Emma Grey Ellis
08.01.18 8:00 AM
Crying 'Pedophile' Is the Oldest Propaganda Trick in the Book
Almost a year ago, a woman accused Tom Hanks of sexually abusing her as a child and began posting reconstructed memories on Twitter. The accounts are disturbing and specific, but incomplete and unproven—something Hanks’ accuser attributes to the trauma-based mind control she believes herself a victim of. Even though (or perhaps, because) her claims remain unverified, the pedophilia allegations were quickly embraced by a group known for up-leveling whisperings of child abuse into full-blown scandal: devotees of the QAnon conspiracy.
Believers in the QAnon conspiracy hold that President Trump is a “brilliant four-dimensional chess player” using the Mueller investigation as a smokescreen to root out the murderous, Satanic, pedophilic deep state. (It’s a Trump-era catchall conspiracy: Pizzagate + Seth Rich + the Illuminati.) Hanks is the QAnon conspiracists' perfect target: A Hollywood A-lister who donates to Democrats and has been shielded from moral censure by monogamy and his preternaturally wholesome dad routine—until now. And QAnon has done what they do best: Trumpet the unconfirmed revelation until suddenly, in the eyes of internet search algorithms at least, Tom Hanks, America’s uncomplicated, unproblematic favorite, is a pedophile.
Cooler heads will remember that Hanks is innocent until proven guilty, and there is scant proof to work with here; yet, somewhere a conspiracy theorist is very pleased that you’re suddenly, automatically feeling a little suspicious. All the debunkings in the world won’t extinguish that initial spark of suspicion, and that’s exactly the point.
Hanks is only the most recent protagonist in a spate of high-profile pedophilia accusations levied by far-right commentators. Many, like Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn’s, have been championed by the same citizen sleuths who powered Pizzagate, the unfounded theory that Clinton-linked DC elites ran a child sex-trafficking ring out of a pizzeria. But while crying "pedophile" is a trollish smear many now associate with the digital wing of the American extreme right, the tactic isn’t native to a particular ideology, and long, long predates the internet.
Alleging that your enemy preys upon children is an ancient propaganda tool that’s been used by everyone from medieval Catholics to the Soviet Union. It’s a powerful indictment because it trades on fundamental human fears. It’s designed to otherize the opposition and sabotage any sympathy you might have for them. It’s a ubiquitous tactic because it works.
More:
https://www.wired.com/story/crying-pedophile-is-the-oldest-propaganda-trick-in-the-book/amp