All posts tagged: Manipulate

11 Phrases Sneaky Kids Who Manipulate Their Parents Usually Say In Casual Conversation

11 Phrases Sneaky Kids Who Manipulate Their Parents Usually Say In Casual Conversation

Published by Jenni Sidey

Many sneaky kids take advantage of their parents’ kindness and generosity for personal gain, feeling a sense of entitlement over their parents’ time and energy. According to psychologist and parent coach Jeffrey Bernstein, parents often fall victim to their kids’ manipulative tactics, but by recognizing a few sly phrases that sneaky kids use most often, they can begin to set boundaries and see through these sly tactics. Sneaky kids who manipulate their parents often say these things casually: 1. ‘I didn’t ask to be born’ Many parents unknowingly enable their manipulative adult children’s behavior to grapple with the guilt they feel from making mistakes, according to Bernstein. Not only do they tend to take the emotional brunt of their kids’ moods, but they also overextend themselves to ensure their kids’ needs and wants are met, sometimes at the expense of their own. With phrases like “I didn’t ask to be born,” sneaky kids can ensure their parents feel a constant sense of guilt. As parents, when this phrase is said, stand your ground, lead with empathy, and …

Trump appeals ruling that found his billion IRS suit aimed to ‘manipulate’ legal proceedings

Trump appeals ruling that found his $10 billion IRS suit aimed to ‘manipulate’ legal proceedings

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump on Friday took the first step in appealing a federal judge’s ruling that questioned the legality of a lawsuit filed by the president, two of his sons and the Trump Organization against the IRS. The Trumps filed notice that they would appeal the July 13 ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams that said the $10 billion suit was for an “improper purpose.” The case led to the Justice Department creating a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund as part of a settlement that included an agreement that the government would not investigate or seek any sort of payment from the president, his family members and companies on pending tax claims. The IRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the forthcoming appeal. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said Friday that the IRS “wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization” to news outlets that was later “illegally released to millions of people.” A former IRS contractor …

6 Firm Boundaries People Usually Set When They Are Especially Difficult To Manipulate

6 Firm Boundaries People Usually Set When They Are Especially Difficult To Manipulate

Published by Jenni Sidey

Boundaries should be non-negotiable in any relationship, but some people are constantly bending them to appease others. That leaves them vulnerable to exploitation. But when someone is difficult to manipulate, it’s because they set firm boundaries. They understand that the sooner they put these rules in place, the more control they retain in this relationship. People who are difficult to manipulate set these firm boundaries 1. Expressing and sticking to their values PeopleImages | Shutterstock Not everyone is going to agree with you or live their life the same way. But you have control over who is allowed into your life, and if their views don’t align with yours, you’re allowed to respectfully walk away. The easiest people to manipulate are the ones who don’t stick to their boundaries or stay assertive when people are trying to bring them down. They’re riddled with self-doubt and are more susceptible to believing someone else’s lies over their own feelings. Neuroscientist Dr. Eamonn Walsh said that this is caused by someone being suggestible. The more suggestible you are, …

Trump administration tried to ‘manipulate the judicial process’ with its IRS settlement, judge says

Trump administration tried to ‘manipulate the judicial process’ with its IRS settlement, judge says

Published by Sam Flores

President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS was brought in “bad faith” for an “improper purpose,” a federal judge in Florida found as she slapped sanctions on some of those involved. Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, an Obama appointee, said the lawsuit “was not brought to vindicate rights” but to “manipulate the judicial process.” Williams pointed out that despite arguments to the contrary from Trump’s attorney, these were not ordinary litigants. She noted that, as president, Trump has jurisdiction over the Justice Department, Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service. “After a review of the record, and the Parties’ statements, the Court declines to adopt or accept the credulous exercise of divorcing President Trump’s current job title from an understanding of what happened here,” the judge wrote. She said the facts of the case show it was “an attempt to use the Court to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the …

8 Phrases Manipulative People Use To Test If You’re Easy To Manipulate

8 Phrases Manipulative People Use To Test If You’re Easy To Manipulate

Published by Jenni Sidey

The most insidious part of master manipulators and narcissists is that they’re often charismatic. This charisma comes out in casual interactions where they’re actually testing how susceptible you are to their influence. It’s easy for them to manipulate their chosen victims because they spend a lot of time and energy setting the stage for their misbehavior. Whether it’s isolating someone from their friends or using certain phrases in casual conversations to test if you’re easy to manipulate, you might not realize how toxic someone is until you’re in the thick of it. Phrases manipulative people use in casual conversation to test if you’re easy to sway: 1. ‘You believe me, right?’ Miljan Zivkovic | Shutterstock.com When you’re yearning for community or connection, it’s easy to put up with someone’s misbehavior to feel included. Even when it means setting your boundaries aside to tolerate behavior you absolutely don’t deserve, our yearning for community can feel all-consuming and convincing. “You believe me, right?” is just one example of bad behavior from a manipulative person who’s trying to …

The Many Ways Chatbot Tools Can Manipulate Us

The Many Ways Chatbot Tools Can Manipulate Us

Published by Jenni Sidey

As we continue our headlong rush into our new “chatbot culture,” where Silicon Valley companies are pushing the use of AI assistants into virtually every corner of our lives, we are gaining real productivity and quality-of-life benefits. Yet just as apparent are the psychological risks of manipulation arising from the very structure of large language model-based tools themselves. We allow Big Tech to ignore or minimize these risks at our own peril. At the very least, we should be informed and clear-eyed about these risks and how they are baked into the design of chatbot tools. Some AI ethics concerns have gotten considerable attention. Chatbot tools are reporting decreasing fabrication rates, but since we are being urged to rely on them, error rates are still a problem. Even if Google’s AI Overview tool is accurate 9 out of 10 times, as a recent analysis reported, this still means that it is providing tens of millions of wrong answers every hour as it processes more than 5 trillion searches a year (Mickel et al., 2026). Ethicists …

If A Man Wants You To Question Your Own Sanity, He’ll Use These 12 Subtle Phrases To Gaslight And Manipulate You

If A Man Wants You To Question Your Own Sanity, He’ll Use These 12 Subtle Phrases To Gaslight And Manipulate You

Published by Jenni Sidey

Gaslighting tactics have been primarily understudied in psychological research until recent years. It’s not just an experience that people struggle with in their relationships and tolerate in their passing interactions; it’s a psychological and manipulative tactic that’s often associated with narcissism and toxic partners. For many people, it’s a constant battle. Their relationship is riddled with subtle phrases meant to make them develop a distrust in themselves, all with the careful choice of their partner’s words. Whether it’s passing blame or acting like the victim, if a man wants you to question your own sanity, he’ll use these certain subtle phrases to gaslight and manipulate you. But by recognizing these patterns, people can safeguard their emotional health, setting a clear expectation of the respect they demand and the energy they allow in their daily lives. If a man wants you to question your own sanity, he’ll use these 12 subtle phrases to gaslight and manipulate you 1. ‘You sound crazy’ MAYA LAB | Shutterstock According to a study from Maricopa Community Colleges, knowing your partner …

Evidence Grows That Trump Is Using the War in Iran to Manipulate Markets

Evidence Grows That Trump Is Using the War in Iran to Manipulate Markets

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech Just after noon on Friday, March 20th, US president Donald Trump declared victory to a group of reporters in his broadly unpopular war with Iran. Just two minutes later, however, he announced he was sending US marines anyway. The next minute, the president said there would be no boots on the ground after all. A few beats later, he admitted he didn’t want a ceasefire, then declared victory again, then requested a ceasefire. The volley continued like this for nearly half an hour, the president’s stream of consciousness pouring from within, in a prime example of Trump’s contradictory messaging on Iran. In addition to exhausting reporters and scrambling the news cycle, episodes like this have fueled speculation that people close to the president are feeding off the chaos. As a recent analysis by economist and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman argues, there’s evidence that insiders are profiting off the war in Iran. On Monday, for example, Trump reversed his …

Congressional Panel Accuses DC Police Chief of Pressuring Commanders to Manipulate Crime Data

Congressional Panel Accuses DC Police Chief of Pressuring Commanders to Manipulate Crime Data

Published by Sam Flores

WASHINGTON (AP) — The police chief in the nation’s capital pressured subordinates to manipulate department data to artificially lower the city’s crime rates, according to a report by a Republican-led congressional committee. The report, released Sunday by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, found that Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith often threatened, punished and retaliated against police commanders who presented her with “spikes in crime.” A separate investigation by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office also found that a significant number of MPD reports had been misclassified to make crime rates appear lower than they are. Pirro’s office began its investigation in August at the height of a political showdown between Republican President Donald Trump’s administration and the city over control of the police department. Trump claimed violent crime in Washington was getting worse as he ordered a federal takeover of the police department, Neither investigation found grounds for charging anybody with a crime. “However, it is up to MPD to take steps to internally address these underlying issues,” Pirro said in a …