Below-the-Belt Tactics Are Being Used to Silence Dissenters from the Official Narrative

Dominant players in Western politics and media all too frequently lack the maturity to engage with frontal challenges to their worldviews or projects. Instead, they respond to robust criticism with dishonest ad hominem arguments. Instead of acknowledging and engaging with a criticism, they attempt to discredit the source. A recent example is the immigration debate in Ireland, where those who question the wisdom of relatively liberal immigration policies, given Ireland’s over-stretched housing and healthcare infrastructure, are dismissed as a “far right” faction.

A range of tactics are being used to discredit critics of the powers-that-be. Here are some of the favourite discrediting tactics of Western journalists and politicians who prefer to hide behind cheap slogans, rather than honestly engage with their critics:

1. TACTIC 1: suggesting critics belong to a "far right" fringe, unworthy to be given serious consideration or treated as worthy conversation partners.