Twisting what is real
Lies, denial and confusion that leave you unsure of your own memory or judgment. 43 tactics on this line, in the order the guide walks them.
Open this line in the guideEvery tactic on this line, with look-alikes on other lines.T 01GaslightingRepeatedly denying what someone saw, heard or remembers until they stop trusting their own account of events.T 02Moving GoalpostsChanging what counts as success after you have met the standard that was set, so that you can never quite finish.T 03Double BindsGiving someone demands that contradict each other, so that whatever they choose, they are told they chose wrong.T 04Contradiction StackingSaying something never happened and then, in the same talk, defending it as justified, so no single answer settles the matter.T 05Repetition as TruthSaying the same claim over and over, with no new evidence, until its familiarity begins to feel like proof.T 06Selective MemoryClaiming not to remember what was said or agreed, but only when remembering would cost the person something.T 07Revisionist HistoryChanging the agreed account of past events so it matches the story someone prefers now, even though others clearly remember it differently.T 08Strategic AmbiguityWording a promise, an exclusion or an intention so loosely that several readings stay open, and the useful one is chosen later.T 09Platform MigrationSteering a conversation from messages or email onto calls, disappearing-message apps or in-person talk when the topic might later be…T 10CounteringFlatly contradicting someone’s account of an event over and over, so the two of you can never agree on what happened.T 11NormalizationPresenting harmful or hurtful treatment as ordinary and not worth questioning, so that objecting to it seems like the problem.T 12Thought-Stopping ClichésStock phrases, said in a closing tone, that end a conversation about a problem before anyone has looked at it.T 13Word SaladAnswering with long, looping language that never reaches a point, so the listener cannot pin anything down.T 14Circular ArgumentsDefending a claim by pointing back to the claim itself, so no outside fact is ever allowed to test it.T 15Firehose of FalsehoodFlooding people with fast, shifting and often contradictory claims, so checking and answering each one becomes impossible.T 16Gish GallopOverwhelming a rival in live debate with a rapid stream of claims, many weak or false, too many to answer one by one.T 17Frame ControlDeciding what a conversation is about, through loaded labels or topic swaps, so that your actual concern has no place to land.T 18Burden of Proof ShiftingBurden of proof shifting makes the person raising a concern prove they were harmed, are innocent, or deserve ordinary decent treatment.T 19SealioningPressing someone again and again, in a polite tone, to produce evidence or explanation. It wears them out and does not move toward…T 20Dog Whistling / Coded SignalingWords that sound ordinary to most listeners but carry a second, often threatening or exclusionary message for people who know the code.T 21Half-Truth FramingChoosing and arranging statements that are each true so that the listener ends up with a false overall picture.T 22Lying by OmissionLeaving out information the other person needs for an accurate picture, while everything that is said stays technically true.T 23Fabricated EvidencePassing off invented or altered messages, images or documents as genuine proof of something that did not happen or was not said.T 24Vague AllegationsHinting that unnamed people have complaints about someone, without saying what the complaints are. The claim cannot be checked, answered…T 25CompartmentalizationKeeping information in separate pockets so different people know different parts, and nobody can see enough to notice a problem or ask the…T 26Strategic IncompletenessSomeone gives you enough information for the next step but never enough to see the whole picture, so you keep coming back for more.T 27LyingSaying something the speaker knows to be untrue so that another person will believe it and act on it.T 28ExaggerationStretching a claim with words like always, never, everyone or nothing, so it sounds bigger and harder to answer than the facts support.T 29Loaded LanguageChoosing words that carry a verdict, label or insult so that a judgment is made before the facts are discussed.T 30Semantic Erosion / Meaning DilutionUsing a serious word for so many small things that it loses its weight when someone needs it for something real.T 31Meta-GaslightingAnswering a person’s naming of a harmful pattern by denying it and suggesting that naming it is itself the harm.T 32Authority HijackAuthority Hijack insists it knows what another person really feels, thinks or meant better than they do, and treats their account as the…T 33False AuthorityPresenting a personal opinion or bias as neutral fact. Disagreeing then looks like arguing against reality.T 34Credential-CostumingWearing a title or affiliation that is invented, stretched or borrowed, so a claim carries more authority than the person’s real…T 35Identity PerformancesPresenting a made-up persona, with claimed experiences and traits, to gain trust or access that the person’s real life would not earn.T 36Pseudo-Profundity / Intellectual IntimidationPseudo-profundity uses grand, technical or abstract language that sounds deep but explains little, so questioning it seems like admitting…T 37Limited HangoutA limited hangout shares part of the truth or admits a smaller wrong, so it seems fully disclosed while the larger part stays hidden.T 38Edited RecordingsPassing off a trimmed or out-of-context recording as the whole thing, so it appears to prove more than the full version supports.T 39Evidence TrapsSaving a person’s messages, posts or remarks without their context, then bringing them out later at the moment they will do the most damage.T 40Gotcha FramingTaking an honest, tentative remark and presenting it as a confession, so that being open with someone has a price.T 41Semantic TrapsSteering a conversation to the exact wording someone used, so the original concern gets lost in a fight about definitions.T 42Aftercare ControlRecasting a hurtful act as a kindness after it happened. The person who was hurt begins to doubt their own memory of the harm.T 43Bait and SwitchPromising or advertising an appealing deal, then swapping in a worse one after the person has committed or given something up.