Marketlighting

A digitallighting tactic that uses economic jargon and appeals to “market reality” to make a target feel naive, idealistic, or foolish for questioning economic conditions. The perpetrator may claim the target simply doesn’t understand “how the economy works” and that any critique is evidence of inexperience. The goal is to erode the target’s confidence in their own economic reasoning, positioning the speaker as the hard‑nosed realist.

Example: “She suggested that raising the minimum wage would reduce poverty; he said she didn’t understand ‘price elasticity’ or ‘job destruction.’ Marketlighting: using economic theory to make the target doubt simple moral truths.”

by Abzugal April 1, 2026