The Meaning Wars

How does power reshape reality? This piece explores how modern authoritarians—from Putin to Trump—weaponise language to blur truth, shut down debate, and make the unacceptable seem necessary. Drawing on Orwell, Wittgenstein, and Saussure, it shows how words like freedom, security, and truth are emptied of meaning and repurposed for control.

If you want to understand how democracy erodes without a shot being fired, start by listening to the words—and questioning who’s shaping them.