop using Russian narratives during Trump’s first impeachment hearing. She is giving examples of AiM, without describing them as such.
Modern day AiM is a century-old weapon used by authoritarians to gain and maintain power. Goebbels, in noting its potency (while perhaps engaging in some self-aggrandizing propaganda himself), noted that propaganda was the Nazis’ "sharpest weapon in conquering the state.” But it was the KGB and its predecessors that perfected it.
One effect of AiM slowly numbs the public when political leaders need them to commit or tolerate unconscionable crimes. Crimes like the January 6th insurrection, in which at least five people, including a police officer were killed directly or indirectly. [warning: graphic content in video].
In a March 10, 2018, interview with Megyn Kelly at NBC, Putin suggested that Ukrainians, Jews, and Tatars (Qırımlı) meddled in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. Of course, he knew it was his government that did the most extensive meddling.
On February 2, 2017, in a joint press conference with prick of a prestidigitator and principal provincial peasant/PM of Hungary Viktor Orbán, Putin used AiM against both Ukraine and the United States. He said Ukraine “escalated the situation in southeastern Ukraine” and the “Ukrainian government” favored one candidate in the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.
Both allegations are lies. But they’re a particular kind of lie: mirror images of the truth. It was Russia's government that actively interfered with the election, through multiple, well-documented mechanisms. And the Russians supported Trump. Obviously, the "escalation" in Ukraine was due to illegal Russian invasion and occupation. Ukraine was defending itself.
Trump and other Republicans adopted the Russian conspiracy theory that Ukraine — not Russia — meddled in the 2016 US Presidential election. Why Trump adopted it needs a separate post (although the Associated Press’s story from January 2020 does a good job summarizing the basics). Part of it has to do with his natural disposition towards conspiracy theories, and part of it has to do with his campaign manager, Paul Manafort, being on the Kremlin payroll. It’s probably safe to guess Trump believes the conspiracy theory is true. But that’s not the issue, here. The issue is that he continues to spreads it.
What Is AiM and Why Is It So Effective?
French psychologist Roger Mucchielli, writing in 1970, explained AiM/Mirror Propaganda very well. I’ll break down the key points, and apply the theory to what we’re seeing coming out of the Kremlin and the Trump campaign. Mucchielli helpfully starts with a definition for Mirror Propaganda.
Mirror propaganda is the method of attributing your own intentions, or what you're currently doing, to your adversary.
Those who intend to start a war proclaim their peaceful intentions while accusing their adversary of warmongering. Those who use terror accuse their adversary of terrorism.
I note that Putin checks off both the warmongering and terrorism boxes. Trump arguably checks off the terrorism box.
Muccielli goes on:
Mirror propaganda has numerous advantages. Besides the ironic 'halo of righteousness' bestowed upon the aggressors, the adversary's protestations are undercut.
The targets of mirror propaganda, ‘virtuous and decent,’ are certain that, when aggressing against the adversary, they’re acting in self-defense. Everyone wants to be on the side of the ‘just cause.’
Putin follows this to the letter. In declaring war in everything but name, Putin invokes Article 51, Part 7 of the UN Charter, which enshrines countries’ rights to defend themselves. His lies blame Ukraine for aggression when he, in fact, is the aggressor.
Donald Trump, too, gives us plenty of applications of the concept. During a speech in Atkinson, New Hampshire, in January 2024, he bragged about being indicted more than “Alphonse” Capone, accused the Biden administration of: corruption; being “evil;” weaponizing the justice system; and “going after elderly people;” among other outrageous lies.
It is Trump, in fact, who is guilty of all these accusations. The Biden administration is not. President Biden’s only surviving son, Hunter, is being aggressively prosecuted by the Department of Justice; President Biden fully cooperated with a Special Counsel inquiry into his handling of classified documents (Trump refused to cooperate with the Special Counsel looking into his connections with Russia); and President Biden is not profiting from the Presidency like Trump. Again, Trump’s lies are the mirror image of the truth.
Spreading Propaganda Using the Adversary Itself
Mucchielli continues.
To make accusing the adversary of lying easier, mirror propagandists spread fake information as if it came from the adversaries themselves.
By prominently 'debunking' the adversary's 'lies,' they convince the public that their claims about the adversary's dishonesty are true.
There are plenty of examples of this, but I pulled two for this post. They demonstrate how AiM propagandists use their adversary as a source for their disinformation campaign.
Early into the full-scale invasion, Russia released a very poorly generated AI deepfake supposedly showing President Zelenskyy pleading for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to put down their weapons. That Russia would disseminate such an obviously doctored video highlights the AiM value of having the adversary parrot the regime's message. Using Zelenskyy as the messenger (especially if many Russians don’t know how he normally speaks or acts) supports Russia's domestic propaganda efforts, even if it had little effect on Ukraine or its Western allies.
Examples abound in the United States, too. Tulsi Gabbard (HI), as a former Democrat and veteran — and, therefore, a representative of the adversary itself — spreads propaganda about the Democratic Party. She was the US Representative from Hawaii’s Second District from 2013 - 2021. She launched a failed Presidential campaign in 2019 that was widely viewed among Democrats as an effort to become a “spoiler.” Gabbard suspended her Presidential campaign after receiving almost no support and being unable to fund the endeavor. In her US House re-election bid, polling showed primary opponent Kai Kahele (D-HI) would trounce her, and she announced her decision not to seek re-election in October 2019. Kahele now represents her former district.
Gabbard is widely discredited in Democratic circles for praising Putin, visiting dictator Bashar Al-Assad in Syria, and bashing the United States for responding to military threats. She’s essentially an expelled member of the Democratic Party; she was the only Democratic member of Congress not invited to the Democratic National Convention in 2020. Despite this, because she’s a former Democrat — and because she’s not a Republican — she makes Republicans' accusing the Democrats of lying more effective. Her status as a veteran, highly regarded in US society, also adds value to the AiM.
The Halo of Righteous Indignation
Mucchielli concurs with a fellow researcher, making perhaps the most important point about AiM/Mirror Propaganda.
…the language of propaganda is always one of indignation; over time, the public will care less about the subject of the lie, and will focus more on the 'fact' that the adversary lacks morals or values.
That is to say, AiM dehumanizes. And dehumanization is used by aggressors to justify horrific violence.
Russian economist Rostislav Ishchenko appeared on state television justifying mass murder of Ukrainians. The video serves a dual purpose through the lens of AiM. First, it reiterates the moral superiority of the aggressor: Ishchenko claims Russia's war of aggression is “just,” and Ukraine's defense is not. Second, it reiterates that Russia’s adversary lacks morals or values. The cavalier way in which he describes Ukrainian deaths reinforces the supposed subhuman status of Ukrainians in the Russian psyche.
Last month, Donald Trump invoked the same language that the Nazis used against Jews, LGBTQ people, and the Roma, calling Democrats “thugs who live like vermin." He even made the same comparisons that Hitler did to his political enemies, calling Democrats "socialists."
What makes Trump's comments (if this is even possible) perhaps worse than Hitler’s is that the Weimar Republic and the Kaiser’s Germany actually had a significant socialist/Marxist political movement. It was taken for granted by Lenin that the "worldwide socialist revolution" would start in Germany.
A key difference is that the United States does not have a politically influential Marxist bloc. From an AiM lens, Trump’s rhetoric reinforces the existence of a fictitious "radical left" that will "do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America," and lie, cheat, and steal elections. The truth is mirrored: this is, in fact, is what Trump and his Republican acolytes do. Casting Democrats as craven, immoral liars dehumanizes Trump's political opposition, creates a sense of righteous indignation, and confers to his base an ironic moral superiority that implicitly justifies violence.
Metastases and Sequelae
Obviously, we’re seeing and documenting the horrific violence in Ukraine. But we’re feeling the effects of this concerted propaganda campaign in the form of radical right political violence.
NB: This was written before a radicalized Republican attempted to assassinate former President Trump. The FBI investigation is ongoing. I denounce all forms of political violence, while recognizing that Trump remains a danger to Ukraine’s future and our democracy.
On July 19, 2020, a US District Court judge’s son was shot to death trying to help his seriously wounded father during an assassination attempt. The jurist, Esther Salas, wasn’t home, but was uninjured and is reeling from the death of her son, and her husband’s serious injuries.
On October 8, 2020, 13 men were arrested by the FBI for planning to kidnap the Democratic Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. Their purported motive was in response to Whitmer’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic. Donald Trump tweeted his support of protestors against the COVID-19 measures, casting her as “that woman from Michigan,” and “LIBERATE MICHIGAN.” Armed protestors stormed and occupied the State Capitol building on April 30, 2020, in a prelude to January 6th.
One of the suspects involved described himself as a terrorist.
On October 28, 2022, 82-year-old Paul Pelosi, husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was bludgeoned with a hammer in his San Francisco home by a Canadian far-right radical named David DePape. DePape fully embraced QAnon, Pizzagate, and Donald Trump’s Big Lie — that the 2020 election was “stolen.” Pelosi survived with serious injuries, and DePape was convicted of assault of an immediate family member of a federal official with intent to retaliate against the official on account of the performance of official duties and attempted kidnapping of a federal official on account of the performance of official duties. DePape is also facing trial in California state court for attempted murder, residential burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, and elder abuse.
Trump and far-right figures denied the attack and spread disinformation about the suspect’s motives.
These are not just horrifying anecdotes. These are examples plucked from a wider pool of data that shows the radicalizing effect that AiM has had on a subset of the American population. Far-right terrorist attacks increased exponentially around the time of Trump’s candidacy, according to the Global Terrorism Database.
What Can Be Done?
First, learn from those who have deep experience with it. Ukrainians, Latvians, Poles, Lithuanians, Georgians, and Estonians have been dealing with Russian active measures for decades. Indeed, Russia often uses these countries as testing grounds for new active measures, including propaganda, cyberattacks, GPS jamming, airspace violations, weaponization of refugees, and more. We can learn a lot from them.
has a masterful understanding of Russian disinformation operations and active measures.Second, know the facts. Those of us supporting Ukraine are supporting the United States. Putin has been attacking both countries for decades, whether through overt force or through active measures. Since the US media has abjectly failed to educate the public on active measures, it's up to us to do the work. We, as Americans, have so much to learn about Russia and asymmetric warfare tactics.
Ukraine's victory is our victory. Putin's demise on the Ukrainian battlefield is the demise of an autocracy who gave us Trump. Putin and Trump are hellbent on destroying our democracies for personal gain. AiM helps them accomplish that through violence. The video below, from November 2018, shows what Russia’s been up to since the 1990s.
Third, counter with effective messaging. AiM is complex for a reason. It’s hard to explain. We’re not like Germans who have a word for everything. So, I offer a weak analogy.
Projection is “the unconscious transfer of one's own desires or emotions to another person;” it’s like a sound from headphones, focused on one other person. AiM, on the other hand, is the conscious, consistent transfer of one’s own desires, motives, or emotions to a group of people. Instead of a single target, its audience is huge. It’s like blasting radiation over a wide area, constantly, for years. Once enough of the audience is exposed, it’s become a cancer that’s hard to treat. And it may even be deadly.
It’s Not Over Until It’s Over
Putin's been at this since before the ‘90s. In his own way, so has Trump. We’ve beat KGB propaganda before, and we can beat it again.
History may not repeat itself, but it certainly rhymes.