Orwellian

Typically used in conjunction with an opinion that you don't like. The term "Orwellian" could also be used to simply describe the use of the phrase "This is just like 1984".

The use of the word is not derived from the implication of the word, which is in reference to the book 1984 by George Orwell. Orwellian may be used to describe the suppression of opinions and actions, or an overbearing rule or system, a major theme in the novel.

Moderator: Please do not announce to the server when you are going to masturbate.
User: This is so Orwellian.

User 1: I do not agree with your opinion
User 2: Orwellian. Actually Orwellian. This is just like 1984.

by UnderdeveloptCorrupt December 14, 2023

orwellian irony

a type of internet irony based upon mind control and revisionism. Memes include: Doublethink, pornosec memes, thoughtcrimes and unpersoning. Pages that post this: partyirony.exe, onbbnem, airstrip-one-memes-and-greentext, big-brother-sixty-nine, room.101.maniac, dangerousbrotherhood, quirkyoldspeaker and doubleplusongbruhh.

How I react when someone posts orwellian irony, which is based upon mind control and revisionism. Memes include: Doublethink, pornosec memes, thoughtcrimes and unpersoning. Pages that post this: partyirony.exe, onbbnem, airstrip-one-memes-and-greentext, big-brother-sixty-nine, room.101.maniac, dangerousbrotherhood, quirkyoldspeaker and doubleplusongbruhh: 😲

by BaranXLR July 26, 2023

Capitalistic Orwellianism

The specific use of surveillance, data harvesting, and behavioral manipulation by corporations to engineer consent, predict and control consumer behavior, and eliminate the possibility of private thought outside the marketplace. It's the dystopia where your smart TV watches you to serve ads, your social credit is your credit score, and language is corrupted by marketing speak ("downsizing" becomes "rightsizing," "wage slavery" becomes "hustle culture").

Example: "The true Capitalistic Orwellianism hit when my fridge, noting my low-calorie beer purchases, sent a coupon for gym memberships to my phone, while my health insurance app adjusted my premium for 'positive engagement with wellness.' I was being watched, nudged, and priced by a network of devices, all framing their control as 'personalized service.' Big Brother isn't a tyrant; he's a subscription service with a privacy policy you agreed to."

by AbzuInExile February 1, 2026

Liberal Orwellianism

The manipulation of language and information within liberal societies to control political discourse. It involves redefining words ("freedom," "violence," "safety"), using bureaucratic euphemisms to obscure unpleasant realities, and constructing media narratives that frame complex issues in simplistic, morally binary terms to enforce ideological conformity. The goal is to control the conceptual framework through which events are understood, making dissenting viewpoints literally unspeakable.

*Example: "The Liberal Orwellianism was in the press release: 'The department engaged in a diversity-enhanced restructuring.' Translation: they fired the old white guys. 'The protest was mostly peaceful.' Translation: 95% stood around while 5% burned a police station. The language wasn't describing reality; it was manufacturing a politically useful simulation of it, making honest debate impossible."*

by AbzuInExile February 1, 2026

Neoliberal Orwellianism

The linguistic and managerial toolkit of neoliberalism: calling citizens "customers" or "stakeholders," recasting public goods as "investment opportunities," and framing massive inequality as "talent retention." It uses the language of freedom, choice, and efficiency to justify the consolidation of power and wealth, making exploitation sound like empowerment and extraction sound like growth.

Example: "The corporate memo was pure Neoliberal Orwellianism: 'We're empowering our associates with a dynamic career transition opportunity (mass layoffs) to streamline our talent ecosystem (cut costs) and enhance shareholder value (boost stock price). Your severance is an investment in your future journey (you're on your own).' It translated human devastation into the sterile, positive-sounding jargon of a business school case study."

by AbzuInExile February 1, 2026

Digital Orwellianism

The specific information-control tactics of the digital age: algorithmic censorship, shadow-banning, trend manipulation, deepfakes, bot armies that distort public discourse, and the constant rewriting of digital history (link rot, edited tweets, memory-holed articles). It's a perpetual, automated gaslighting where the past is mutable, truth is swamped by noise, and perception is a battleground managed by code.

Example: "I saw Digital Orwellianism in action when a major news story trending on Twitter suddenly vanished from the 'Trending' list, replaced by a celebrity gossip item. No announcement, no explanation—just a silent, algorithmic correction of what the public was allowed to collectively notice. The Ministry of Truth doesn't need editors; it needs a good machine learning model and a plausible deniability clause."

by AbzuInExile February 1, 2026

Western Orwellianism

The West's specific flavor of newspeak and doublethink: "humanitarian intervention" for war, "collateral damage" for dead civilians, "enhanced interrogation" for torture. It's the vast public relations-spin complex that maintains the gap between stated ideals (democracy, freedom) and operational reality (corporate lobbying, permanent surveillance, imperialism). The cognitive dissonance is managed by a constant stream of propaganda that celebrates the system while obscuring its mechanics.

Example: "Western Orwellianism was the press briefing on the drone strike: 'We engaged a high-value target in a kinetic action, with regrettable unintended effects on non-combatants.' Translation: we blew up a house and a family based on sketchy intel. The language turns war into a sterile video game and murder into a bureaucratic error, protecting the audience from the reality their taxes fund."

by AbzuInExile February 1, 2026