In the context of the Adams lexicon, Fake News is not merely a label for factual errors or partisan bias. It refers to a sophisticated psychological phenomenon where a narrative—often demonstrably false—is manufactured and maintained by media entities to create a specific emotional response or political outcome. Adams argues that once a “fake” narrative is successfully seeded, it becomes immune to debunking because it integrates into the victim’s identity.
The Mechanics of the Hoax
Adams frequently points out that the mainstream media functions as a persuasion engine rather than a news source. He suggests that the “mainstream media will determine who is the Democratic nominee” and other high-level outcomes through coordinated framing. A key heuristic for identifying this is the Four Network Test: if ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN all use the identical “spontaneous” phrasing or adjectives to describe an event on the same day, it is a tell that the “news” is actually a distributed talking point.
Two Movies, One Screen
Fake news is the primary driver of two-movies-on-one-screen. By omitting context or using selective editing, the media can present a single event that two different audiences perceive in diametrically opposed ways.
The “Fine People Hoax” serves as Adams’ foundational example. He notes that while the full transcript shows the subject said, “I’m not talking about the neo-nazis and the white nationalists because they should be condemned totally,” the media stripped that context to build a persistent narrative. For those watching the “fake” movie, the evidence to the contrary is invisible. When confronted with the full text, these individuals often experience cognitive-dissonance; Adams observes that “the long silence is a tell” for this mental friction.
Persistence and the “Softening Up” Effect
Adams posits that truth is often secondary to the utility of the story. Even when a story is exposed as a “fake Baghdadi” or a North Korean rumor with no “picture and 100/100 credible witnesses,” the damage remains. “Once it gets out there, you just can’t take it back.”
This creates a state where the public is constantly “softened up” by fake news, making them more susceptible to the next narrative shift. The goal of the “illusionist” (the media) is to keep the audience ignorant of what the “other team” is actually saying, ensuring that the two movies never merge back into a single reality.
Key Indicators
- Coordinated Language: Identical framing across competing outlets.
- The Long Silence: The delay in processing when a narrative-breaking fact is introduced.
- Emotional Priming: Stories designed to trigger fear or moral outrage rather than convey data.
- Omission of Disclaimers: Removing the “but” or “except for” from a quote to reverse its meaning.