Does Your Vote Matter?

Before you go on, an article in the May 8 & May 22, 2021 issue of Science News ran with a cover "Awash in Deception: How science can help us avoid being duped by misinformation." In the lead article titled: "The Battle Against Fake News," Alexandra Witze presents five suggestions on how to debunk bad information. They come from the News Literacy Project (see the above link).

How to Debunk:

1. Arm yourself with media literacy skills, at sites such as the News Literacy Project (newslit.org), to better understand how to spot hoax videos and stories.

2. Don't stigmatize people for holding inaccurate beliefs. Show empathy and respect, or you're more likely to alienate your audience than successfully share accurate information.

3. Translate complicated but true ideas into simple messages that are easy to grasp. Videos, graphics and other visual aids can help.

4. When possible, once you provide a factual alternative to the misinformation, explain the underlying fallacies (such as cherry- picking information, a common tactic of climate change deniers.

5. Mobilize when you see misinformation being shared on social media as soon as possible. If you see something, say something.

"Misinformation is any information that is incorrect, whether due to error or fake news.

"Disinformation is deliberately intended to deceive."

"Propaganda is disinformation with a political agenda."

Sander van der Linden
Social Psychologist
University of Cambridge

Source: Science News/May 8, 2021 & May 22, 2021

Update: September 22, 2023: This is more important now than ever. Be vigilant and speak in your own way. Love Wins.

In the spirit of how to debunk misinformation and disinformation, I encourage you to examine The Financial Services Forum, The American Accountability Foundation, The Epoch Times, Fox News, and One America Network(OAN), among others, using the media literacy skills taught by the News Literacy Project from #1 above under "How to Debunk."  Click on the News Literacy Project link to start your work.

There are folks that don’t want you to vote. And if you do vote, they want to devise ways to make your vote not count. And if they can’t deny your vote, they will take the voting issues to the court system which they have bought and sold to the highest bidder. You know the names of the buyers: Harlan Crow, Elon Musk, Tim Dunn, Farris Wilks, Dan Wilks, David Sacks, Joe Lonsdale, Marc Andreeson of Andreeson-Horowitz, the Western States Petroleum Association.

This list of rich people and organizations willing to sacrifice our freedoms for their own wealth preservation and power is partial. Very partial. Money has always run this country. The difference now is that MAGA (Money Against Great Americans) has grown weary of what us common people think and want and have decided among themselves that now is the time to remove us from the political process by hook or by crook. Mostly by crook.

Democracy has been loosely tolerated as long as the wealth and power stayed where it has been in control. They are rich and they are powerful and they will pull out all the stops to complete their coup against the United States. Donald Trump is merely the tip of their melting iceberg.

Be aware of what they are doing and do what you can to wear then down, to fight for our country, it’s Democracy and it’s freedoms. Keep up the struggle for this wonderful country.

And how about those Olympic athletes, their stories and their families. They make me proud and they remind me of what stock I am from. We live in a great country. Never forget that.

Never.