The leftists are doing it now, it was the rightists in the 1980's. Whoever can be seen using the tyrants tactics and strategies is readily identifiable. The authoritarian dynamic is obvious. Saul Alinsky was a poor man's Machiavelli, but he distilled the material for his instruction manual for subversion well. Ridicule works in the minds of the simple, whether it be the ridiculer or the ridiculed.
The hordes rising to destroy the truth is how secret societies are born.
If you want to know who rules, look for them who cannot be criticized.