As has been made clear by subsequent comments, projektfu was just repeating words they had heard previously, without having any idea what they referred to, as Eliza or a scarlet macaw might do. It's not useful to project an intent onto their words to refer to anything in particular. Presumably projektfu is, unlike Eliza, a human with mental processes who is capable of forming intents, including intents to emit utterances that refer to objective or consensus reality; but such an enterprise requires efforts that were not made in this case, such as reading the six lines of text at the top of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_in_a_crowded_theater and basing their comments on them†.

Moreover, I think this is true of most rhetorical devices in general, and that is part of what the podcast is criticizing. They are not attempts to collaboratively consider the evidence in order to arrive at shared conclusions informed by the knowledge of all parties; they are attempts to influence whatever conclusions may arise, by hook or by crook, to benefit the interests of the utterer, and whether either the utterances or the conclusions happen to be objectively true or false is none of the utterer's concern.

I consider this contemptible, and I try to engage in it as little as I can manage.

† Incidentally, this page explains that Schenck was not specifically overturned until Brandenburg in 1969 (although the Brandenburg decision doesn't mention Schenck), but the Supreme Court's progressively broader reading of the First Amendment was already protecting antiwar and anticapitalist activism by the 1950s, for example in Gibson (1946), Estep (1946), Dickinson (1953), and Yates (1957).

Actually I was talking about the sedition case, but more of a “clear and present danger” type of reading. I don’t think it’s seditious to protest emergency measures, but at the same time there’s a grey area where the right to protest buts against public safety. These are short term restrictions. I assume in the government wants to get their jurisdiction back to normal. At least, there’s no evidence to me that they are happy about the current situation.

I understood Holmes to be saying that protesting the war in that epoch could lead to actual violence in the US. The domestic terrorism of the anarchists earlier in the decade could make you feel that way.

I was wrong, and I apologize for jumping to such an uncharitable conclusion and for baselessly accusing you of psittacity. I was being a jackass, and I'm sorry.

However, your reading of Schenck is incorrect.

> projektfu was just repeating words they had heard previously, without having any idea what they referred to, as Eliza or a scarlet macaw might do.

I use many figures of speech every day which I don't know the etymologies of. I don't think it's necessary to study the origin of every figure of speech before using it.