trivializers
Those belittling significance
Trivializers are people or things that make something seem less important, serious, or complex than it actually is.
Someone who dismisses genuine concerns as overreactions is a trivializer.
The term often carries disapproval—trivializers minimize what others consider significant: Critics called the comedian's jokes about depression the work of trivializers who'd never experienced it.
Things that lessen
- belittlersPeople who minimize others
- downplayersThose who minimize significance
- diminishersThings that lessen magnitude
- detractorsPeople who criticize
naysayers · scoffers · deprecators · disparagers · deflectors · underminers · reductionists · skeptics
Those who facilitate harm
- apologistsThose who defend beliefs
- defendersThose who shield others
- protectorsThose who guard others
- bystandersPeople present but uninvolved
deniers · normalizers · gatekeepers · silencers · devil's advocates · contrarians · invalidators
Change in trajectory
- whataboutismDeflecting criticism through counter-accusation
- gaslightingManipulation causing self-doubt
- minimizationMaking as small as possible
- rationalizationInventing acceptable motives afterward
euphemism · spin · obfuscation · misdirection · false equivalence · derailing · tone policing · moving goalposts
Sensationalized content for traffic
- soundbitesBrief broadcast excerpts
- oversimplificationStripping complexity unfairly
- sensationalismOverhyped news coverage
- reductionismExplaining wholes through parts
dumbing-down · infotainment · spin doctors · pundits · talking heads · hot takes · superficiality · fluff pieces
minimizers
Things that lessen
- belittlersPeople who minimize others
- downplayersThose who minimize significance
- diminishersThings that lessen magnitude
detractors · naysayers · scoffers · deprecators · disparagers · deflectors · underminers · reductionists · skeptics · cynics
enablers
Those who facilitate harm
- apologistsThose who defend beliefs
- defendersThose who shield others
- protectorsThose who guard others
bystanders · deniers · normalizers · gatekeepers · silencers · devil's advocates · contrarians · invalidators
deflection
Change in trajectory
- whataboutismDeflecting criticism through counter-accusation
- gaslightingManipulation causing self-doubt
- minimizationMaking as small as possible
rationalization · euphemism · spin · obfuscation · misdirection · false equivalence · derailing · tone policing · moving goalposts · strawmanning
clickbait
Sensationalized content for traffic
- soundbitesBrief broadcast excerpts
- oversimplificationStripping complexity unfairly
- sensationalismOverhyped news coverage
reductionism · dumbing-down · infotainment · spin doctors · pundits · talking heads · hot takes · superficiality · fluff pieces · whitewashing
trivializersamplifiers
Devices that increase signal
magnifiers · intensifiers · exaggerators · sensationalizers · maximizers
trivializerssolemnizers
Those who perform ceremonies
champions · defenders · advocates · validators · legitimizers