Dark Pattern Persuasion
Alex Jones once again employs dark pattern persuasion techniques to evade consequences
“A Dark Pattern is a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things, such as buying insurance with their purchase or signing up for recurring bills.” (Brignull, 2010)
You can extend that to persuading people.
In his bankruptcy case, Alex Jones had to make a list of his assets with a value of over $2,000. He listed his deluxe purebred cat.
Few of us would consider a pet an asset. Fewer still would list the animal as property for a Bankruptcy court. A guess is that the cat was included in the list of assets as a publicity trap for the court: listing his cat as an asset is novel and would prompt discussion, then Alex Jones could honestly tell the world that the court discussed taking his family cat away. Not the first time this tactic has been used - Richard Nixon used in it his famous Checkers speech.
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Aside from the novel photos he gets to scatter all over the internet, Alex Jones gets space on other people’s platforms, i.e., attention. By trying to gain sympathy, he has us talking about him - again.
While a bit of a slimy trick, that part isn’t dark pattern persuasion.
When It Takes a Turn
Alex Jones spends the entire video statement rubbing the belly of a somewhat annoyed luxury-brand cat. He begins by telling us that the Department of Justice “ordered” him attend a meeting. The implication is that armed FBI agents stormed into his house and marched him to the meeting. He doesn’t have to actually say it for the visual to enter the listener’s mind. We’ve seen it often enough on television to be able to picture it ourselves.
There, Alex Jones said a bankruptcy judge spent five whole minutes discussing whether “assets were hidden in the cat.”
Hmmm. What does that imply in terms of hiding assets or finding them? Again, without actually saying it, we have a picture in our minds of what that means.
His logic then started its Olympic-level jumping.
First, he terms it “harassment” that his cat may be seized by the court. He doesn’t say “FBI harassment” but most people would connect the first sentence to this one.
He then introduces the word “insane” to get people’s minds to associate this cat conundrum with other crazy things they’ve heard.
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Then he asks, “What? Do they want my children next?”
The dialog is escalated to “Do they want to sacrifice my children?” as Alex Jones shakes his head in puzzlement. As if that would be the only alternative to giving up the cat.
“This is the terrorist,” he said, pointing to the white ball of fluff. Nobody called Alex Jones’ cat a terrorist. Only he did that.
“This is the reality of the world we live in in 2023 America. Justice Department hearings with people laughing in the background while people saying ‘We want your cat.’”
He invokes Trump trutherism by comparing a grand jury member in one of the Trump cases to the people who want to take his cat.
This Is Not About the Cat
Conspiracy theories are not about truth, or even convincing people of certain facts. They are about attacking the credibility of someone’s statements or character. Creating doubt is the job of a conspiracy theory.
In How Fascism Works - The Politics of Us and Them, Jason Stanley writes about the purpose of conspiracy theories.
[Conspiracy theories] function is rather to raise general suspicion about the credibility and the decency of their targets…
[R]eality itself is cast into doubt. We can’t agree on the truth. Fascist politics replaces reasoned debate with fear and anger.
He forgot entertainment. I’m convinced some part of the population uses conspiracy theories for entertainment.
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Alex Jones is creating doubt about the legitimacy of the people trying to take his assets. He isn’t trying to persuade the people making the decision, but people outside of that process. Since his rhetoric probably will backfire for the decision-makers, this seems to be a bald attempt at keeping his power base of loyal followers.
The Alex Jones brand is damaged. The public spectacle of his bankruptcy trial, his threats to the judge and his loud defiance have exposed him as the lying loudmouth that he is. One that doesn’t care about harm to others and who has actively participated in creating threats against grieving parents.
I’d like to think he won’t come back from it, but already he is here defending his cat. And we are watching. And talking about it.
The Tell with Christine Axsmith opposes exploiting white, long-haired luxury cats.
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