Delegitimization: To remove the authority, the very veracity of a thing, an idea, a process or a person.
We saw it become more and more used as a word in the 1990’s, raising to a regularly seen word in the modern era.
The idea of a politician lying to the people is as axiomatic and expected as to be enfolded within the very image of the word “politician”. The sad part is not the lie, it is the full purchase of the lie by those who prefer the lie to the reality that they might be wrong.
Nonetheless, the very invention of the modern internet created an unexpected leveling of information sources where the respected scientists and journalists somehow were delegitimized to become equal footing with the internet troll and conspiracy theorist.
My grandfather used the term “talking out both sides of your mouth”. Certain “news” pundits used the politicization of reality to unashamedly become very rich. They sold themselves and whatever morals they once held for this idea that the public doesn’t have the right nor the need for the actual truth.
From a very good 2018 article in the BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-42724320 In the future, the term “fake news” might come to be seen as a relic of febrile 2017 (if we’re lucky). But the fight against misinformation won’t go away. Companies and governments are now starting to take concrete action… Google and Facebook have both said that they are going to be hiring a lot of people to review content and enforce their terms of service…” we have instead seen Zuckerberg first accused by the republicans of violation of the 1st Amendment only to then bend the knee to Trump, and the purchase of Twitter by Elon Musk to remove such standards and accuracy oversights. We witnessed live the overthrow of journalistic integrity by the very people journalists are meant to hold accountable.
Musk went on to purchase both president trump outright and the “mandate” to purge the government similar to his destruction of Twitter all the while publicly declaring fascism alive and well.
In the midst of this, we have seen the republicans refuse to allow evidence that trump attempted to bribe a desperate foreign head of state to implicate Joe Biden in a conspiracy of fraud, only to then fire and oust the people who did their job in reporting that problem to the government.
The very same republicans who were once cowering under their chairs as the Jan.6th insurrectionists smashed their way in an attempt to keep trump in power and hang Mike Pence, again – if a bit late – for doing his job. They later called it a “tour”, then cheered when the very person responsible for their crimes came back into power and pardoned each and every one of them.
And refused to do their jobs when it was found that trump had stolen boxes upon boxes of national secrets.
Trump violated the law and was – shockingly – expected to account for his actions, garnering sexual abuse convictions, fraud convictions, rico election fraud accusations… and they were ignored. The government employees charged with the thankless task of holding a president to the very laws of the country he once headed were fired, ostracized, threatened. The supreme court was packed with the questionable… yeah, we’ll leave it at that. The Justice Department was put into the hands of his former personal attorney, the one who was refusing to allow him to be held accountable for his crimes, foregoing the very notion that the Justice Department is the “People’s Attorney”.
I’m absolutely out of breath! I’m no where near a complete description and I’m out of breath. I can only wonder if there will ever be a history book describing this, or if we are witnessing the final acts in the decimation of the education of our youth and the idea of facts, reality, justice. What will be left that made America what it is? The Constitution? Already disrespected. The People? They are cowed into hysterical sycophantic abasement on the one hand and bewildered incredulity on the other. I just don’t know what is left and I seriously question what will we become now.
Scottie's Playtime 
Our country will become what we the people allow it to become. Maybe we can’t stop whatever it is, but we can certainly slow it down. If we want to.
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Hi Ali. You are correct we can’t stop change no more than the right can stop the progress of society accepting new ideas just be removing them from websites. But what we can do dear friend is change it. I know I am preaching to the choir here, but we are living our lives every day challenging the bigotry and hates the other side pushes. We can change the direction this country goes in, but we have to want to and we have to be willing to do the work. I have to admit I am not as strong as I used to be, my abilities have diminished, but I will try to make it better every day I am in the public sphere, among the “Unwashed Masses” I will try to make a difference in their minds. Hugs
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Hi. Randy this part of your post caught my full attention. They sold themselves and whatever morals they once held for this idea that the public doesn’t have the right nor the need for the actual truth. May I suggest they sold it for money, cold hard cash they could then pretend to be part of the upper ruling class. Because that is what I think is happening. Hosts on main stream media make millions a year. Even non-broadcast media like the daily wire were willing to pay loser Steven Crowder 20 million for 4 years. 5 million a year that he felt was too little to spew right wing hate. This is the money the right wing hate media has to throw around yet Fox entertainment complains about George Soros at every turn. Hugs
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