Without trying to be pedantic, I think bombarding people with false (or "spun") information that is in contrast to their views, principles, or beliefs through a long period of time would make them question their perception(s). I get that probably wouldn't change people's memory or sanity however.
Correct - at the root of gaslighting is a bold-faced lie. From the source, it refers to a story where the husband turns down, and then back up, the gas-lights in their house continually, and denies that he is changing anything to his wife when she inquires why the light level keeps changing. Thus the term, "gas-lighting".
You never had a memory of some childhood event that feels super real, and yet you're positive that you couldn't really remember it - you've just had that memory implanted as a result of hearing the story told over and over by your parents or older siblings? There's also a solid body of evidence that this can happen sometimes to adults during police investigations when innocent people start to actually believe that they've actually committed the crime. When such double memories are encountered that can be very disturbing experience to a person, it feels like going crazy, as you don't know what is real. Our minds are fragile systems and under pressure some personalities start to decompose relatively quickly so I'm pretty convinced it's possible to drive someone insane that way.
Our memory is a unreliable narrator and sanity might change overtime too. Why do you think those wouldn't be affected if you find yourself being victim to purposefully wrong and harmful information?
