When George Orwell was writing 1984, he wasn’t just crafting a future dystopian world; he was issuing us a warning. A disturbing story of surveillance, manipulation, and authoritarianism, 1984 has become a cultural touchstone anytime government propaganda or media distortion enters the public eye. But lately, it feels like Orwell’s vision of the future isn’t fiction. Instead, it’s a chilling reflection of today’s political climate.
Here are several elements of today’s political landscape that have us wondering if Big Brother is closer than we thought.
1. Technology Is Always Listening
“Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.”
From George Orwell’s 1984
Since Apple’s Siri was first introduced in February 2010, society has grown to ignore the presence of technology that is always listening. The rise of smart home devices and electronic personal assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Google Home has become the modern telescreen for many Americans. In fact, 71.6 million people in the United States use Amazon Alexa. Privacy has now become a luxury when it was once considered a fundamental right. Although there are still major differences between the surveillance technology in Orwell’s 1984 compared to today’s technology, the similarities are still unsettling.
2. The Rise of “Doublespeak”
“It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.”
From George Orwell’s 1984
Doublespeak is language that deliberately obscures, disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. This language has become increasingly common within mainstream media outlets, along with social media news. From labeling book bans as “parental rights” and calling layoffs “organizational restructuring,” politicians and large corporations are often twisting the language they use to obscure the truth.
The manipulation of words isn’t just semantics; it’s control, and these corporations and politicians know it. When language is used to distort reality, society is left confused, compliant, and often unaware.
3. Truth is Subjective
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
From George Orwell’s 1984
Orwell’s vision of a world where objective truth no longer exists feels eerily real, especially in today’s world of misinformation, conspiracy theories, and deep fakes. Politicians and public figures are now often contradicting clear evidence, even if that evidence comes from videos, audio, and even eyewitness accounts. They insist that their version of events is the truth, and it’s unsettling how quickly society will fall in line.
In fact, our current U.S. President stated during his debate with former President Joe Biden that the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol involved a “relatively small” group of people who were “in many cases ushered in by the police.” Despite the many videos and eyewitness accounts from January 6, 2021, the current U.S. President was able to convince many of his supporters that his statement was true and that it was a “peaceful protest.”
This is not far from the world that Orwell described in 1984, where citizens were taught to doubt their own perceptions. In today’s world, I often find myself scrolling past conflicting headlines, unsure of what’s fact and what’s fiction.
4. Historical Revision in Real Time
“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”
From George Orwell’s 1984
In Orwell’s 1984, The Ministry of Truth constantly rewrote historical records to reflect the Party’s current narrative. Unfortunately, in today’s world, efforts to revise history are happening in both classrooms and the government. From attempts to downplay slavery and systematic racism in American history to the banning of books that discuss LGBTQ+ rights and gender identity, a disturbing trend of history being rewritten and erased is becoming too common.
Florida public schools will now teach students that some Black people benefited from slavery because it taught them useful skills. This is just one example of how the government has begun to reshape the past in order to control the future, just like 1984. When future generations are taught a filtered version of history, they grow up without the proper tools to understand current struggles or fight for justice. Knowledge is our greatest power, and controlling that knowledge is the government’s.
5. AI Surveillance
“There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.”
From George Orwell’s 1984
In 1984, Orwell created a world where the government had constant surveillance over its citizens in order to suppress and control their behavior. In today’s world, we’ve actually created a system that doesn’t require a telescreen in every home, because we’ve invited the watchers in ourselves. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the new power source that controls the apps we use, the news we see, and even the things we write. It’s become so much more than surveillance, it’s become control.
In a recent survey from the Digital Education Council, a global alliance of universities and industry representatives focused on education innovation, the majority of students (86%) said they use artificial intelligence in their studies. AI is the one passing classes, not students. The use of AI presents a dangerous mix of convenience and control, a mix that a lot of the younger generations don’t realize is more dangerous than they know.
An even scarier event was when in 2023, DPD officers wrongfully arrested plaintiff Porcha Woodruff on the basis of a faulty facial recognition match and subsequent witness identification made from a photo lineup array. This is just one of many cases that show how AI isn’t just watching us, it’s also deciding who’s guilty.
George Orwell never intended 1984 to become a roadmap, but as we witness the normalization of surveillance, language distortion, and historical revision, it’s not hard to feel like we’re living in 1984. Make sure you stay informed, ask questions, and protect the truth. In a world that feels out of our control, reading books like 1984 can help us recognize the signs of authoritarian control before it’s too late.
Think Orwell’s 1984 is chilling? Check out how Fahrenheit 451 predicted the dangers of censorship and intellectual control in our article 5 Predictions ‘Fahrenheit 451’ Got Right About the Future.
Want more dystopian reads? Check out our Bookshop 1984 Dystopian shelf.
