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Description

Standard persuasion consists of using different standards in a comparison. This can be used to favor someone, to hurt someone else, or to twist any comparison for another effect;
When the standards are changed to hurt someone, it becomes standard manipulation;
A common example are exceptions. Exceptions do not play by the same rules as others. Therefore, someone can be immediately removed from a comparison if they are an exception (or they can be favored without a need for a comparison);

How It Works

Standard manipulation consists of changing the standards - the “rules of the game” - or people’s behavior within those rules;
The person can change the rules to favor some people and penalise others, or they can allow different behaviors within the same set of rules. This ensures unfair comparisons and unfair treatment of who they want;
By changing the rules or standards, this ensures that certain people are scored higher or lower, or that some people pass tests/don’t pass tests - or are treated unfairly in other ways;

The most effective way to protect yourself against standard manipulation is to demand transparency. It’s that simple;
- In many cases, rules or criteria are changed in the meantime. Or they are hidden. That’s why people can calculate the results they want, without needing to provide transparency on things;
- Simply demanding for things to be made public fights this;
- Demanding public data on why someone is approved, why someone is rejected, why someone has a higher score than someone else, and so on forces the person/system to make their rules public, and sheds light on incongruencies;

Rules: Hiding/Not Applying the rules/criteria (exceptions)
Rules: Having different rules/criteria for the same elements (double standards)
Rules: Same rules/criteria for different elements (biased rules)
Rules: Behaving differently within the same rules/criteria (arbitrage)
Defaults: Something being active versus passive (burden)
Defaults: Changing which elements are in a group (curation)
Defaults: Representational distortions (repeated operations on data)
Defaults: Algorithmic behavior

Standard + Labeling + Permission Manipulation;
Something being “certified” uses this specific word to make it seem trusted. That is, you give yourself permission to trust it due to the label. It’s also standard manipulation if the criteria for a certification are unclear;

Standard + Permission Manipulation;
When a person or company dictates specific terms the other side may consent to. They are engineering the rules so that the other side gives explicit permission for them to do anything they want within those rules;

Promote Who You Want: Unfair Comparisons By Bosses (PDF file in How Manipulation Works Course Companion DLC);
Best Versus Worst: How Product Tables are Defined (PDF file in How Manipulation Works Course Companion DLC);
How Exceptions Make Someone Special and Unique (PDF file in How Manipulation Works Course Companion DLC);

00:00:05, Trivia game

S01E04 Dirty Little Secrets 00.00.05 Trivia game.png

Summary: Louis is making Mike compete in a trivia game against an associate he’s supporting. Mike keeps winning, so Louis keeps changing the rules to give his associate an advantage;
Mike is winning, but Louis obviously wants him to lose. So he keeps changing the rules so that Mike loses;
For example, Mike gives an answer that is “The Bible”, and Louis considers it incorrect, since it’s “The Gutenberg Bible”, and the answer must be detailed to qualify;
Then, he says that all points in a given round are doubled. Considering Mike is winning anyway, this is of no use to him, but it’s useful for the other associate to score points easily and catch up to him;