After laughing, Antoine's expression turned serious.
"Jokes aside, Vid..."
He looked at the young man, his eyes slightly darkening:
"The strategy you wrote to that Auror—counteracting public opinion, information fatigue, and whatever truth deconstruction strategy—Mr. Grindelwald might not be too happy if he finds out."
His tone concealed a faint worry.
Because Antoine, being one of those who've always stayed beside Grindelwald, knew best how ruthless their leader could be when he turned face.
In the discussion just now, Vid offered a series of strategies to that Auror named Kingsley to prevent the exposure of the Magic World.
He said that in the age of information, Muggle monitoring technology is becoming increasingly advanced, and will eventually reach the point of everyone having a camera on hand. No matter how much Wizards hide, it's hard to completely conceal their special traits.
So rather than going to great lengths to prevent, block, and isolate, it would be better to build a solid firewall of public opinion for the Magic World in advance.
First, invest in Muggle companies to shoot movies or TV series with Wizards as protagonists, but use magical special effects that can easily be distinguished as fake, binding "magic" to entertainment.
Then release even more realistic special effects that would lead people to analyze the flaws from a technical standpoint, undermining authenticity.
So even if someone captures the real process of Wizards casting spells and broadcasts it, the public's first reaction would be to think the special effects are just superb, rather than "Oh my god, magic really exists."
Secondly, sponsor some official and civilian experts to publish articles in magazines and newspapers, do talk shows on television, and film documentaries like "Approaching Science" to explain various magical phenomena recorded in history with "scientific principles."
Again, once the information ecosystem becomes mature, the Ministry of Magic might even deliberately create some seemingly real magical videos that will ultimately be proven to be hoaxes, having authoritative media reveal and widely promote them.
Ultimately, the public will form the stereotype that "magic doesn't exist at all," "the so-called magical legends are just the ignorant imaginations of ancient people," "magical videos are all special effects."
Even if the Scourers or someone else really pulls off a "magic livestream," the public will only watch and marvel, but won't immediately believe.
With this time delay, the Ministry of Magic can quickly strike, find the broadcaster or even disguise as the broadcaster, framing them as a liar with mental issues, marking everything they say as "untrustworthy."
Vid also said, when information becomes increasingly complex, the more information a person receives in a short time, the less attention they can allocate to any particular part of it.
They would, like the legendary Eastern beast Taotie, greedily devour the extremely rich yet extremely trivial "fun," filling their impoverished spiritual world without discerning truth from falsehood, black from white, nor bothering to delve deeply.
So even if the magic livestream video is extremely realistic, people would only watch for a few minutes with a critical and picky eye.
But if newer news hotspots, more urgent social topics, or divisive public opinions on gender, race, or political stances emerge, Muggles' attention will immediately be drawn elsewhere, allowing the magic event to quickly "lose hype."
Reading line by line, cold sweat broke out on Antoine's back, several times wanting to snatch the pen from Vid's hand, telling him to stop writing!
Antoine said, "Vid, Mr. Grindelwald treats you well, and this may make you think he's tolerant. But..."
He gritted his teeth, making up his mind to say, "Actually, no matter how gentle the leader appears, he has never given up his youthful dream—"
"To break the Confidentiality Law, allowing Wizards to live openly in this world, even to rule over Non-magical People!"
"This is a consensus among most of the Witch Pure Party! Even you... cannot go against the entire organization!"
"But according to your strategy... the leader's goal will become out of reach. He... he might... become very angry!"
Seeing the faint tremor in Antoine's eyes, Vid couldn't help but smile.
"You're really silly, Mr. Moro!"
At this time, a voice came from beside them.
After Nelson left the room, the Poppet Victor and Vilan had already put the video from the dinner on the big screen, cutting it into small screens, playing everyone's reactions after the Scourers appeared.
Vilan, originally analyzing the micro-expressions of the crowd, couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing Antoine's words.
He turned his head, looking at the curly-haired young man, and said smilingly, "Every coin has two sides; how could there be only drawbacks to a situation without any benefits?"
"What benefits?" Antoine, not angered by the mockery, patiently asked.
"Debunking rumors is actually also laying the groundwork. When a bunch of people seriously discuss what mysteries magical phenomena might hide, some might subconsciously start believing in the existence of magic."
Vilan leaned back, rocking his chair, and said leisurely:
"And Muggle science, can it really explain all magic? Actually, it can't. Even if their experts offer some seemingly plausible theories, for smart enough minds, these are just evidence the government uses to cover up."
He seemed tired from speaking, let out a long breath, and casually picked up Vid's coffee and started drinking.
Antoine curiously watched the movement in his throat as he swallowed, turning to ask Vid, "Can he also drink coffee?"
"How offensive!" Vilan rolled his eyes, "Haven't you seen that guy Braun eat?"
Antoine said, "Of course I have, but I thought that was a... a function that Vid specifically added for him."
He couldn't help but glance at Vilan's belly, asking, "Can you also digest food?"
Vilan sneered, "I can't! I'll store the coffee in my belly, and the next time you visit, I'll spit it out for you to drink!"
Antoine's face turned green, and he immediately didn't want to talk to him anymore.
He turned to Vid, skipping over the previous banter, reminding him:
"If it's that kind of explanation... I can only say the leader might be less angry, but might not necessarily agree."
Vid laughed, "Actually, it's simple—no matter how much 'magic debunking' information a person receives in the media, when someone's nose is turned into a pig's snout, would they still think magic is fake?"
Antoine's eyes brightened, "Of course not!"
"So, this strategy is actually to ensure that the Magic World doesn't suddenly expose itself because of the Scourers or some accident—facing a racial battle without preparation benefits no one."
Vid patiently said, "First establish the most conducive public opinion environment for Wizards' survival and prepare the way. For Muggles that need to accept the theory of 'magic's existence,' Wizards need to personally step up and 'persuade'."
"Furthermore, over time, Wizards, Witches, and Magic have been painted with various evil hues, often portrayed as antagonists even in fairy tales."
"This stereotype—if the Magic World suddenly gets exposed, do you think people would fear and despise or love and worship?"
"—The former, right? They naturally would worry Wizards might take away their living space."
"So before choosing exposure, why can't we first revamp the image of Wizards?"
"Through movies, TV series, and fabricated historical legends, positioning Wizards as 'silent guardians of the world,' 'mysterious powers in the dark world'... how about with this kind of image?"
"Antoine, don't hold a pessimistic view filled with hostility towards Muggle Society. We can wholly actively shape the future, creating a more positive initial image for Wizards!"
By the end of Vid's explanation, Antoine was already dazed, and a long while later, he slowly gave a thumbs-up, unable to utter an extra word.