Create a multimedia WordPress lesson to help concerned citizens expose the cruelty hidden inside sanitized authoritarian rhetoric.

How can simply restating someone’s own words strip the polite packaging off the language people use to justify harm to others?

Authoritarian movements rely heavily on euphemisms. “Removals” means deporting people to countries where they’ll be killed. “Protecting children” means banning books that acknowledge queer people exist. The language is designed to make cruelty sound administrative, bureaucratic, even boring.

But something interesting happens when you simply repeat what someone said back to them in plain language.

Comedian Ben Palmer demonstrated this by setting up a fake ICE tip line. All he did was restate what callers told him in less euphemistic language. One of the callers, a kindergarten teacher who was reporting a parent of one of her students that she suspected of being undocumented, said, “You make it sound terrible.” He did. Because it is.

This is a version of what therapists call reflective listening, what FBI negotiators call mirroring, and what Socrates was doing 2,400 years ago when he asked people to keep explaining their beliefs until the contradictions became obvious. The power of the technique is that it doesn’t require the person using it to argue, accuse, or persuade. They just hold up a mirror.

The goal of this lesson is to teach people how to use this technique in situations where someone is using polished language to dress up something ugly.

This package is for people who regularly encounter authoritarian talking points in public meetings, online spaces, or personal conversations and want a concrete, non-confrontational technique for making the cruelty visible to others in the room.

NOTE: Before starting this mission, you will need to reach out to your handler so they can give you access to a WordPress page you can use to create your lesson.

You will create a short multimedia lesson on a templated WordPress page that teaches the “mirroring” technique: restating someone’s own words in plain language to reveal what they’re actually saying. The language should be at around an 8th grade reading level.

The lesson should include:

• Hook: Open with all or part of Ben Palmer’s Kindergarten Teacher Video (YouTube). Frame the question: what just happened, and why did it work?
• Description of the technique: Using whatever format/media you like, introduce the concept of reflective listening/mirroring and explain how it can be used to create more self-awareness.
• Examples of the technique in use: Using whatever format/media you like, create at least 5 sanitized talking points and a plain language restatement that exposes what is actually being said in each.
• Opportunity to apply the technique: Using whatever format/media you like, give the student at least 5 sanitized talking points and ask them to say them aloud (or write down) their own plain-language restatements. When they’re ready, reveal sample restatements for them to compare with their own.
  • If you’d like to create and embed an H5P interactive, reach out to your handler to discuss the best way to do so.
  • Note that MFU does not retain any student work, so anything a student interacts with (such as typing into a text box) will not be saved or manually reviewed/graded.
• Discussion question (optional): If you’d like to create a post on MFU’s subreddit to help students get more practice, feel free to do so.
• Action to take now: Highlight Press Watch (Dan Froomkin), a nonprofit specifically focused on calling out when mainstream media uses euphemisms and weasel words to normalize authoritarian behavior. Encourage students to share one of the articles on social media and/or to consider donating to the organization.
• Cooldown: End with a high note before you send the student back out into the world — something humorous, inspiring, or both. We typically use embedded YouTube videos for this, but you can use any type of media you like.

Use embedded video, images, pull quotes, or other multimedia elements to break up text and keep the lesson engaging. The lesson should take 10-15 minutes to complete.

Images: Only use images you create or that do not require attribution. If using stock icons or illustrations, use sources like Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, or Freepik. MFU has a paid Freepik account, so feel free to reach out to your handler if you need premium assets. In accordance with MFU policy, if you use any AI-generated images, include a disclaimer.

Operative must provide:

• A WordPress account.

MFU will provide:

• Access to a templated WordPress page on MFU’s website.
• Access to premium Freepik images if needed.

Essential skills:

• Familiarity with basic WordPress block editing
• Ability to write clearly at an accessible reading level
• Comfort in analyzing political rhetoric across multiple issue areas
• Ability to construct realistic “before” examples that authentically capture how people frame harmful positions in everyday language.

NOT required:

• Graphic design experience
• Professional experience with WordPress

You are welcome to use these sources to help you get started. Please note that some are more fact-based, while others are opinion articles:

• Ben Palmer’s kindergarten teacher video (YouTube): The primary source material for the introductory hook in the lesson.
• Dan Froomkin: Press Watch (used in “action to take now” portion of the lesson): Nonprofit that is specifically focused on calling out when mainstream media uses euphemisms and weasel words to normalize authoritarian behavior.
• Washington Post: “He made a fake ICE deportation tip line. Then a kindergarten teacher called.”: A description of how Palmer’s deadpan mirroring went viral and why it worked.
• CBC Arts: “Can prank calls stop ICE?”: Three culture critics break down why Palmer’s deadpan delivery works, including the insight that callers want to outsource cruelty without taking responsibility for it.
• SkillsYouNeed: “Reflecting — Effective Communication Skills”: Clear, accessible overview of mirroring and paraphrasing as listening techniques, including the key insight: reflecting allows speakers to “hear their own thoughts and focus on what they say and feel.”
• Chris Voss / Never Split the Difference — mirroring in negotiation: FBI hostage negotiator’s framework for using simple repetition to get people to elaborate and reveal what they actually mean; directly applicable to what Palmer does instinctively.
• Relias: “How to Use OARS Skills in Motivational Interviewing”: Reflective listening in therapeutic settings, including the concept that reflection serves as “a verbal mirror for the client” and helps people “hear their own thoughts about change.”
• Frontiers in Psychology: “Reformulating and Mirroring in Psychotherapy”: Academic source on how mirroring in therapy “sheds new light” on a speaker’s own words, “allowing them to be heard differently” — explains the psychological mechanism behind why the teacher bristled.
• Philosophy Break: “Socratic Method: What Is It and How Can You Use It?”: Accessible overview of how Socrates used questions and restatement to surface contradictions in people’s beliefs, connecting Palmer’s approach to a 2,500-year-old tradition.
• Medium: Strongmen and Soft Words — the Linguistic Armour of Authoritarianism: Examines how authoritarian leaders use euphemism, repetition, and emotional appeal to make repression sound reasonable, with examples from Trump, Orbán, Modi, and Erdoğan.

• WordPress Block Editor Guide: If you need help getting started in WordPress, this guide covers the basics of adding and arranging content blocks.
• You can browse existing MFU lesson pages for examples of formatting and tone.

For general questions, you can message your handler through your dashboard, contact @Owlett on Discord, or email info@myflyinguniversity.org.

If you have an idea for a different approach to all or part of this mission, please feel free to reach out before you get started!

• Your lesson is created on a WordPress page using MFU’s template.
• Your lesson includes the Ben Palmer video or a clear reference to it as the opening hook.
• You clearly describe the technique of reflective listening/mirroring.
• You’ve included at least 5 examples of sanitized talking points and their plain language translations.
• You’ve included at least 5 prompts for students to reflect back additional sanitized talking points.
• You’ve used multimedia elements (video, images, pull quotes) to keep students engaged.
• You’ve included a humorous or inspirational cool-down.
• Your writing is clear and accessible.
• Any images you used are properly sourced.

What to submit (from your MFU dashboard):

• Submit the URL of the published WordPress page to let your handler know you’re finished.

There is no hard deadline for this mission, but you will need to provide a status update once a week on your MFU dashboard.