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.
Please read South Dakota Senator John Thune’s reply to President Joseph R. Biden’s State of the Union Address on Thursday, March 6, 2024. His short statement is, at best one lie or partial truth after another. I guess that it is the best that the modern MAGA-led Republican Party can come up with at this point.
In an interview that Thune did with the PBS News Hour before Biden addressed the nation, he said that the United States under President Biden was “going in the wrong direction.” Thune is one of the front runners to take over the broken Republican Senate Minority. How appropriate that he uses gaslighting, a popular tool among propagandists to convince people that something that they see happening with their own eyes isn’t really happening.
In case you missed the above link, here is the text of Thune’s comments:
“President Biden’s tenure will be defined by rampant inflation, lawlessness at the southern border, and a weakening of America’s standing on the world stage. “No amount of words from the president tonight could have erased the actions he’s taken to undermine America’s economic security, energy security, and national security. “The consequences of these actions are felt at home and abroad, in the grocery store and at the southern border, and these consequences will linger far beyond President Biden’s term in office. “We must reverse course – and Republicans are eager to lead the way. We have Republican solutions to unleash American energy, strengthen our military to prepare for the rising threats in today’s world, and finally secure the southern border. Unfortunately, for the past three years, we haven’t had a willing partner in the White House to help us achieve these goals. “Though the president and I have sharp differences in opinion when it comes to policy, one thing we can agree on is that we are fortunate to live in the greatest country in the world. The blessings that we have as Americans are made possible by the brave men and women in uniform who defend our interests around the globe – and tonight, and every night, I thank them and their families for their service and sacrifice."
Legal scholar and political analyst Barbara McQuade takes a hard look at how tactics like those that Thune is exhibiting in this piece are the foundational tactics used by totalitarian rulers and their propagandists to undermine and attempt to discredit their democratic opponents.
In her book, “Attack From Within” McQuade presents who, why and how strongman ruler wannabees attract and keep their followers and the threat that they present to free societies everywhere.
Sen. Thune’s comments exhibit a destruction of the truth, repeat a series of un- and, at best, half-truths to distract the American people from the “Big Lie” by guarding it with a very large collection of smaller lies that are repeated and repeated and repeated.
He keeps the message simple: we good, they bad. He avoids insult, because insult is not a tool that you want to use in plain sight and earshot of those who haven’t bought into the MAGA hellscape. Republicans can only tell the lies to their devoted followers in order to exploit divisions, undermine critics, appeal to emotion over reason, stoke violence, seek to dismantle public institutions (like the Supreme Court) and, as McQuade puts it, “create an image of the Great Leader as both an Everyman and a strongman.” This is reserved for private White Nationalist self flagellation parties.
So, I have a few clarifying questions for Sen. Thune (you can answer them too). Start each one with “If we are headed in the wrong direction then…
- is forgiving student debt heading in the wrong direction?
- is the fact that unemployment is steadily dropping heading in the wrong direction?
- is increasing domestic production of oil is at an all time high for any nation in the world? (One can argue this quite vehemently, but I mention it here because this doesn’t fit with the great leader’s message about the future of energy.)
- is raising taxes on the wealthiest of America’s One Percenters a bad thing for anyone but the One Percenters?
- is steadily lowering inflation a bad thing?
- are “making smart investments in America, empowering workers, and promoting competition to lower costs and help small businesses” a bad thing? Source: The three pillars of Biden’s plan to restore the American economy and build it for the future.
- Is providing health care for millions of Americans who otherwise couldn’t afford it a bad thing?
- is strengthening voting rights a bad thing?
- is preparing for a clean energy future a bad thing?
- why does over 40% of the world’s population remain optomistic about the future of the planet?
- what is your direction?
- does a woman’s right to choose what she does with her body not matter to you?
- does a Supreme Court that makes up it’s own version of the Constitution work for you?
- why is the Financial Services Forum pissed off with President Biden? (watch for the ads that say the economy is struggling)
- will Vladimir Putin be our next president?
- does that mean that the three R’s are “Reading, ‘Riting and ‘Rithmatic” and not “Resentment, Revenge and Retribution”
- where will the Republican Party lead us under Donald Trump?
- what is the right direction?
A few questions to ponder.