If you have ever read George Orwell’s 1984, or seen the movie, you’ll know that perverting the truth often benefits those in power.

Or, as Orwell himself said in his iconic novel, “And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth”.

Here’s the thing – unless you’re still on the Trump Train, and have thus abandoned common sense, it’s so easy to see this White House for what it is.

Take for example the showdown between Trump and Jim Acosta, which we covered in great length yesterday. What makes the claims of Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, so laughable is that there is video footage of the whole thing.

Enter phase two, where they literally distort reality to suit their agenda.

Here’s Sanders’ tweet from yesterday, where she says the White House stands by their decision to revoke Acosta’s White House hard pass credentials:

We stand by our decision to revoke this individual’s hard pass. We will not tolerate the inappropriate behavior clearly documented in this video. pic.twitter.com/T8X1Ng912y

— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) November 8, 2018

Cool, cool, cool, except that video has been doctored, and it’s incredibly easy to tell. Here’s CNN:

…the video she was referring to, which was included in her tweet, didn’t come directly from one of the many cameras that had been at the press conference. Instead, it appeared to have come from Paul Joseph Watson, an editor-at-large for InfoWars, a media organization known for peddling conspiracy theories and hateful content. Such behavior resulted in InfoWars being banned earlier this year by most major social media platforms.

Moreover, it did not accurately portray what happened — it appears to show Acosta’s arm moving in a downward motion towards the intern’s faster than it actually did.

It’s unclear exactly where Sanders first saw the video or where she got it from. When she was asked on Thursday about the video and the misleading way it portrayed the incident, Sanders said, according to a White House pool report, “The question is did the reporter make contact or not? The video is clear, he did. We stand by our statement.”

Look, as we mentioned yesterday, Acosta seemed to be intentionally goading Trump, knowing that he would get a reaction out of him. Then again, Trump didn’t answer a question truthfully during that press conference, or even let a journalist finish their question before he went on the attack.

When confronted with the truth, the White House just deny, deny, deny.

It’s obvious what the real, long-term implications of tactics like these are:

It’s widely expected that internet trolls, partisans and perhaps even rogue states will ultimately seize on sophisticated video manipulation to advance their causes. But the fact that the spokesperson for the President of the United States tweeted a misleading video and then stood by it underscored the danger and wide-reaching impact of the possible information wars.

In a Thursday afternoon statement, Whitney Shefte, president of the White House News Photographers Association, said, “As visual journalists, we know that manipulating images is manipulating truth. It’s deceptive, dangerous and unethical. Knowingly sharing manipulated images is equally problematic, particularly when the person sharing them is a representative of our country’s highest office with vast influence over public opinion.”

So why would Sanders want to share the fake video, instead of the real one? Well, the doctored video pauses at a vital moment, as Acosta’s arm nears the intern, and then speeds up the next few frames to make his impact with her arm look far more dramatic than it really was.

Here’s an in-depth look at how this was done:

How the video the White House tweeted to justify Jim Acosta’s suspension was doctored pic.twitter.com/tJeeKkwWPu

— The Independent (@Independent) November 8, 2018

And a far more concise look – his hand freezes above her arm, and the footage is then sped up to make his downward acceleration look worse than it is:

How the video the White House tweeted to justify Jim Acosta’s suspension was doctored pic.twitter.com/tJeeKkwWPu

— The Independent (@Independent) November 8, 2018

If you’re still not convinced, here’s the most widely shared debunking of the fake video:

1) Took @PressSec Sarah Sanders’ video of briefing
2) Tinted red and made transparent over CSPAN video
3) Red motion is when they doctored video speed
4) Sped up to make Jim Acosta’s motion look like a chop
5) I’ve edited video for 15+ years
6) The White House doctored it pic.twitter.com/q6arkYSx0V

— Rafael Shimunov (@rafaelshimunov) November 8, 2018

The only incorrect information above is that the White House didn’t doctor it themselves, but that doesn’t make it any better.

There are quite literally thousands of videos online showing that exact angle and that exact exchange, but Sanders and the White House chose to take one from InfoWars, a conspiracy-peddling site that has repeatedly accused Hillary Clinton of running a child sex ring out of a D.C.-area pizza restaurant, amongst other laughable things.

They chose that video and, quite honestly, Trump’s supporters will gobble it up.

If you’re Jim Acosta, and you’re watching this circus unfold, you’re probably thinking WT actual F. Perhaps it’s time he took them to task, as the Washington Post suggests:

The utility of filing a lawsuit (other than in annoying and embarrassing Trump and Sanders) would be a declaratory judgment ordering the White House to return Acosta’s credentials and barring the White House from taking such action in the future…

Sanders whines that the press is too critical or too mean or something. She can think whatever she pleases, but she is an employee of the American people and has taken an oath to uphold the Constitution like every other White House employee. She has no right to use her office to lie to the American people, let alone to violate the First Amendment.

She has disgraced herself and should be denied the normal presumption of good faith accorded to past White House press secretaries…after leaving office, she deserves none of the niceties normally accorded to others in her position…

No responsible news outlet should hire her; employers making hiring decisions have every reason to shun her.

Oh, so she’ll just get a job at Fox News, then?

Here’s the bottom line – whether you dislike Trump, or you love Trump, you shouldn’t be OK with the White House’s willing choice to peddle a doctored video in an effort to lie to the American people and distort the truth.

That’s North Korea-style stuff, man. Remember this Trumpism?

Well, if he had it his way, Trump would run America in the same way the love of his life runs North Korea.

[sources:cnn&washpost]