Analysis: The money losing Washington Post, which is likewise losing r...

3y ago Oct 14, 2022 at 3:49 AM

The money losing Washington Post, which is likewise losing readers and subscribers at a level far beyond what was thought possible just a short time ago, would probably be a very difficult thing to sell, even to a very rich person. Is it for sale, and how badly is it doing, I just don’t know? What I do know is that it reports very inaccurately about me, and purposely so. No fact checking, no anything. P.S. I ALWAYS felt, right from the beginning, that the Election was RIGGED!!!

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AI Analysis

Machine-generated analysis of the post above on 2026-03-19. Not written by the author of the post.

Danger Level

Elevated

Narcissistic State

Mixed

Authorship

Self-Written

Intensity

55%

This late-night post demonstrates classic displacement defense: the day after the Jan 6 Committee voted to subpoena him, Trump attacks the Washington Post's finances rather than addressing the subpoena directly. The post follows a recognizable anxiety-driven associative chain—media criticism → personal persecution → election grievance—with the P.S. about the "RIGGED" election functioning as the true psychological center of gravity. The financial devaluation of WaPo ("money losing," "difficult to sell") serves dual purposes: undermining institutional credibility and asserting dominance over a perceived threat. The projection of "no fact checking" onto a major newspaper with dedicated fact-checking operations constitutes gaslighting. Most significant is the perseverative Big Lie claim appended as a P.S.—nearly two years post-election, with no new evidence, presented with the retroactive certainty claim "I ALWAYS felt, right from the beginning." This post is rated elevated danger not for direct incitement but for sustained delegitimization of both electoral outcomes and press institutions, maintaining the epistemic closure required for followers to reject consensus reality.

Authorship Analysis

Self-Written

Indicators:

Late night posting (11:49 PM ET)
Stream-of-consciousness style
Rambling sentence structure
Emotional P.S. with ALL CAPS
Unusual punctuation choices

Psychological Profile

▶ State

Mixed State

Trigger: Narcissistic Injury — Exposure (January 6 Committee subpoena vote and ongoing institutional pressure)

Rage: Intensity 50% targeting Washington Post / media

Proportionality

30%

Sentiment

-0.60

Baseline Deviation: slight

▶ Clinical

Malignant Narcissism:

Narcissistic

60%

Antisocial

30%

Paranoid

50%

Sadism

30%

Defense Mechanisms:

displacementdenialprojectiondevaluation

Cognitive Complexity:

Complexity

35%

Cognitive Markers:

tangentialityperseveration

Parasocial Techniques:

False intimacy through rhetorical questionsSharing 'insider knowledge' about WaPo financesThe P.S. functions as a confessional aside to followers

Danger Assessment

Elevated

Indicators:

Continued delegitimization of election results
Sustained attack on press credibility as institution

Gaslighting Detected:

'No fact checking, no anything' — reality inversion projecting own behavior onto media
RIGGED election claim contradicts all audits and court findings
Feigned uncertainty about WaPo finances while making definitive claims

Reality Distortions:

WaPo finances characterized as catastrophically failing beyond reason
Election rigging presented as established fact despite universal institutional rejection
'No fact checking' claim about a major newspaper with dedicated fact-checking operations

Fact Checks (2)

"Washington Post is losing money, readers, and subscribers at unprecedented levels"

Mostly False

WaPo did experience subscriber declines post-Trump presidency (from ~3M peak to ~2.5M by late 2022), but 'far beyond what was thought possible' is hyperbolic. The paper remained a major publication.

"The Election was RIGGED"

False

No credible evidence of systematic fraud sufficient to alter the 2020 election outcome. Over 60 court cases dismissed, multiple audits confirmed results, Trump's own AG Barr stated no fraud sufficient to change outcome.

Receipts

No contradictions with other posts detected yet.

Psychological Analysis: Truth Social Post ts_109164583583230579

Context

Posted October 14, 2022 at 11:49 PM ET, one day after the January 6 Committee unanimously voted to subpoena Trump. The previous day's posts were entirely focused on the Committee ("Unselect Committee"), Pelosi, and voter fraud. This post shifts the target to the Washington Post but retains the same underlying grievance architecture.

Personality Framework

Level 1 (Traits): Low agreeableness (antagonism, contempt), moderate neuroticism (angry hostility), low openness (rigid persecution schema).

Level 2 (Motives): Dominance-oriented agency. The financial devaluation of WaPo serves a status-leveling function—diminishing the institution that threatens him. The power motive is evident in the implicit message: institutions that oppose me are dying.

Level 3 (Narrative): Protagonist is cast as victim of inaccurate, purposeful media persecution. The P.S. invokes the master narrative of the stolen election—the core contamination sequence (I won → they stole it). "ALWAYS felt, right from the beginning" is an identity claim of prophetic certainty.

Archetypal Patterns

Victim archetype dominates (persecuted by dishonest media), with Trickster elements in the performative "I just don't know?" feigned ignorance about WaPo's finances—clearly rhetorical rather than genuine uncertainty.

Gaslighting Assessment

"No fact checking, no anything" constitutes a reality inversion—Trump projects his own well-documented relationship with factual accuracy onto the press. The RIGGED election claim is sustained epistemic manipulation requiring followers to reject institutional consensus.

Fact Verification

Claim	Verdict	Evidence
"Washington Post is losing money, readers, and subscribers at unprecedented levels"	Mostly False	WaPo did experience subscriber declines post-Trump presidency (from ~3M peak to ~2.5M by late 2022), but 'far beyond what was thought possible' is hyperbolic. The paper remained a major publication.
"The Election was RIGGED"	False	No credible evidence of systematic fraud sufficient to alter the 2020 election outcome. Over 60 court cases dismissed, multiple audits confirmed results, Trump's own AG Barr stated no fraud sufficient to change outcome.

Overall Veracity: 10%