Zimbabwe’s leaders moved in a different direction. Instead of merely trumpeting propaganda about the greatness of the leader as a twentieth-century dictator might have done, the regime launched a campaign designed to undermine Mawarire himself: his authenticity, his spontaneity, and especially his patriotism—the very qualities that had galvanized Zimbabweans. To fight back against real emotions, the regime had to portray Mawarire as fake, inauthentic, manipulated by outsiders—not a patriot, but a traitor.
This is what Donald Trump and his cultists do to their enemies. They accuse them of attributes that aren’t true of their opponents, but are true of themselves. E.g, the “Biden crime family”, that Biden is a sexual abuser, that Biden is incompetent, etc.
