by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Sep 20, 2018 | Propaganda
The Washington Post, September 20, 2018 Earlier this week, President Trump gave an interview to two correspondents at the Hill. The interviewers served him softball questions and plenty of adulation. His claim that his attacks on the FBI could one...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Dec 21, 2017 | Propaganda
The Washington Post, December 21, 2017 The strongman knows that it starts with words. He uses them early on to test out his plans to expand and personalize executive power on political elites, the press and the public, watching their reactions as they arrange into the...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Nov 8, 2017 | Propaganda
CNN.com, November 8, 2017 How does a democratic political culture turn into something more authoritarian? How do leaders persuade people to accept their repressive agendas, scapegoat targeted groups and disrespect democratic norms? In the year since his election as...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Nov 6, 2017 | Propaganda
Fox News may be enjoying large audiences right now, partly because of its close relationship with the president, but the network is taking a real risk — both to itself and to our democracy — by peddling falsehoods and making the president’s political enemies its...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Jan 2, 2017 | Propaganda
“America’s favorite mischievous gay conservative,” is how publisher Simon & Schuster bills its newest high-profile author, Milo Yiannopoulos. The news that the Breitbart senior editor had received a reported $250,000 advance for his book...
by Ruth Ben-Ghiat | Dec 12, 2016 | Propaganda
CNN.com, December 12, 2016 It sounds like something out of a political thriller. A union leader calls out a politician for lying about the number of jobs he is saving with a deal. The politician retaliates by insulting him publicly on Twitter. Within half an hour, the...
