Why Newspeak?
It matters how we use words to describe ideas, and the unwritten rules are changing fast. Newspeak is an attempt to keep up with the changing language of power and influence.
Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. — George Orwell
As we move into 2022 and the second year of the Biden Administration, the English language of power and influence is under assault. The battle for ideas is heating up as society becomes more divided.
This is a fight to control our mode of thinking and the freedom to express ideas with the words we choose—not necessarily those allowed by unaccountable and faceless authorities. Newspeak is taking shape all the time at keyboards and in digital formats as people come together in countless social and media channels. The stakes couldn’t be higher. The endgame is unchecked power.
Read on for examples of real newspeak in action.