Authoritarianism and Disordered Discourse

Yesterday Eliot Higgins posted a thread on Bluesky that got my attention in it's jarring lucidity. I've been struggling to make my way through Autocracy Inc., but this thread succinctly captures what we've seen in the last five years and the acceleration of in 2025. Sarah Longwell and others have talked about "Democratic messaging" (we heard this even today from Ezra and Leah) and the challenges of the current "Post-Truth" information environment, but these phases provide a more coherent (and sobering) view of this phenomenon and I need to go back and read the responses.

I've unraveled it below, but see https://bsky.app/profile/eliothiggins.bsky.social/post/3lk7d35xcxc2k

Stage 1: Barrier Weakening
Gatekeepers, editors, regulators, party leaders, moderators, begin failing to hold the line. Distorted narratives aren’t endorsed yet, but they’re no longer blocked. The gate is ajar. Think early election denialism in the US starting to appear on places like Fox News.

Stage 2: Legitimisation & Normalisation
Disordered narratives are framed as “just one opinion,” “part of the debate.”
Media covers them neutrally. Platforms amplify them. Politicians echo talking points to signal alignment without full endorsement.

Stage 3: Adoption by Elite Actors
Now the narrative is openly embraced. Politicians, institutions, pundits internalise it as part of their platform or identity. It becomes part of institutional logic, not just tolerated, but defended. Again, think back to how election denialism was being promoted.

Stage 4: Restructuring
The institution starts to change from within. Hiring, policy, training, enforcement all reoriented to reflect the distorted narrative. Gatekeeping mechanisms are repurposed to enforce ideology, not protect truth.

Stage 5: Entrenchment
Now, the institution is fully captured. It no longer distinguishes between narrative and evidence, truth is defined internally, not externally. Dissent is punished. Correction is treated as sabotage. The institution becomes a mouthpiece for disordered discourse. Sound familiar?