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.
Update: McQuade, Barbara, "Attack From Within," 2024. New York Times best seller.
Ballot
_X__ President
___ King
I vote for President. A president as called for in the United States Constitution, a document that has guided governmental affairs in America for 236 years and counting. It has withstood all manner of challenges and attempts to temper it’s effectiveness.
That includes the current blatant and heinous Coup attempt by the Authoritarians on the political Right. If you look at things superficially, it looks like Democracy is screwed. If you look under the hood (so to speak), we can get out of this mess.
It will take you and me. Think about it. There are 813 Billionaires in the United States. The total population of the United States as of July 2024 was north of 340 million people. I think we have them out numbered. They may have us out leveraged in terms of power and influence, but if we decide that we don’t like the way they are doing things, democracy or not, we should be able to get our way one way or the other.
The “one way” that I hope for is through the election process. Courageous people in positions of influence and power are working like crazy to hold the line until we get another chance to speak up electorally in 2026. Our job in the meantime is to support them in what they do by taking action at our local levels to keep humanity and democratic thought alive and kicking while we kick the Trump behemoth monster in the shins to make it uncomfortable and make our feelings heard…or at least felt a little bit.
Do not, Do not, DO NOT obey in advance out of fear. Most of us at this level are out of the crosshairs of these Fascists and their White Supremacist, Seven Mountain Mandate, Christian extremist deliverers of hate and intimidation. Most of us can go about resisting these tools of hatred because we just aren’t big enough for them to worry about.
These Fascists know that they are in the minority even though they try to appear bigger than they are. They compensate for their lack of numbers by puffery in the media and through fear and intimidation. They are basically acting in a very cowardly manner for a group that prides itself on how much fear and hate it can spread and how big and tough they are.
They function under the guise of a progressive political movement. They meet part of the definition of a progressive political movement. But they fail to meet the second part of the definition of the word progressive. That is they are not working for reforms to benefit the average citizen, us working men and women. They are falsely claiming to be progressives in order to convince working people like you and me that they are looking out for our interests.
In the tradition of authoritarians, they have thrown up smoke, mirrors and tons of disinformation to convince Americans that they stand for something that they are not. They represent the 800+ Billionaires, not the 340,000,000+ of us who are not Billionaires.
Progressives are interested in establishing a more transparent and accountable government which would work to improve U.S. society. The Progressive movement in the U.S.A. came about in the early 20th Century in response to the widespread societal disruption caused by the Industrial Revolution. The Progressive movement is about making life better for people, not worse.
If we are to have more Presidents’ Days, we need to hold the line on Democracy now.
Gird your loins and let’s keep going! They will continue spewing their campaign of “shock and awe” to try and demoralize us and cause maximum chaos. Stay strong. We’ll get through this.
A very wise Buddhist friend taught me to say these words to myself when I'm starting to get very angry at someone's actions or words:
"May (insert the name of the person(s) here) be happy.
"May (insert the name of the person(s) here) be healthy and strong.
"May (insert the name of the person(s) here) be at ease.
"May (insert the name of the person(s) here) be at peace.
I have no control over what they do, but I do have control of my own personal character, how I respond to what other people do and how I treat other people.
I hope so!! We need to stand strong.