by Canon Rob Penrith
While preparing for a recent posting of a Devotion that I send out once a week, I came across a fascinating and relevant study of a fabulously relevant little book by CS Lewis.
This little book is one of the cherished books of my bookshelf, entitled: “The Screwtape Letters” by C. S. Lewis. If you haven’t read it, you must find a copy somewhere. It is a masterpiece that is surprisingly relevant to the modern world of fake news, even though it was written during World War II. Lewis wasn’t dealing with social media, but he was dealing with propaganda, fear, and the shaping of minds—and his insights translate almost “text-perfect” into today’s environment.
At its heart, “Uncle” Screwtape shows how distortion works, not just through outright lies, but through subtle manipulation of attention, emotion, and perspective. That’s exactly how much fake news operates today. Screwtape is the uncle of Wormwood. More importantly, he is also a senior demon mentoring (and often sharply criticizing) his junior nephew. Screwtape gives advice on how to tempt and corrupt a human soul (referred to as “the patient”). A summary of this little book suggests that Lewis uses this relationship brilliantly to invert the moral perspective: what Screwtape praises is actually destructive, and what he fears (faith, humility, love) reveals true Christian virtue.
1. Keep people reacting, not reflecting
Screwtape advises Wormwood to keep the “patient” focused on immediate feelings rather than thoughtful truth. Fake news thrives in the same space—it provokes outrage, fear, or tribal loyalty before facts can be checked.
Lewis would say the danger is not just believing falsehood, but becoming the kind of person who no longer pauses to discern truth.
2. Blur the line between truth and falsehood
Screwtape doesn’t insist on blatant lies—he prefers confusion. Half-truths, exaggerations, selective facts. That’s the engine of misinformation today.
The aim is not always to convince someone of a specific lie, but to make them unsure what to trust at all.
3. Make everything about “the other side”
Lewis highlights how the patient can be led to see people as categories rather than individuals. In fake news ecosystems, this becomes polarization— “us vs them.”
Once that happens, people don’t evaluate truth; they defend identity.
4. Distract from eternal realities with immediate noise
Screwtape constantly pushes trivialities and anxieties to crowd out deeper spiritual awareness.
Today’s endless news cycles—especially sensational or false ones—do the same. They fill the mind so completely that there is little space left for prayer, Scripture, or quiet discernment.
5. Encourage confidence without humility
One of Screwtape’s most effective tactics is making the patient feel intellectually superior while actually being misled.
Fake news often flatters: “You’re one of the few who sees what’s really going on.” That pride becomes a barrier to correction.
Lewis reminds us that the real battle is not just “out there” in the information we consume, but “in here” in the formation of our hearts and minds. Fake news is dangerous not only because it misinforms us, but because it forms us—into reactive, suspicious, divided, and distracted people.
The quiet counter to this, in Lewis’s spirit, is deeply biblical:
• a commitment to truth (John 8:32),
• a guarded mind (Philippians 4:8),
• and a spirit of humility and discernment (1 John 4:1).
In Screwtape terms, the goal of the enemy is not simply to make us believe lies—but to make us incapable of loving truth. Where the Christian life involves encouragement toward truth and grace, Screwtape’s guidance shapes Wormwood toward deception and spiritual harm—raising the question of who is forming us, and toward what end?
I hope you enjoyed this reflection.
Yours in Christ
Canon Rob Penrith