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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   326 thread views

Transnational Thursday for June 25, 2026

Transnational Thursday is a thread for people to discuss international news, foreign policy or international relations history. Feel free as well to drop in with coverage of countries you’re interested in, talk about ongoing dynamics like the wars in Israel or Ukraine, or even just whatever you’re reading.

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Foreign influence ops are a thing,

These things are likely happening at the same time, I would like to learn more about how much, projected efficacy and so on.

Consider other conspiracy theories - I met a Soros lawyer a few weeks ago (now doing other work). She's wildly far to the left and I believe she didn't need any specific instructions, but she spent years being placed where her impulses could fight the propaganda war.

Nobody has forgotten.

I believe you haven't, but I've seen too many posts here (and this is a high information, skepticism, and intellect environment) that have.

It's important to remember that just because you didn't buy the misinformation doesn't mean it's not working on others.

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A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


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