17 Unmistakable Signs That You’re Being Manipulated

The Dangerous Cost of Blind Loyalty and Misinformation in Today’s Political Landscape

**If reading this list makes you feel defensive or angry, it might be worth asking yourself: Why? Could it be that you’ve been conditioned to reject anything that challenges your beliefs? This is precisely how manipulation works—making you feel attacked, even when the truth is right in front of you.

1. When top FBI officials raise serious concerns about your political leader’s close ties to hostile foreign actors like Vladimir Putin, yet you ignore it and continue to rally behind him, waving your flag of loyalty as if national security is of no concern.

2. When you continue to fear his dire claims that the economy will collapse if he doesn’t win—the same fear-mongering tactic he used at every rally in 2020, only for the economy to significantly improve, contrary to all the horror stories he spread.

3. When countless close allies and former advisors publicly turn against your political leader, exposing the truth of his reckless leadership, yet you continue to believe that everyone else is lying—except him.

4. When your political leader convinces you that “they are coming to take away your guns,” even though it has never happened—and despite using this same fear tactic for over 12 years—you fail to recognize how he is simply manufacturing fear for his own political gain.

5. When your political leader has blocked multiple bipartisan border security bills, allowing him to continue peddling fear at rallies about dangerous illegal immigrants flooding over the border. This is one of his most effective fear tactics, so it’s in his best interest to neglect real solutions in order to keep benefiting from the problem—something even members of his own party have criticized him for. Yet, he’s convinced that he’s the only one who can fix the border while actively blocking the very bills that could address the issue.

6. When your political leader’s former vice president—a respected figure in conservative circles—declares that he’s dangerous to the country, but you dismiss it as noise, choosing blind loyalty over clear, firsthand warnings.

7. When credible fact-checkers expose your political leader for telling tens of thousands of lies, yet you still rally behind him as if he genuinely cares about your well-being.

8. When your political leader promises to protect “the forgotten Americans” but diverts billions to enrich his friends and family, and you still believe he’s fighting for you despite overwhelming evidence of his self-interest.

9. When your political leader’s actions have left the country more divided than ever, yet you continue to believe he’s the only one who can “unite” us—turning a blind eye to the chaos, fear, and hate he relentlessly stokes for his own political gain, deepening the very divides he claims to heal.

10. When your political leader claims to embody Christian values but refuses to condemn genocidal dictators who murder innocent civilians—instead, he openly praises and admires them, disregarding the basic tenets of compassion and justice.

11. When your political leader constantly peddles fear about crime being “out of control,” despite statistics showing otherwise, and you blindly accept this misinformation from someone who has been found guilty by a jury on 34 felony charges.

12. When it’s 2024, and you still champion a political leader who openly embraces racism, turning a blind eye to his blatant disregard for decency and equality despite the fact that this country’s tremendous success has been built on the strength of immigrants from all walks of life.

13. When your political leader attempts to overthrow the government yet convinces you it was all just a “big misunderstanding,” downplaying his direct and unprecedented assault on democracy.

14. When your political leader publicly states, “You won’t have to vote again” if you vote for him this time—right after attempting to overthrow an election—and you dismiss it as just another one of his “jokes,” ignoring the blatant threat to your family’s freedoms.

15. When your political leader openly “jokes” about fleeing the country to seek political asylum if things don’t go his way, yet you still regard him as a patriot—disregarding the contradiction of leaving behind the nation he professes to stand for.

16. When your political leader shouts at rallies, stoking fear that “Putin will start World War III” if he’s not elected, but you fail to recognize that Putin is the same person who was recently caught indirectly funneling millions into Trump’s campaign through massive propaganda operations orchestrated by his media outlet, RT. Yet, you take the bait, seeing Trump as your savior, without realizing that Putin’s fear-mongering about World War III directly benefits Trump, giving him another powerful tool to manipulate his followers into voting for him. As the election approaches, one thing is certain: expect to see Putin ramp up the WWIII propaganda to help Trump frighten voters. Once you start thinking of Putin and Trump as a coordinated force, everything begins to make a lot more sense… but you don’t have to take my word for it—FBI officials and even respected Republicans have been warning about this danger for years.

17. When your political leader constantly tells you that everything is rigged and fake, behaving more like a cult leader than a politician, and you fail to see how this tactic isolates you from reality and solidifies his control over your beliefs.

I understand many people have been conditioned to believe that everything is a conspiracy against Donald Trump, but if you want to hear this directly from Kremlin TV, I highly encourage you to watch the 60-second video below. In the video, these state-run media figures lay everything out crystal clear.

Politics isn’t about winning or losing—it’s about the future of our shared nation. While we may have two political parties, we share one economy, one infrastructure, one set of laws, and one military that protects us all. We rely on the same public services—healthcare, education, and emergency response—and the same natural resources like clean air, water, and farmland. Regardless of political affiliation, we succeed or fail together. This isn’t just a national security issue; it’s a mental health issue. When we allow ourselves to be deceived by someone whose ties to Vladimir Putin have raised concerns among top FBI officials, we’re not just risking our democracy—we’re risking our collective well-being. Blind loyalty erodes critical thinking, fuels division, and leads to anxiety and anger. It’s time to step back and ask: Are we truly fighting for what’s best for our nation, or are we blindly supporting our political party as if it’s a sporting event? We succeed or fail together—and the stakes have never been higher.

Global dictators openly boast about their desires to destroy the United States, and those very leaders are the ones Trump praises and meets with behind closed doors. If these aren’t red flags, it’s time to ask yourself whether you’ve been blinded by manipulation.

Thank you for reading this post. I have been studying Russian subversion for years, and if you’d like a deeper dive into the topic, I encourage you to explore the other articles I’ve written, which are listed below. Remember, knowledge is the best defense against political manipulation—by staying informed, we can better protect ourselves and our democracy.