Walter Kirn is warning voters to treat polling, social media trends, political rumors, and news coverage before an election as attempts to influence public behavior rather than simply neutral sources of information.

Kirn, who previously worked in traditional journalism and has written for publications including Time Magazine, Harper’s, and The Atlantic, argued that nearly everything voters encounter in the period leading up to an election should be viewed through the lens of political persuasion.

"It's important for people to realize, and I mean, I say this as a former, you know, traditional journalist, Time Magazine, and on Harper's, The Atlantic. Everything that happens before the election is a psychological operation."

Kirn said that assessment applies far beyond conventional political advertising. He included polling, rumors, conversations, viral stories, and social media trends among the information that he believes can be used strategically to shape how voters think and behave.

Trump's Sovereign Wealth Fund: What Could It Mean For Your Money?

"Everything that happens, the polling, the rumors, the word of mouth, the social media posts, the trends, the little anecdotes that get repeated and go viral, everything is subordinate to that election, and none of it is true in and of itself. It's all instrumental."

According to Kirn, information circulated during an election season can be designed to accomplish several different political objectives.

"It's all meant to, you know, depress turnout, encourage turnout, scare the other side, create high expectations, so that if, as I say, there's a disappointment, you can blame some kind of nefarious plot."

Kirn placed particular emphasis on political polling, arguing that voters should not assume polls exist solely to provide an objective snapshot of public opinion.

FREE Gun Law Map: Laws Don't Pause During Social Unrest

"But everything, including the polls. I mean, not only don't I trust the polls, I do trust the polls. I trust them to be nudging people in all the ways that polls can for all the people who can pay for polls."

His argument is not simply that individual polls may be inaccurate. Kirn contends that the publication and promotion of polling results can themselves affect political behavior.

A poll showing one candidate comfortably ahead could influence expectations or turnout, while a tighter result could create urgency among supporters. Kirn's broader point is that the political value of information can come from what it causes people to do rather than whether it provides a perfectly neutral account of reality.

He said that dynamic makes straightforward information increasingly difficult to find during the final stages of an election.

"And there's just no way anybody wants to give you the truth at this point; the truth is neutral. The truth puts people on, you know, equal ground."

Kirn argued that political actors and media organizations have incentives to present information in ways that produce reactions.

"But tweaking it, telling people things are worse, looking better, whatever prospects are higher, that gets people to do stuff."

That emphasis on influencing behavior, he said, has increasingly become a defining feature of modern news coverage.

"And the news now is all about behavior modification. It's not about truth. I mean truth."

Walter Kirn: Everything that happens before the election is a PSYOP.

KIRN: “Everything that happens, the polling, the rumors, the word of mouth, the social media posts, the trends, the little anecdotes that get repeated and go viral. Everything is subordinate to that election. And none of it is true in and of itself. It's all instrumental.” “Not only don't I trust the polls, I do trust the polls. I trust them to be nudging people in all the ways that polls can for all the people who can pay for polls.” “The news now is all about behavior modification. It's not about truth.” For the next week, every poll or viral story you see, don't ask if it's true. Ask what it's trying to get you to do. — jay plemons (@jayplemons) October 25, 2026

 

The opinions expressed by contributors and/or content partners are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Objectivist. Contact us for guidelines on submitting your own commentary.