(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Mental Manipulation Attacks: Understanding Milton Erickson's "Confusion Technique" and "The Weave." [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-03-26
The "weave" is a manipulation technique used to blend multiple narratives or statements together, creating confusion and making it difficult for the audience to separate the individual points. By weaving together several topics or claims, it creates a feeling of authority and complexity that makes the audience feel like they don’t fully understand it but should trust the speaker.
Example: The Confusion Technique with "The Weave" in a Political Speech
Imagine a politician giving a speech to an audience, aiming to evade criticism and distract from a controversial issue. They’ll blend multiple topics into one, weaving together facts, emotional appeals, and half-truths to overwhelm the audience.
1️⃣ Start with a Complex Issue (Create Mental Overload)
The politician is asked about their administration's handling of healthcare reform, which has been widely criticized. Instead of giving a direct answer, they start weaving a complex narrative:
🌀 “Well, healthcare reform is not just about numbers and policies—it's about people's lives. But you have to understand, the system we inherited was broken, and to fix that, we needed to make bold decisions. And I know the opposition says this approach will hurt the economy, but let’s talk about the rising costs of prescription drugs, which have been a burden for years. And of course, we all know that the previous administration didn’t do enough about that, which is why we had to step in and make things right, even if it wasn’t easy.”
👉 The listener is hit with a bunch of connected issues: healthcare reform, rising drug costs, the previous administration, economic challenges—all without a clear focus. This makes it hard to focus on the original question of healthcare reform.
2️⃣ Weave in Emotional Appeals and Side Issues (Confuse with Multiple Narratives)
To keep the audience engaged and to further muddle the issue, the politician weaves in emotional appeals:
🔑 “And you know, I talk to families every day—families who are struggling to make ends meet. They’re not worried about politics. They want to make sure their kids are getting the care they need. That’s why we had to act quickly, even if it meant facing a lot of pushback from special interest groups who care more about their profits than about real people.”
👉 Now the speaker has introduced emotional appeals about family struggles, while still talking about the same healthcare issue. The weave has made it harder to follow the initial discussion about the reform details, but it keeps the audience emotionally invested in the “struggle.”
3️⃣ Weave in Criticism of Opponents (Discredit Opposing Views)
The politician seamlessly continues weaving in more claims to deflect from scrutiny and attack the opposition:
🌟 “It’s easy for the critics to sit back and say things aren’t working, but they weren’t there when we had to fight for every single vote to get this bill passed. And those same critics are the ones who, for years, voted against policies that actually would have made a difference. It’s always easy to criticize from the sidelines.”
👉 Now, they’ve woven in an attack on critics while still not addressing the original problem with their healthcare plan. The weaving distracts from the core issue by turning the audience’s focus toward political infighting.
4️⃣ Reinforce the Belief with Final Emotional Appeal (Confuse Further)
To finalize the manipulation, the politician reinforces the narrative by weaving together all the elements into a final emotional conclusion:
🚫 “And I get it—it’s tough to see immediate change. But I’m fighting for your families, your communities, and our future. This is about more than just politics; this is about doing what’s right. I know it’s hard now, but we’ll get there, because we are doing the right thing for the people, not the special interests. Trust me, the future of this country depends on it.”
👉 Now the listener feels emotionally connected to the idea that they should trust the speaker, even if they’re not sure how everything ties together or whether it makes sense. They’re left with an overwhelming feeling of support for the general idea without being able to pinpoint contradictions or inconsistencies.
Result: The Confusion Technique with "The Weave" Has Worked
✅ The audience is distracted and confused, unable to focus on the details of healthcare reform because they are overwhelmed by emotional appeals, attacks on opponents, and abstract ideas.
✅ The original issue—whether the healthcare reform is working or not—has been lost in the maze of complex and unrelated arguments.
✅ The audience is emotionally manipulated, feeling aligned with the speaker’s cause but unable to dissect the argument logically.
Takeaway: How to Defend Against It
🛑 Stay focused on the original question or issue.
on the original question or issue. ❓ Break down the different elements of the speech or argument and ask yourself what’s actually being said.
of the speech or argument and ask yourself what’s actually being said. 🔍 Look for concrete evidence and avoid being swept away by emotional appeals or vague statements.
Conclusion:
The weave is an extremely effective tool for creating confusion and evading direct questions. By blending multiple ideas together, the manipulator keeps the audience from critically analyzing any one issue. When used in politics, media, or advertising, it forces people to rely on emotional responses and broad ideas, rather than clear facts and logic.
In summary — these techniques, the weave, Erickson’s confusion technique, and others, are being weaponized against the public at large in democratic societies around the world, as a powerful and often not recognized component of contemporary misinformation campaigns. Deliberate dissemination of conflicting and confusing narratives aims to sow confusion and exploit cognitive vulnerabilities, veering democratic societies away from logic based consensuses and towards emotion-based dysfunctional tribalism and division. Recognizing and exposing these strategies is the first step in resisting their effectiveness.
For democratic self-rule to function, we must ensure that our political discourse remains rooted in logic rather than psychological manipulation.
Each of us must learn to recognize and challenge the manipulation techniques, and foster a more analytical and discerning mindset, to be more resistant to manipulation and more adept at navigating the complex landscape of modern information warfare.
We need to be train ourselves to be aware and be wary, always question — and never just “accept” a narrative.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/26/2308940/-Mental-Manipulation-Attacks-Understanding-Milton-Erickson-s-Confusion-Technique-and-The-Weave?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=more_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
