Political language…is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
– George Orwell
What Orwell is describing is basically doublespeak. It’s when language is used to deceive people or hide the truth.
It’s commonly used by corporations and politicians to conceal unethical actions or manipulate how we perceive serious issues.
So here I’ll share 3 powerful strategies of doublespeak and how to protect yourself from it.
#1 Euphemisms
A euphemism is a polite or mild word used to soften the reality of something unpleasant.
It creates some psychological distance, making harsh truths easier to accept.
Sometimes, this can be helpful. For example, saying They passed away instead of They died.
But it’s often used to deceive people.
By replacing an uncomfortable truth with a softer word, they can manipulate how we think about a certain event. This way we are less likely to object or react strongly.
Here are some examples:
- Using the phrase Collateral damage instead of saying that civilians died in a military operation.
- Saying downsizing, rightsizing, and letting go instead of acknowledging they fired a lot of people.
- Calling it enhanced interrogation techniques rather than admitting that they tortured someone.
- Talking about restructuring debt instead of saying the company can’t pay its bills.
- Referring to a negative patient care outcome when a patient dies, to shield the hospital from accountability.
- Offering an adult beverage to make alcohol consumption sound more socially acceptable.
You’ll also encounter euphemisms from apology corporate statements.
Here are some famous examples:
In 2017, a passenger on the plane from United Express was beaten and removed from the plane.
Then the CEO, Oscar Munoz released a statement referring to the incident as “re-accommodating the customers”.
In 2018, Facebook allowed Cambridge Analytica to gather data from over 85 million users without their permission.
Instead of taking full responsibility for Facebook’s failure, Mark Zuckerberg said, “We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t, then we don’t deserve to serve you.”
In 2010, the British Petroleum oil rig exploded, causing one of the worst environmental disasters in history.
11 Workers died and millions of liters of oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico.
Then its CEO, Tony Hayward said: “We’re sorry for the massive disruption it’s caused to their lives. There’s no one who wants this over more than I do. I want my life back.”
#2 Gobbledygook
This tactic is the art of saying a lot while saying nothing.
They will drown you in long-winded statements that leave you more confused than you were before.
The goal is simple.
You get overwhelmed and cannot properly object to their ideas. Or it makes you feel like you don’t have enough preparation to go against someone who seems an expert.
Here’s where you’re more likely to encounter Gobbledygook:
Legal Documents
They want to discourage you from reading and understanding your rights or to conceal how you are being fucked.
By including the details in the document, they can later say, “Well, you signed it, didn’t you?”
Example:
“The renter agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the rental company from any claims, damages, losses, or liabilities arising out of the use, operation, or possession of the rental vehicle, including those caused by third parties or acts of negligence.”
Translation:
If you rent a car and something happens, you are responsible for all the expenses. This may include legal fees for the incidents or damages to the car during the rental period – even if it wasn’t your fault.
Of course, making you pay for damages that you weren’t responsible for can be tricky for the rental company, but still, it can be a stressful experience.
So make sure that you always clarify what you’re responsible for before signing an agreement.
Healthcare bills
Patients sometimes end up paying more than they owe on medical bills because they don’t realize they can dispute charges or negotiate payment terms.
Example:
The provider balance exceeds the deductible and is subject to secondary insurer processing before residual patient responsibility.
Translation:
We worked with your insurance company to calculate your part of the bill after applying discounts. However, this amount isn’t enough and you owe the remaining balance.
Now, the bill might not give you the full details of how these calculations were made.
The insurer may not have paid their full share or the hospital may have billed for a service you didn’t receive.
There are other scenarios where you could pay more than you owe so never take the bills at face value.
You have the right to ask for a detailed bill and you can go through each expense and see if they check out.
Or maybe your bill is accurate but you can’t afford it.
In this case, you could ask the hospital for payment plans or discounts. Many hospitals offer financial assistance for certain patients.
#3 Framing reality with precision
It’s when they carefully choose the words to influence how people perceive an issue.
They tap into our current beliefs, values, or fears to make an idea seem more acceptable.
Here are some examples:
Death tax vs. Estate tax
When the US government decided to tax the inheritances of wealthy families, they opposed it by calling it the death tax.
Estate tax seems something routine, bureaucratic… nothing to be concerned about.
However, Death Tax is an emotionally charged word. It suggests that the government is profiting out of a personal tragedy.
So it immediately drew people’s attention.
And it created the impression that many families, including the middle class, would be taxed on their inheritance.
So they also started to oppose it.
Then the politicians leveraged this outrage and continued to increase the threshold more and more.
The interesting thing was that most people who complained weren’t actually affected by the “death tax” but they simply helped wealthy families pay less tax.
Energy exploration vs. Oil drilling – The term Energy Exploration sounds like an adventure and eco-friendly, whereas Oil Drilling sounds invasive and destructive.
Clean Coal – A term promoted by energy companies to downplay the environmental impact of coal usage. It simply means they’re using technology designed to reduce harmful emissions but the impact is still high.
Healthy Choice Menu – Fast Food chains frame certain items as nutritious, even though they’re still loaded with calories, sodium, and unhealthy fats.
This label often refers to minor improvements like reducing sugar or portion sizes.
Pre-owned vs. Used – Car dealerships often use the term pre-owned because it sounds like the car is of higher quality than used, even though they’re the same.
