The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Daily: Why We Fall for Charlatans, with Quico Toro
Oct 30, 2025
Quico Toro, a global opinion columnist at The Washington Post and director at the Anthropocene Institute, dives into the world of charlatans and grifters. He explains how they exploit cognitive biases and societal changes, making manipulation an urgent crisis. With vivid examples like the Mehmet Aydin Ponzi scheme and Trump University, Toro highlights the psychological traits such individuals possess. He offers practical defenses such as slow thinking and social support to help people protect their dreams from exploitation.
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Mamunia And Venice's Lost Dream
- Mamunia convinced Venice's leaders by connecting to their dream of restoring power and wealth.
- He promised alchemy and transmuting base metal into gold to exploit that longing for past glory.
Confirmation Bias Is The Charlatan's Tool
- Confirmation bias makes people accept claims that reinforce preexisting beliefs and trust passionate champions.
- Charlatans exploit this by echoing targets' beliefs to lower resistance to further false claims.
Slow Down And Talk To Real People
- Add a deliberate layer of slow thinking to counteract fast, automatic confirmation bias.
- Maintain social ties and non-screen conversations to get external perspectives before committing.
