Authoritarian speech optimization guide 1.2
Intention:
This guide offers a neutral glimpse into the common techniques people use under the authoritarian environment of Donovia, without glorifying or demonizing these systems, from a real Donovian citizen.
You won't find 1984 dystopia or Dark Enlightenment/Space-era Soviet utopia here.
Yes, I genuinely love Donovia and my people; I am a proud Donovian (and I am not saying that because I have to; this would likely not be published here), but it is also vital to know one's way around the cumbersome speech restriction.
Introduction:
Today I will teach you how to optimize your speech in an authoritarian environment that is shifting towards totalitarianism.
Yes, comrade. If you find yourself under a full-blown totalitarian country, these may not work or be enough.
If you can't see why I'm using a fictional country, you have just failed the first step: off to the gulag you go, comrade.
Generally, authoritarian countries tend to be split between two states. One is for non-political everyday rules, and another one is for political purposes. The former will be clear and well defined, the latter vague and more vibes-based.
Under an authoritarian country, certain traits emerge and you must memorize them and the bad examples:
- Social stability
- Focused criticism
- State image
- Do not challenge the power
- Watch the wind
- Allowed pressure valve
- The news tells you what's wrong
- Read between the lines
- Vague posting
- Algospeak
- Run from the fire
- Off limits
- Totalitarian shift
- No long term us/them
Social stability:
An authoritarian country's best friend is social stability, which is where it gets its legitimacy from. You must not disrupt it.
Bad example - Organizing a protest and spamming
Bad example 2 - Ultra nationalists killed a foreigner, you take to the app and celebrate it
Focused criticism:
Low level criticism is generally allowed, such as these complaining about a broken road or sign; no more than that. Complain about the symptom, not the system.
Bad example - "The government doesn't care about the people! Look at the roads!"
State image:
Authoritarian systems absolutely hate it when you make the image, ideology, and higher echelon look bad. To ensure more protection, frame your writings with praise — "the country has done a lot for us, with the rapid development, and it will be much appreciated for the review of the train No. 21 of station A in Moskow, frequently delays. Glory to the nation and our leadership.".
Bad example - The state is promoting African cooperation, and you take to the social media and confront those users directly in English.
Do not challenge the power:
Remember the power dynamics — it is universal across all countries, but remember that the party or government tend to protect each other.
Bad example - "The president should be replaced!"
Watch the wind:
Laws are a vibe, not strict guidelines. They are deliberately written vaguely to allow for selective enforcement.
Bad example - The government invited NBA stars you hate, to Donovia, and you critique the figures without waiting 1-2 weeks after they leave and the whole thing quiets down.
Allowed pressure valve:
Ironically, for the strict speech policing, authoritarian countries tend to let users blow off stream, redirecting frustration from the government to an allowed target, such as the West, as long as it doesn't lead to attacks.
If you want
Bad example - You wanted to be racist but you criticized a protected ethnicity designated by the country.
The news tells you what's wrong:
The news tend to amplify political persecution cases, while downplaying daily criminal cases due to social stability and state image). If you see NGO members consistently dying suspiciously (dark) or a cabinet keeps being purged for "corruption, reorganization" etc; generally the purged people tend to have something in common.
Bad example - Union leaders keep falling off from buildings, and you went to post about unions online
Read between the lines:
Authoritarian countries tend to craft their rhetoric with lots of say-nothing words, such as national glory, spiritual renewal, and lots of euphemism . These words tend to be filler words or used to set the mood (good or bad).
Rhetoric and reality can differ quite a lot, but not always.
Bad example - Donovia had a oil spill (no fuel) and told you it's spiritual renewal talking about the advantages of walking and disadvantages of driving and cars, and you insisted on driving.
Vague posting:
It is necessary that you have to critique a proposed idea from the top column, you should do it in a vague way. Do not say "invading international students", instead ask about the culture of the University, sarcastically meme about its future.
Bad example - Direct complaining.
Algospeak:
The Algospeak will be commonplace when discussing sensitive or controversial topic. In these places, the Algospeak is much more sophisticated than the Western Algospeak, with deep cultural references and abbreviations. For example, if the city of Moscow is a currently sensitive topic due to riots, you must say "MC" or use other indirect ways to refer to it, such as "Train Hub" (due to its vast train network).
"Train Hub [Moscow] is busy [Riots]. Lots of pl [Police] there; Train Hub is like in the Genghis days now [Brutal crackdowns]."
Bad example - Calling Moscow directly when there is a riot.
Run from the fire:
Sometimes a trend heats up and goes viral. If it can harm the country, like a mass hashtag movement with political messaging, don't join in.
Bad example - Joining in to spam the hashtag.
Off limits:
An authoritarian state does not like when you explore obviously off limit things.
Bad example - The country has committed genocides before and has banned titles, and you persist.
Totalitarian shift:
With the massive power, authoritarianism can move towards totalitarianism over time. An example being that your country now demand you report polticial criminals around you, and passivity may actually act against you. Over time, laws may demand overseas enforcement and the standads of being a good citizen may creep into private life.
Bad example - Failing to leave the conversation in time and failing to begrudgingly report the person if the person has a high chance of getting caught (whether you get persecuted or not depends on deniability).
No long term them/us
Heavily tied to the totalitarian shift topic, there is no them/us. There are only testers and users for the new law powers, and no one is truly safe from crossing into political boundaries. A nuance is that while the technologies and law powers will eventually trickle down to everyone, if you are considered "good", you are given way more leeway and appeasement compared to the unfortunate 'them'.
Bad example - Thinking you are safe when government bans encrypted apps in Chechnya.
Bad example 2 - Thinking extraterritorial powers won't trickle up to national level when the government created a anti-Cossacks law that allow Kremlin to prosecute dissidence aboard.
Intention:
This guide offers a neutral glimpse into the common techniques people use under the authoritarian environment of Donovia, without glorifying or demonizing these systems, from a real Donovian citizen.
You won't find 1984 dystopia or Dark Enlightenment/Space-era Soviet utopia here.
Yes, I genuinely love Donovia and my people; I am a proud Donovian (and I am not saying that because I have to; this would likely not be published here), but it is also vital to know one's way around the cumbersome speech restriction.
Introduction:
Today I will teach you how to optimize your speech in an authoritarian environment that is shifting towards totalitarianism.
Yes, comrade. If you find yourself under a full-blown totalitarian country, these may not work or be enough.
If you can't see why I'm using a fictional country, you have just failed the first step: off to the gulag you go, comrade.
Generally, authoritarian countries tend to be split between two states. One is for non-political everyday rules, and another one is for political purposes. The former will be clear and well defined, the latter vague and more vibes-based.
Under an authoritarian country, certain traits emerge and you must memorize them and the bad examples:
- Social stability
- Focused criticism
- State image
- Do not challenge the power
- Watch the wind
- Allowed pressure valve
- The news tells you what's wrong
- Read between the lines
- Vague posting
- Algospeak
- Run from the fire
- Off limits
- Totalitarian shift
- No long term us/them
Social stability:
An authoritarian country's best friend is social stability, which is where it gets its legitimacy from. You must not disrupt it.
Bad example - Organizing a protest and spamming
Bad example 2 - Ultra nationalists killed a foreigner, you take to the app and celebrate it
Focused criticism:
Low level criticism is generally allowed, such as these complaining about a broken road or sign; no more than that. Complain about the symptom, not the system.
Bad example - "The government doesn't care about the people! Look at the roads!"
State image:
Authoritarian systems absolutely hate it when you make the image, ideology, and higher echelon look bad. To ensure more protection, frame your writings with praise — "the country has done a lot for us, with the rapid development, and it will be much appreciated for the review of the train No. 21 of station A in Moskow, frequently delays. Glory to the nation and our leadership.".
Bad example - The state is promoting African cooperation, and you take to the social media and confront those users directly in English.
Do not challenge the power:
Remember the power dynamics — it is universal across all countries, but remember that the party or government tend to protect each other.
Bad example - "The president should be replaced!"
Watch the wind:
Laws are a vibe, not strict guidelines. They are deliberately written vaguely to allow for selective enforcement.
Bad example - The government invited NBA stars you hate, to Donovia, and you critique the figures without waiting 1-2 weeks after they leave and the whole thing quiets down.
Allowed pressure valve:
Ironically, for the strict speech policing, authoritarian countries tend to let users blow off stream, redirecting frustration from the government to an allowed target, such as the West, as long as it doesn't lead to attacks.
If you want
Bad example - You wanted to be racist but you criticized a protected ethnicity designated by the country.
The news tells you what's wrong:
The news tend to amplify political persecution cases, while downplaying daily criminal cases due to social stability and state image). If you see NGO members consistently dying suspiciously (dark) or a cabinet keeps being purged for "corruption, reorganization" etc; generally the purged people tend to have something in common.
Bad example - Union leaders keep falling off from buildings, and you went to post about unions online
Read between the lines:
Authoritarian countries tend to craft their rhetoric with lots of say-nothing words, such as national glory, spiritual renewal, and lots of euphemism . These words tend to be filler words or used to set the mood (good or bad).
Rhetoric and reality can differ quite a lot, but not always.
Bad example - Donovia had a oil spill (no fuel) and told you it's spiritual renewal talking about the advantages of walking and disadvantages of driving and cars, and you insisted on driving.
Vague posting:
It is necessary that you have to critique a proposed idea from the top column, you should do it in a vague way. Do not say "invading international students", instead ask about the culture of the University, sarcastically meme about its future.
Bad example - Direct complaining.
Algospeak:
The Algospeak will be commonplace when discussing sensitive or controversial topic. In these places, the Algospeak is much more sophisticated than the Western Algospeak, with deep cultural references and abbreviations. For example, if the city of Moscow is a currently sensitive topic due to riots, you must say "MC" or use other indirect ways to refer to it, such as "Train Hub" (due to its vast train network).
"Train Hub [Moscow] is busy [Riots]. Lots of pl [Police] there; Train Hub is like in the Genghis days now [Brutal crackdowns]."
Bad example - Calling Moscow directly when there is a riot.
Run from the fire:
Sometimes a trend heats up and goes viral. If it can harm the country, like a mass hashtag movement with political messaging, don't join in.
Bad example - Joining in to spam the hashtag.
Off limits:
An authoritarian state does not like when you explore obviously off limit things.
Bad example - The country has committed genocides before and has banned titles, and you persist.
Totalitarian shift:
With the massive power, authoritarianism can move towards totalitarianism over time. An example being that your country now demand you report polticial criminals around you, and passivity may actually act against you. Over time, laws may demand overseas enforcement and the standads of being a good citizen may creep into private life.
Bad example - Failing to leave the conversation in time and failing to begrudgingly report the person if the person has a high chance of getting caught (whether you get persecuted or not depends on deniability).
No long term them/us
Heavily tied to the totalitarian shift topic, there is no them/us. There are only testers and users for the new law powers, and no one is truly safe from crossing into political boundaries. A nuance is that while the technologies and law powers will eventually trickle down to everyone, if you are considered "good", you are given way more leeway and appeasement compared to the unfortunate 'them'.
Bad example - Thinking you are safe when government bans encrypted apps in Chechnya.
Bad example 2 - Thinking extraterritorial powers won't trickle up to national level when the government created a anti-Cossacks law that allow Kremlin to prosecute dissidence aboard.
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