cognitive dissonance

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prolly neglected

MERRI OK

EPSTEIN INDUCED COGNITIVE DISSONANCE?

maga pseudo-populism

also conspiracy = radical simplification/ reductionism: all problems the fault on single enemy jew, commie drag, dems

some bad faith feigned we are silenced b/c we don’t know the latest right word to use?

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AN 11 25

A 1956 book favored by UFO believers that is considered "an enduring classic in the fields of new religious studies, cult research, and social psychology," is being called into question as a potential lie, according to Anna Merlan in Mother Jones.

When Prophecy Fails, written by Leon Festinger, Henry W. Riecken, and Stanley Schachter, details a study of a UFO cult known as the Seekers that predicted the end of the world.

The book also introduced the theory of cognitive dissonance, which explains the psychological mechanisms for how people cope when theirdeeply held beliefs are contradicted by reality.

"The book is gripping, an in-depth social and psychological study of Martin’s group and how they behaved, both as it was forming and after their prophetic visions failed to take place," Merlan explains, adding that "it has served as a key basis for the psychological concept of cognitive dissonance."

That theory "was taken further by Festinger, who wrote a widely-cited followup book on cognitive dissonance and how people try to engage in 'dissonance reduction' to reduce the psychological pressure and unease they experience when confronted with conflicting information," she notes.

But a new study that examined Festinger’s recently unsealed papers claims that the book "leans on lies, omissions and serious manipulation," Merlan says.

"The article, published this month in the peer-reviewed Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences,also argues that, contrary to the researchers’ longstanding narrative, the group members all showed clear signs of quickly abandoning their beliefs when the UFOs failed to arrive, and that the group soon dissolved," Mother Jones reports.

Thomas Kelly, the author of the article, says "while core members of the group stayed active in UFO spaces, they did not keep insisting on a world-ending flood, or that aliens would land and take them away."

The Seekers, Kelly notes, were quick to disavow those beliefs and eventually rebranded.

The group's leader Dorothy Martin "distanced herself completely from these events, even rewriting the story of how she developed her psychic powers," Kelly writes.

"Kelly’s paper not only undercuts the researchers’ claims and their application of the theory developed from them, but also alleges they committed scientific misconduct, including 'fabricated psychic messages, covert manipulation, and interference in a child welfare investigation,'" Merlan explains.

Kelly says that researchers "twisted the group’s behavior to fit their thesis, downplaying the proselytization they did before the prophecy failed and playing up any proselytization that occurred after."

Merlan notes that this interpretation is key, "because the thesis of When Prophecy Fails is clear: after Martin’s failed prophecy, her group doubled down, not only by refusing to acknowledge that their core predictions had utterly failed, but banding together with a new zeal to spread them."

"The interference Kelly uncovered goes beyond manipulation," Merlan notes, but not everyone agrees with Kelly's interpretation.

Poulomi Saha, a University of California-Berkeley associate professor in critical theory who is writing a book on the cultural fascination with cults, says Kelly used a narrow reading of limited materials to draw his conclusion.

"This author ends up doing what he accuses the authors of When Prophecy Fails of doing, which is cherrypicking evidence," Saha says of Kelly, adding, “if we want to critique the methods and think about how methodology has changed in 70 years, I would encourage that. We’re talking about different academic and scholarly methods 70 years ago around things like participant observation.”

Saha also says that Kelly was “very dismissive” of the fact that group members continued to believe in UFOs.

Thibault Le Texier, an associate researcher at France’s European Centre for Sociology and Political Science, says that "There are findings that people want to hear and findings that people don’t want to hear,” and regardless of what people believe, the book will probably continue to "gain a lot of attention in spite of being debunked."

"It’s also because these are fascinating stories, as riveting as a great movie," he adds.

Merlan agrees, saying, "For now, at least, Prophecycontinues to be widely referred to as a classic of the genre. The aliens, it must be said, have not yet landed."

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EPSTEIN INDUCED COGNITIVE DISSONANCE}:

GGL AI 7 25

Cognitive dissonance, in the context of Jeffrey Epstein, refers to the mental discomfort experienced when holding conflicting beliefs or values, particularly in relation to his actions and the reactions of those around him. This discomfort can lead to various psychological adjustments to reduce the tension, such as rationalization, denial, or avoidance.

Explanation:

Cognitive dissonance theory, popularized by Leon Festinger in 1957, explains the psychological distress experienced when an individual holds conflicting cognitions (thoughts, beliefs, opinions, attitudes). This conflict creates a state of discomfort that motivates individuals to reduce the dissonance.

In the case of Jeffrey Epstein, his actions, particularly his alleged sex trafficking and abuse, created a situation where individuals might have held conflicting beliefs about him. For example, someone who believed Epstein to be a powerful and respected figure might experience dissonance when confronted with evidence of his crimes.

Possible ways to reduce dissonance in this context:

Rationalization:

Attempting to justify Epstein's actions by downplaying their severity or finding alternative explanations.

Denial:

Refusing to accept the reality of Epstein's crimes or minimizing their significance.

Avoidance:

Avoiding information or situations that trigger the dissonance.

Re-evaluation:

Adjusting one's overall opinion of Epstein to align with the new information.

Example:

A person who admired Epstein might initially experience cognitive dissonance upon learning of his alleged crimes. To reduce this discomfort, they might rationalize his actions by saying he was unfairly targeted, or they might deny the validity of the accusations. Alternatively, they might reduce their admiration for him, re-evaluating their opinion to align with the new information.

In essence, the concept of cognitive dissonance can help explain why individuals might react to the Epstein situation in different ways, depending on how their existing beliefs and values align with the new information about his actions

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Trump’s Fans Forgive Him Everything. Why Not Epstein?

July 14, 2025

By Michelle Goldberg

Opinion Columnist

Over the past squalid decade, many of us have let go of the hope that Donald Trump could do or say anything to shake the faith of his ardent supporters. They’ve been largely unfazed by boasts of sexual assault and porn star payoffs, an attempted coup and obscenely self-enriching crypto schemes. They cheered wildly at his promises to build a wall paid for by Mexico, then shrugged when it didn’t happen. The BBC reported on a 39-year-old Iranian immigrant whose devotion to Trump endured even after she was put in ICE detention. “I will support him until the day I die,” she said from lockup. “He’s making America great again.”

So it’s been fascinating to watch a vocal part of Trump’s movement revolt over his administration’s handling of files from the case of Jeffrey Epstein, the sex-trafficking financier who died in jail in 2019 in what was ruled a suicide. Running for president, Trump promised to release the Epstein files, which some thought would contain evidence of murder. “Yet another good reason to vote for Trump,” Senator Mike Lee of Utah, a Republican, wrote on social media. “Americans deserve to know why Epstein didn’t kill himself.”

Some of the influencers who now staff Trump’s administration built their followings by spinning wild stories about the case, promising revelations that would lay their enemies low. Epstein’s client list “is going to rock the political world,” Dan Bongino, now deputy director of the F.B.I., said in September. Appearing on Fox News in February, Attorney General Pam Bondi was asked whether her department would release “a list of Jeffrey Epstein’s clients.” She responded, “It’s sitting on my desk right now to review.”

Now she says there was no such client list. Last week the Justice Department and the F.B.I. released a memo saying that Epstein killed himself and no more information would be forthcoming: “It is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” Trump has implored his followers to forget about Epstein, writing, in a petulant Truth Social post, that the files were “written by Obama, Crooked Hillary” and various other purported deep state foes. Let’s “not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about,” he wrote.

But he was wrong: Lots of people care. Trump’s followers responded to his attempt to wave Epstein away with uncharacteristic fury and disappointment. Bongino has reportedly threatened to resign over Bondi’s handling of the case. Epstein was a major subject at Turning Point USA’s Student Action Summit, a conservative conference that began on Friday in Tampa, Fla. Speaking from the stage, the comedian Dave Smith accused Trump of covering up “a giant child rapist ring.” The audience cheered and applauded.

Having nurtured conspiracy theories for his entire political career, Trump suddenly seems in danger of being consumed by one. In many ways it’s delicious to watch, but there’s also reason for anxiety, because for some in Trump’s movement, this setback is simply proof that they’re up against a conspiracy more powerful than they ever imagined. “What we just learned is that dealing with the Epstein Operation is above the President’s pay grade,” posted Bret Weinstein, an evolutionary biologist and podcaster. An important question, going forward, is who they decide is pulling the strings.

Epstein obsessives are right to be suspicious about the weird turns the case has taken. So much about it feels inexplicable, including the sweetheart plea deal Epstein got in 2008 and the fact that he was apparently able to kill himself despite being one of the most monitored inmates in the country. Even if it turns out that a review of the case doesn’t implicate anyone who hasn’t already been charged, it should be a scandal that Bondi misled the public about the existence of a client list.

But the administration lies all the time; that alone doesn’t explain why this issue has so tested the MAGA coalition. To understand why it’s such a crisis, you need to understand the crucial role that Epstein plays in the mythologies buttressing MAGA. The case is of equal interest to QAnon types, who see in Epstein’s crimes proof of their conviction that networks of elite pedophiles have hijacked America, and of right-wing critics of Israel, who are convinced that Epstein worked for the Mossad, the country’s spy service.

Trumpism has always been premised on the idea that he’s warring against dark, even satanic globalist forces, and within the movement there’s a fierce yearning for the cathartic moment when those forces will be exposed and vanquished. The Epstein files were supposed to show the world, once and for all, the scale of the evil system that Trump’s voters believe he is fighting. “Epstein is a key that picks the lock on so many things,” Steve Bannon said at the Turning Point conference.

The way Trumpists have made this case a cause célèbre can seem bizarre to outsiders. After all, Trump’s friendship with the sex-trafficking financier has been widely documented. Epstein’s best-known victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, said she was recruited at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s private club. And Trump has his own history of alleged creepiness around underage girls; several teenage contestants in one of his beauty pageants accused him of deliberately walking in on them when they were undressed. As Senator Jon Ossoff, Democrat of Georgia, said at a rally this weekend, “Did anyone really think the sexual predator president who used to party with Jeffrey Epstein was going to release the Epstein files?”

But I’ve always seen the fantasy of Trump as a warrior against sex trafficking as a way for his followers to manage their cognitive dissonance about his obvious personal degeneracy. To believe that they are on the side of light while championing a man of such low character, Trump’s acolytes have had to conjure an enemy of vast and titanic evil and invent a version of Trump that never existed.

Among those on the right who believe there’s an Epstein cover-up, few seem to be entertaining the idea that Trump is protecting himself. That, after all, would require a re-evaluation of his integrity and their judgment. But they still take for granted that Epstein was trafficking girls to powerful men and then blackmailing them and that he was killed so he couldn’t talk. Now they have to figure out why Trump won’t give them the information they long for. The most logical explanation, said Tucker Carlson on his podcast last week, is “that intel services are at the very center of this story, U.S. and Israeli, and they’re being protected.”

This notion has become so widespread that Israel’s government tried to address it. “There is no evidence — none — that Epstein was acting on behalf of the State of Israel,” wrote the Israeli minister Amichai Chikli in an open letter addressed to Turning Point’s head, Charlie Kirk. But Chikli couldn’t resist using the case against his more centrist political enemies, saying he wants to understand Epstein’s connection to “former Israeli prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert, who both appear in previously published Epstein-related documents.”

This will not, I suspect, put theories about Epstein as a Zionist operative to bed. Without them, Trump’s followers would have to admit that they were duped, that MAGA has never been a Manichaean battle against sex criminals and that Trump glommed onto the Epstein story only to help him win an election.

The entanglement of the Epstein drama with American debates about the Jewish state portends some dark developments. I won’t pretend to know whether Epstein ever worked for the Israelis, though I can’t imagine Trump covering for them at any cost to himself. I’m worried, however, about people blaming Jews for the strange and unresolvable parts of his sordid story. Scroll through X, and you’ll see they already are.

It’s worth recalling the origin of the phrase “cognitive dissonance,” which was coined in the 1950s by Leon Festinger, an author of the book “When Prophecy Fails.” He and his co-authors studied an apocalyptic U.F.O. cult, with an eye to what happened when the spaceship didn’t appear as predicted. Some members, disillusioned, left the group. Most, however, maintained or redoubled their commitment. The problem for Trump is that some of his followers need to choose between their commitment to him and to the narrative that justified his rise.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.

Michelle Goldberg has been an Opinion columnist since 2017. She is the author of several books about politics, religion and women’s rights and was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2018 for reporting on workplace sexual harassment.

A version of this article appears in print on July 16, 2025, Section A, Page 22 of the New York edition with the headline: MAGA’s Cognitive Dissonance on Jeffrey Epstein.

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GGL 7 25

[### Trump's Fans Forgive Him Everything. Why Not Epstein?

The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com › trump-jeffrey-epstein-files](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/opinion/trump-jeffrey-epstein-files.html)

Jul 14, 2025 — It's worth recalling the origin of the phrase “cognitive dissonance,” which was coined in the 1950s by Leon Festinger, an author of the book “ ...

[### Cognitive Dissonance : r/Epstein

Reddit · r/Epstein

8 comments · 1 week ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/Epstein/comments/1mbrgc8/cognitive_dissonance/)

In order to experience cognitive dissonance you must have fully functioning conflict detection and reality testing faculties. MAGA doesn't have ...

*Cognitive Dissonance* and Political Belief: Are We Near a ...

67 posts

Jul 16, 2025

Alex Jones breaks down from *cognitive dissonance* ...

164 posts

Jul 8, 2025

More results from www.reddit.com

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{{{

aha/doh hype fear --> strong man fascist

// outrage? social media only good at a couple emotions

...

see emotion anger fear

see identity victim / grievance --> rw civil war

see they are coming for you (gubmint but also AA)

coming for your kids indoctrinate groomer

see target

see violent crime loot burn riot racist

see rhet god devil term, anti-commie sino-phobia

see border bs

see violent rhetoric (nb fighting words/ god/ devil terms lead to violence w/o explicitly calling for it)

see islamophobe

see us vs them enemy, polarization SEE BORDER bs INVASION

see conspiracy --> fear --> grift

see apoc anarchy soc brkdn

Some Donald Trump supporters are dismissive of arguments that the former president is a would-be dictator, claiming that Democrats, via "wokeness" and "cancel culture," are the real authoritarians.

But other Trump voters have flat-out said they would welcome a strongman leader, and they aren't offended by Trump's praise of far-right authoritarian leaders like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Russian President Vladimir Putin. And members of the Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank that has become increasingly MAGA in recent years, have argued that liberal democracy is failing the United States.

In an article published by The New Republic on July 18, journalist Susan Milligan details reasons some Americans believe that rejecting democracy would be a good idea.

The "very uncomfortable and inconvenient truth," according to Milligan, is that "a big chunk of the public actually wants an authoritarian leader." The journalist notes that 32 percent of Americans favor a military regime or authoritarian leader for the U.S.

"Why would people want to live under an authoritarian's thumb?" Milligan writes. "It's rooted, experts say, in a psychological need for security — real or perceived — and a desire for conformity, a goal that becomes even more acute as the country undergoes dramatic demographic and social changes. People also like to obey a strong leader who will protect the group — especially if it is the 'right' group whose interests will be protected."

Joe Pierre, a health sciences clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco's Weill Institute for Neurosciences, told The New Republic that people who favor authoritarianism believe it will be used against others rather than against them.

Pierre told The New Republic, "For those of us who value representative democracy, the fact that some of our fellow citizens might prefer authoritarianism can be surprising or even unfathomable…. Authoritarianism and a 'strongman' leader who's willing to trample over civil rights can sound like a very appealing solution. In turn, democracy — which tells us that our ideological opposites deserve to be heard or should be given equal voice — can sound like the root of the problem."

Kets de Vries, who teaches business at INSEAD in Paris, had similar insights.

De Vries told The New Republic, "Human beings are actually very primitive. They are looking for a father figure to take care of them. They are willing to be blind to all the defects of Trump. He appeals to their most primitive instincts."

*Read Susan Milligan's full article for The New Republic at this link.

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rubber reverse post assassination rnc unity theme -->

an 7 24

Despite Donald Trump’s promise of “Uniting our Nation,” top Republicans kicked off the 2024 Republican National Convention Monday with attacks on LGBTQ Americans, at times invoking religion, to raucous applause and approval from the GOP delegates.

“This fringe agenda includes biological males competing against girls and the sexualization and indoctrination of our children,” declared U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), a common right-wing attack on transgender children (video below). The GOP delegates, who hours before had pumped their fists in the air and chanted “Fight! Fight! Fight!” were quick to respond to Johnson’s denigrations with waves of booing.

“Today’s Democrat agenda, their policies, are a clear and present danger to America, to our institutions, our values and our people,” Johnson continued. “Democrats have forgotten American families. They’ve abandoned the hard-working middle class. But with President Trump and Republicans, those forgotten Americans are forgotten no more.”

IFrame Content

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a self-avowed Christian nationalist, declared Trump the “founding father of the America First movement,” and said, “I thank God that His hand was on President Trump” during the assassination attempt that took the life of a 50-year old retired fire chief sitting behind him.

“The establishment in Washington has sold us out,” Greene went on to say. “They promised unity and delivered division. They promised peace and brought war. They promised normalcy and gave us Transgender Visibility Day on Easter Sunday,” she charged, another common right wing attack that ignores Easter Sunday is on different days each year.

After the crowd booed, she continued.

“And let me state this clearly: There are only two genders,” Greene declared, raising her her hand with two fingers up. “And we are made in God’s image. Amen.”

“And we won’t shy away from speaking that simple truth, ever.”

At the end of her speech, Greene vowed, “as God as my witness, He will finally give us the country we deserve. Because Donald John Trump is the leader American deserves. God bless the American people. God bless President Trump, and God bless the United States of America.”

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// aha becomes a gotcha test

UK meme BS ask labor to define a woman and watch flail?

5 24

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BlazeTV's Steve Deace: Decriminalizing sodomy “led to the redefinition of marriage and all the other rainbow jihad stuff we see now”

05/22/24

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https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1673383652409876482

call for prayer river

carbon credit party 2 yrs, sign contract to die, watch movie,woman breasts 7 yo dick cut off heroes, already cda woman killed herself good for earth 23 states hu compost for food we eat bugs

June 26, 2023

If you missed the right-wing Road To Majority conference last week, we can pretty much sum it all up for you in just one word: Woke.

Tim Barton says that critics have to use ad hominem attacks on him and his father, Christian nationalist pseudo-historian David Barton, for not having any academic credentials as historians because they know they can’t attack the history they present “because what we’re promoting is actually true.”

The fact that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is hosting a “health policy roundtable” featuring unhinged anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Sherri Tenpenny should tell you all you need to know.

Jarrin Jackson is angry that GOP figures talk generically about God: “Be specific. Jesus Christ. The One of Scripture. The One Who rose (bodily) from the grave for the remission of sins. It is a deception to not be specific when He so clearly changed the course of history on the cross. Don’t let Muslims smuggle in Allah. Or Buddhists Buddha. Or Jews ‘not Christ’. Or pagans Thor. Or atheists science & reason. Christ is King.”

Sean Feucht brags that members of Congress helped him sneak into the U.S Capitol so that he could take communion in the Rotunda: “We laid hands all over that place. We brought oil. We brought shofars. We’re crazy.”

Finally, if you arrive at church to find Alex Jones up on stage with your pastor, ranting about how they’ll require you “to cut your children’s genitals off to get ESG money” as they mandate “government-forced suicide” perhaps it is time to find another church?

Tags: Alex Jones Jarrin Jackson Rodney Howard-Browne Sean Feucht Tim Barton Leftovers Road to Majority Conference Faith and Freedom Coalition

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no lnx twt

Trump vaccine that actually works

Written by Nancy LeTourneau / Washington Monthly September 9, 2020

If you talked politics over the last few days with Trump supporters, you probably got a good lesson in how they have become inoculated against information that contradicts their assumptions about the president.

Jeffrey Goldberg’s article in the Atlantic about how Trump referred to Americans who have died in war as “losers” and “suckers” was published last Thursday—just in time to ruminate over the three-day weekend. It included three to four sources per quote and was eventually confirmed by the Associated Press, the Washington Post, Fox News, CNN, and the New York Times. As David Frum documented, the reports seemed plausible based on all of the other times Trump attacked members of the military. The silences are also resounding.

Amid the clamor, it’s easy to overlook those who are not yelling, those who are keeping silent. Where are the senior officers of the United States armed forces, serving and retired—the men and women who worked most closely on military affairs with President Trump? Has any one of them stepped forward to say, “That’s not the man I know”?

How many wounded warriors have stepped forward to attest to Trump’s care and concern for them? How many Gold Star families have stepped forward on Trump’s behalf? How many service families?

The silence is resounding. And when such voices do speak, they typically describe a president utterly lacking in empathy to grieving families, wholly uncomprehending of sacrifice and suffering.

It wasn’t long before Trump responded with attacks against Goldberg, The Atlantic, and Laurene Powell Jobs, the magazine’s majority owner.

Most of the president’s supporters didn’t need the prompt, however. It quickly became labelled “fake news.” Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who had been preparing to launch a book tour this week, defended Trump by describing a president most of us have never seen.

While Sanders says that she has witnessed Trump showing heart and demonstrating respect, we’ve never actually witnessed that kind of behavior from him in public. It makes her denial much less plausible. But her description of the president is something his supporters desperately want to believe. So they utilize the closure mechanisms Trump has provided for them by calling The Atlantic report “fake news,” which automatically makes the president a victim. It is exactly the process described by Julian Sanchez in his explanation of the term “epistemic closure.” = terministic screen

Over the weekend a chorus arose asking for John Kelly, who was present during most of the discussions cited by Goldberg, to address what happened. Underlying that call is the assumption that the former White House Chief of Staff could actually clear things up. While I think that he should do so for the sake of his own conscience, it is absurd to think that Trump supporters would listen to him any more than they did when former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis called the president a threat to our Constitution.

The president’s supporters are not going to change their minds about the most dishonest and corrupt man to ever occupy the Oval Office. While it remains important to document his incompetence and malfeasance, it isn’t likely to have any impact politically. Trump has one vaccine that actually works: He’s inoculated his supporters against anything that might threaten their loyalty to him.