Mobilizing Falsehoods

Abstract Chapter 3 examines the mobilizing function of democratic public discourse. Public speakers often use their speech to motivate people to take action, collectively, for a political cause. But mobilizing a group can be extremely difficult in non-ideal conditions. Hence, mobilizers frequently resort to deploying mobilizing falsehoods, for example, by exaggerating the odds of success, or idealizing historical figures revered by their audience. Is this ever justifiable? One defence builds on Chapter 2: it observes that some of these falsehoods mobilize by educating their audience. But not all mobilizing falsehoods function in this way. I therefore develop two further lines of defence. The first highlights that many falsehoods mobilize without purporting to be true—and so, without deceiving their targets. The second shows that, even when they are deceptive, some mobilizing falsehoods nevertheless play a crucial systemic function, by helping to build the collective power needed for effective democratic contestation.