Word framing by activists and politicians, especially from the Left

Language shapes our perception of the world. Politicians know this. Therefore, they try to describe themselves and their own agenda with words which sound positive, even if the reality is different.

In his dystopian novel “1984,” George Orwell called this practice “Newspeak,” by which propaganda is made vague by euphemism and inversion of customary meaning. The intended effect is to limit freedom of thought, as well as limiting concepts such as freedom and self-expression.

Leftists have become masters of vocabulary manipulation and are constantly changing the traditional meaning of words to fit their political agenda. I'm sure there are examples from the Right as well. Feel free to add your own.

Examples:

In the US, far leftists describe themselves as "liberal". The reality is, they are the opposite of "liberal". They are authoritarian (as we have seen during Covid), they are anti-free speech, anti free economy, etc. In other countries, "liberals" are actually what is described as "libertarian" in the US.

Far leftists have also hijacked the term "progressive". Their policies are not "progressive" - they are actually often from the communist/socialist playbook, which is very much about controlling the population, and much less about the freedom of the individual. There is really nothing "progressive" about that whatsoever.

The killing of fetuses is hidden under the term "reproductive care". Regardless of where one is on abortion, this at best blurs the issue. "Pro-choice" sounds so positive. It still means that a fetus gets killed.

Severe surgical or chemical interventions are described as "gender-affirming care", when in reality, these interventions are not "gender-affirming", they are the exact opposite - they are mostly irreversible attempts at changing (instead of "affirming") the biological sex (which is, of course, not really possible).

The term "misinformation" has recently been used as justification to stifle and limit free speech. Who defines what "misinformation" is? You guessed it - the Left, if they are in political power. That's how it works in China and other societies where the Left is in power - the ruling party decides what "misinformation" is and punishes you if you do not follow their party line.

Also, the Left has worked on redefining what "racism" is. No longer is it considered racist to treat someone differently based on his or her skin color, and not racist to value all human beings equally. Instead, if you’re not promoting theories that “remedy … past discrimination [with] present discrimination,” as critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi suggests, you are clearly a racist according to the left’s new dictionary. Do you believe in meritocracy? Racist.

Leftists are busily neutralizing gender specificity in the English language—a project that long ago reached the point of absurdity. Universities are banning the use of “mankind” and phrases such as “right-hand man” and “gentleman’s agreement” because the self-obsessed do not see themselves in these age-old terms. Throwing “peoplekind” out there has somehow failed to banish the gender binary from the public mind.

Invented phrases that sacrifice specificity in favor of inclusivity have either had little political effect or have backfired on those who use them. “BIPOC”—an acronym for black, indigenous, and people of color—hasn’t led those who are black, indigenous, or people of color to abandon their identities in favor of one big minority union. “Latinx” only alienated and aggravated the very people it was meant to describe. Deeming them “undocumented migrants” instead of “illegal aliens” failed to pave the way for comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship.

I'm sure there are many more examples.

To spot a would-be autocrat, look for someone who undermines language.

 

Deflection.

 

Thank you @rocketsjudoka for adding some examples from the other end of the political spectrum.

 

Yes, when researching the topic, I found this Berkeley professor George Lakoff a lot.