wag the dog
Manufacture a crisis
Wag the dog describes a situation where a minor factor controls a major one—the tail wagging the dog instead of the reverse.
The phrase typically refers to distracting from domestic problems by creating a foreign crisis, especially military action timed to deflect attention from political scandal: Critics accused the administration of wagging the dog with the missile strikes.
Popularized by the 1997 film of the same name.
- trickDeliberate deception
- spin doctorFavorable interpretation specialist
- puppet masterOne controlling figures backstage
- spinRapid rotation around axis
- yellow journalismReporting prioritizing shock value
cognitive bias · sleight of hand · political theater · look over here · puppet · sensationalism · propaganda · smoke and mirrors · red herring · October surprise · fake news · distraction · clickbait · narrative control · deflection · Dustin Hoffman · shadow government · agenda setting
wag the dogstraight shooting
Honest, direct communication
accountability · open government · facing the music · direct address