Anne Applebaum: Trump's Firehose of Lies

The Trump administration’s erratic approach to Iran, characterized by shifting justifications for military strikes and a lack of coherent strategy, mirrors a broader "firehose of falsehoods" propaganda technique designed to induce public apathy. This pattern of performative, engagement-driven policy extends to the administration’s indifference toward humanitarian crises, including the treatment of Iranian dissidents and the lack of accountability for victims of systemic corruption. In Ukraine, a technological shift toward decentralized drone warfare has provided a significant tactical advantage, exposing Russian military vulnerabilities and economic instability despite state-controlled narratives. Meanwhile, the situation in Venezuela remains defined by the absence of rule of law, rendering foreign investment precarious. These developments underscore a departure from traditional governance toward a model where online engagement and performative cruelty supersede reality, leaving democratic institutions struggling to counter the resulting information distortion.