propaganda technique

Gaslighting

Also called: Reality denial

Gaslighting makes people doubt their own memory, perception or judgement by persistently denying facts they have witnessed.

How it works

Repeated, confident denial of what people saw or heard wears down their trust in themselves. Once people doubt their own perception, they become more dependent on the source doing the denying.

Examples

"That never happened. You must be remembering it wrong." (when there is a recording)

Confident denial is used against documented evidence.

"Nobody ever promised that," about a widely reported public promise.

The aim is to make the audience doubt what they clearly remember.

How to spot it

Flat denial of documented events.
The listener's memory or sanity is questioned.
History is rewritten without acknowledging the change.

How to respond

Check the record: recordings, archives and contemporary reports.
Keep notes of what was said and when.
State calmly what the record shows.